As governments fight climate change, they are establishing and expanding emissions trading schemes (ETS) and other regulatory programmes that require operators to report and address their aircraft emissions. The compliance reporting requirements have multiplied in recent years, and a reporting obligation could be triggered by something as simple as flying to, from or within a participating country. The 4Air Regulatory Monitoring & Compliance Programme automatically monitors operators' flight activity to check and forecast any potential compliance obligations and then helps them meet reporting requirements.

The programme is not limited to aviation regulatory programmes. As more corporations disclose and make progress towards their own decarbonisation goals, corporate flight departments and other operators need accurate reporting data to share with their environmental, social and governance (ESG) departments. 4Air automatically aggregates necessary data and shares reporting guidelines for ESG departments, including emission reductions from the use of SAF. 4Air aggregates and verifies required documentation for claiming reductions from SAF against aviation regulatory obligations and voluntary reporting schemes.

“4Air's purpose is to make sustainability more accessible and turnkey, and so far that has been focused on aligned-voluntary programmes that meet or exceed industry goals,” says president Kennedy Ricci. “With the growing number of environmental regulatory obligations and their changing requirements, we wanted to add a turnkey tool for compliance with regulatory requirements as well, to ensure our clients are always armed with the information needed to validate their sustainability efforts.”

4Air's subscription-based Regulatory Monitoring & Compliance Programme monitors flying activity and destinations to alert aircraft owners and operators of potential compliance obligations. Should a threshold be triggered or an aircraft be flown in a country or region that requires reporting of emissions, 4Air alerts the subscriber and provides a full-service package for compliance. The programme includes:

- Automatic monitoring of flight activity for potential exposure to an environmental scheme and forecasting whether annual reporting thresholds are likely to be exceeded;

- Issuing regular carbon footprint reports to meet ESG requirements, including baseline footprints, as well as documenting the reductions from the use of SAF and carbon offsets;

- Verifying and documenting the reductions from SAF as needed for ESG regulatory reporting or for claiming reductions to reduce aviation compliance obligations;

- Conducting ESG materiality assessments for corporate flight departments;

- Providing a turnkey and full-service programme to monitor and report emissions to all appropriate governing agencies;

- Hedging allowance expenses to provide better cost predictability and save operators money;

- Acting as an authorised representative for carbon allowance trading accounts; and,

- Continuously monitoring changes to the reporting requirements, thresholds and restrictions implemented by governing agencies.

4Air will draft the necessary monitoring procedures, provide internal quality assurance checks, complete annual reports, bring in third-party auditors, provide allowances and ensure operators are compliant in light of changing and expanding environmental obligations.

4Air alleviates the burden on operators in keeping track of the many emissions trading programmes and their changing scopes, ensuring operators are flying compliant. It serves as a regulatory autopilot for global emissions trading systems including:

- ICAO Carbon Offsetting and Reduction; Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA);

- Emissions Trading Schemes (ETS) in the EU, UK, Switzerland, France and Turkey;

- As well as monitoring other programmes for new or changing thresholds.

“4Air is about making sustainability turnkey in all its forms, and this includes regulatory and corporate ESG reporting requirements. Especially as more regions, states and countries are changing thresholds and implementing new and occasionally overlapping environmental reporting programmes, our programme is designed to take that compliance burden off of our partners,” says COO Nancy Bsales.