Definition of an Ecolabel for Aircraft

In attempting to increase the environmental awareness in the aviation sector and to eliminate the green washing phenomenon, an investigation was done into the development and definition of an ecolabel for aircraft. Based on life cycle assessment it was found that aviation affects the environment most with the impact categories resource depletion and global warming (both due to fuel consumption), local air pollution (due to the nitrogen oxide emissions in the vicinity of airports) and noise pollution. For each impact category a calculation method was developed based solely on official, certified and publicly available data to meet the stated requirements of the ISO standards about environmental labeling. To ensure that every parameter is evaluated independently on aircraft size, which allows comparison between different aircraft, normalizing factors such as number of seats, rated thrust and noise level limits are used. Additionally, a travel class weighting factor is derived in order to account for the space occupied per seat in first class, business class and economy class. To finalize the ecolabel, the overall environmental impact is determined by weighting the contribution of each impact category. For each category a rating scale from A to G is developed to compare the performance of the aircraft with that of others. The harmonization of the scientific and environmental information, presented in an easy understandable label, enables the traveling customers to make a well informed and educated choice when booking a flight, selecting among airline offers with different types of aircraft and seating arrangements.为提升航空领域的环保认知并杜绝绿色漂绿（green washing）现象，本研究围绕航空器环保标签（ecolabel）的开发与定义展开了系统性调研。基于生命周期评估（life cycle assessment）结果，航空活动对环境的主要影响类别包括：资源耗竭与全球变暖（二者均源于燃油消耗）、机场周边氮氧化物排放引发的局地空气污染，以及噪声污染。针对每一类环境影响，本研究均完全依托官方认证且公开可获取的数据开发了专属计算方法，以满足ISO环境标签相关标准的既定要求。为确保所有参数均按照航空器尺寸独立开展评估，从而实现不同机型间的横向对比，研究引入了客座数量、额定推力及噪声限值等归一化系数。此外，本研究还推导得出舱位等级权重系数，用以适配头等舱、商务舱与经济舱的单位客座占用空间差异。为最终确定该环保标签，研究通过对各影响类别的贡献度进行加权计算，得出航空器的综合环境影响评分。针对每一类影响维度，研究均建立了从A至G的评级量表，以实现不同航空器的性能对比。将科学与环境信息进行标准化整合，并以通俗易懂的形式呈现于标签之上，可帮助出行消费者在预订航班、对比不同航司的机型与座位配置方案时，做出更为知情且审慎的选择。