Carbon emission (CO2) calculations

Controlling, tracking, and reporting on carbon emissions is an important theme in travel. Many companies and travelers monitor CO2 emissions because they are a significant driver of climate change, and contribute to adverse environmental impacts such as rising temperatures, sea level rise, and extreme weather events. There is a growing awareness of the need to reduce carbon footprints and mitigate the impact of human activities on the planet. As a result, Spotnana provides tools for travelers and companies to monitor the carbon emissions associated with their travel. 

For air travel

Spotnana uses Atmosfair (a German-based non-profit organization which uses VDR methodology and radiative forcing) by default to calculate carbon emissions for air bookings. Atmosfair’s carbon calculator factors in flight altitude, type of aircraft, the number of seats on board, and how many seats are occupied. Factors such as holding patterns, detours, and time spent rolling on the ground are also considered.

While Atmosfair strives to be as precise as possible, we recognize that it’s only possible to calculate the probable consumption of a flight. For example, if an aircraft has to be diverted because of weather, this will affect fuel utilization in a way that isn't part of the calculation.

Alternative calculation methods

In some cases, if Atmosfair values are not available for a flight, Spotnana will use the median values per kilometer to calculate the estimated carbon emissions. Spotnana has also integrated with Google Flights to provide carbon emissions data to our APIs. This can be enabled upon customer request.  

For rail travel

Spotnana works directly with rail suppliers to capture data on carbon emissions from rail trips. 

• For Amtrak: The calculations are based on miles traveled. The exact multiplier value is provided by Amtrak.
• For all other rail suppliers: Spotnana obtains the CO2 emissions data from each rail operator. They usually do not share their calculation methodology with us. 

For hotel and rental car bookings

Support for calculating CO2 emissions for hotel and car rental is planned for 2024.

Reporting

Spotnana provides several emissions-related report within the Online Booking Tool. To access these reports, select Company reports from the Analytics menu. Then expand the Emissions section on the left.

Future integrations

Spotnana is an open platform and can support integrations with other carbon emission calculators as demand for this evolves within the industry.