Index 1. Overview 2. Setup 3. Calculations 3.1. Air Tickets 3.2. Car Hire 3.3. Accommodation 4. Queries 4.1. By Line 4.2. By Segment 5. Offsetting 6. About Cleaner Climate Last Updated: LCK 28/10/2013(v1.10B5) Pg 1
1. Overview QuickTrav invoicing is partnered with carbon travel specialist Cleaner Climate who provide the calculation methodology and emission factors to calculate carbon emissions on air tickets, car hire and accommodation based mainly on the UK government s DEFRA tables. This ensures that QuickTrav s approach complies with the Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Protocol Corporate Accounting Standard which is the most widely used international accounting tool for understanding, quantifying and managing greenhouse gas emissions. Carbon emissions are calculated in tonnes of CO² by multiplying various emission factors against ticket air miles / kms, car days and accommodation nights. Carbon emissions may optionally be reflected on each invoice and detailed customised reports may be extracted using the standard line item query module. QuickTrav v1.7x8+ now also provides an option to manually capture carbon emissions from land supplier invoices and the system will use these actuals if found in reports and printing otherwise it will calculate them as before. Pg 2
2. Setup Activate the carbon footprint functionality by selecting Cleaner Climate as the Carbon footprint calculation method. Setup \ System \Application The system comes shipped with preloaded greenhouse gas emission factors (these are based on those supplied by UK DEFRA which include both uplift factors and radiative forcing indexes for air travel). Should you not wish to include these adjustment factors, you can download the required tables and update the factors in the system accordingly. http://www.ukconversionfactorscarbonsmart.co.uk/ All factors required for calculating greenhouse emissions for air, car and hotel are contained in data sets with pre-assigned emission type ID keys. Category ID Key Description Accommodation Accngt Accommodation Nights Car Hire CarDay Car days Air Travel Air Dom/SH/LH * Eco/Bus/Fir/Oth Domestic/Short Haul/Long Haul Economy/Business/First/Unknown * Domestic = distances of 450kms or less, Short Haul = 451 to 3699 kms and Long Haul = 3700 kms or more Currently only two sets of factors are shipped with v1.7z+ 1. 2012 (All travel on/before 31/12/2012) 2. 2013 (Travel in 2013 calendar year) All air factors / coefficients are stipulated in kilograms of CO2e per kilometre and the system converts the air miles to kilometres when calculating emissions using the conversion factor specified in the system setup (as air miles are statutory, the default conversion factor is 1m = 1.609344 km). The data sets may be viewed/edited under Setup\Global Tables\Carbon Emissions Pg 3
The New action can be used to add an entire set of carbon coefficients (all zero) which must then be individually captured. It may also be used to update the effective date range of a set by specify an existing key (in which case you will be prompted to update accordingly) The base units for air ticket emissions are air miles converted to kms. You do not have to have air miles activated in the branch setup (this setting is provided for the old method of capturing total air miles per ticket). The system also needs to know the seat classes to identify which emission factor to use so you must ensure that the flight class categories have been correctly setup as follows; Setup\Company\Flight Class Categories If flight the class categories are not setup, the emissions will be based on the Unknown set class factor The base units for car and hotel bookings are days and nights respectively. In order for the system to be able to calculate the relevant duration, you need to activate the capture of return dates in the branch ticketing setup (although this switch is under ticketing, it is used for land arrangements as well) Branch setup\ticketing If no return dates are available, the duration will be set to 1 which will result in understated emissions The system also needs to know whether a land arrangement is a car hire or accommodation and as many agencies use multiple or custom commission type codes over and above the standard Car and Acc, each car and accommodation land commission type must be flagged with the relevant sub category Pg 4
If land commission type are not categorised, they will be ignored by the carbon calculations Pg 5
3. Calculations 3.1 Air Tickets The carbon emission is calculated on all air tickets and refunds by converting each leg s air miles to kilometres and multiplying by the emission factor matching the route type (domestic, short haul or long haul) and class (economy, business and first) and travel date. QuickTrav invoicing v1.6q+ automatically imports a standard set of routings and related air miles into the routing air miles table (included in the genmast.def shipped with the upgrade) and automatically updates the table from the GDS booking whenever a ticket is imported. This table can also be manually edited for routes that have not been imported or for older routes before upgrading. 1 nm (nautical mile) 1.15 m (statutory mile) 1.852 km (kilometre) 1 m (statutory) 1.609344 km (kilometre) Setup\Company\Routing Miles 3.2 Car Hire The carbon emission is calculated on those land arrangements with commission / service types flagged as Car Hire by multiplying the car days by the car hire emission factor matching the travel date. Car days are calculated as the number of days from the travel to the return date (inclusive). The carbon emissions tool calculates travel carbon emissions at the time of booking. Given that no data would yet be available on the actual km driven in the rental vehicle a default mileage of 200km/day in a 1.4 2.0L petrol vehicle is applied. Note that the carbon emissions provided directly by rental agencies are based on actual distance driven and are provided on the invoice subsequent to the car rental. Given the potential variation in actual km driven compared to the estimate of 200km applied by default by this software, it is not unusual for discrepancies in the emissions reported by the software and those provided by the rental agency to arise. These are related to using estimated vs. actual distance. Despite possible discrepancies, note that collectively car rental and hotel stays generally only contribute a small component to the total travel emissions of a trip (~5% each). The majority (~80%) of the travel emissions of an average business trip are related to the Air component. 3.3 Accommodation The carbon emission is calculated on those land arrangements with commission / service types flagged as Accommodation by multiplying the room nights by the accommodation emission factor matching the travel date. Accommodation nights are calculated as the number of nights between the travel and return dates. Pg 6
3.4. Manual Capture If this option has been activated in the system setup, actual CO2 emissions per supplier invoices may be captured in the land arrangement capture form; Note, although the reports reflect CO2 emissions in tonnes, the manual capture is in kilograms. Most car hire companies report emissions in grams CO2e so these would have to be manually converted to kilograms. This field may be edited after saving (subject to standard access control / restrictions) If the field is set to zero or left blank, the system will calculate the CO2 emissions as per the above. 3.5 Table Validity All CO2 emissions are based on some factor (as per above) extracted from the carbon emission table matching the transaction s travel date and if no factor is found matching the travel date then the emissions will be reported as zero. The company month end will check to see if the carbon emission table contains factors for the current period and will notify you if none are found. Pg 7
4. Queries All carbon emission queries must be extracted from the line item query module and ticket emissions may optionally be shown by each segment on the ticket. 4.1 By Line In order to build a CO² emission report by line item, you must remember not to include any segment query fields (including any one of these will cause the query module to repeat the line for each segment on air tickets) The following fields are related to the CO² emission calculations Query Field Description Example Air Tickets Routing Details Ticket routing (max 4 legs/segments) Lhr/Dxb/Jnb Miles (Route) Air miles calculated by looking up the distance for each leg on a ticket in the route miles table If the system cannot find any leg in the miles table, the total miles will be set to zero. You can use this fact to build an exception report to highlight any missing leg miles by setting the miles filter to Blank 7,406 Land Travel Date Starting date used for land duration calculations 11/12/2012 Return Date Ending Date used for land duration calculations 25/12/2012 Duration CO² CO² Type CO² Tonnes No of car days or hotel nights for commission types flagged as such in the commission type setup Carbon emission travel category (Air, Car or Hotel) An * after the type indicates that the value contained in the CO² tonnes field was manually captured Carbon emission in tonnes calculated by multiplying air miles (converted into kms) / land duration by the relevant coefficients in the carbon footprint setup. Air Travel Car Rental Hotel Stay 7.8847 0.0006 It is advisable to filter the source to only show air tickets and land arrangements (1,2,6) and to group the output by Source as different methods are used for air tickets and land. Example Pg 8
4.2 By Segment In order to build a CO² emission report by ticket segment/leg you must remember to include any segment query fields (including any one of these will cause the query module to repeat the line for each segment on air tickets) The following fields are related to the CO² emission calculations Query Field Description Example Air Tickets Segment Route Leg routing Lhr/Dxb Segment Class The segment class letter R Segment Class Category The class category applicable to the segment class First Class Segment Miles The leg distance in air miles (as above, you can use this field to generate an exception report for legs without table miles by setting the filter to Blank ) 3,427 Land Travel Date Starting date used for land duration calculations 15/12/2012 Return Date Ending date used for land duration calculations 25/12/2012 Leg Duration CO² Segment CO2 Key No of car days or hotel nights for commission types flagged as such in the commission type setup 15 The carbon emission setup key used in the calculation. 2013 Airlhfir Segment CO2 Units Air kilometres, Car days or Accommodation nights 5516 Segment CO2 Factor Carbon emission factor used in the calculation 0.661470 (matches setup table for CO2 Key above) Segment CO2 Tonnes Segment CO2 Kgs 3.6487 Carbon emission in tonnes / kilograms calculated by multiplying air miles (converted to kilometres) / land duration by the relevant coefficients in the carbon footprint setup. 0.0006 It is advisable to filter the source to only show air tickets and land arrangements (1,2,6) and to group the output by Source as different methods are used for air tickets and land. Example Pg 9
5. Offsetting Contact Cleaner Climate if your customers or clients wish to offset their travel footprint. Offsetting refers to the process of neutralising the carbon emission effect of a customer s travel through the purchase of carbon credits (offsets) equal to the carbon footprint of their travel (flights, hotel stays & car rental) as calculated by the QuickTrav software. A carbon credit or offset effectively negates or "neutralises" a tonne of CO 2 emitted in one place (e.g. through flying) by avoiding the release of a ton of CO 2 elsewhere through a registered carbon emission reduction project (such as a renewable energy or energy efficiency project). Only credits arising from projects registered with international accreditation schemes such as the United Nations CDM, Gold Standard or Voluntary Carbon Standard (VCS) provide guaranteed, audited, permanent emission reductions. Cleaner Climate is a preferred offset supplier to United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), has procured offsets for leading corporate globally, is a member of the Advisory Forum for the UK s Department Energy and Climate Change Quality Assurance scheme for carbon offsetting, and was ranked in the top 3 offset companies in Australia s 2008 Carbon Offset Watch survey. Offsetting with Cleaner Climate s credits ensures no reputational risk to corporate clients. 6. About Cleaner Climate Cleaner Climate is a specialist carbon solutions company. We work in partnership with major commercial and public sector organizations to reduce business risk associated with carbon and climate change, whilst maximizing the associated opportunities. Cleaner Climate s suite of carbon management services assist clients in measuring, managing and mitigating their carbon emissions to realise business and financial benefits. One of our specialist services is emission reporting and offsetting solutions for the travel industry. We are partnered with leading travel & tour operators in Asia-Pacific & South Africa, including Greyhound Australia, HRG Rennies Travel, Harvey World Travel and Flight Centre amongst others.to read more on Cleaner Climate s services, go to www.cleanerclimate.com Pg 10
APPENDIX A: DEFRA TABLES 2012 With RF Activity Haul Class Unit kg CO 2 e kg CO 2 kg N 2 O Domestic Average passenger passenger.km 0.34387 0.34198 0.00178 Average passenger passenger.km 0.196299 0.195275 0.001014 Economy class passenger.km 0.187049 0.186079 0.000959 Flights Business class passenger.km 0.28059 0.279129 0.00145 Average passenger passenger.km 0.224606 0.22344 0.001155 Shorthaul Longhaul Economy class passenger.km 0.163962 0.163112 0.00085 Premium economy class passenger.km 0.262329 0.260967 0.001352 Business class passenger.km 0.47548 0.473016 0.002453 First class passenger.km 0.655849 0.652448 0.003379 2013 With RF Activity Haul Class Unit kg CO 2 e kg CO 2 kg CH 4 kg N 2 O Domestic Short-haul Average passenger passenger.km 0.326615 0.324811 0.000119 0.001685 Average passenger passenger.km 0.192457 0.191452 0.000011 0.000994 Economy class passenger.km 0.183404 0.182443 0.000011 0.00095 Flights Long-haul Business class passenger.km 0.275101 0.273675 0.000011 0.001415 Average passenger passenger.km 0.226528 0.225351 0.000011 0.001166 Economy class passenger.km 0.165362 0.164509 0.0 0.000853 Premium economy class passenger.km 0.264582 0.26321 0.000011 0.001361 Business class passenger.km 0.479574 0.47709 0.000011 0.002473 First class passenger.km 0.66147 0.658035 0.000022 0.003413 Pg 11
APPENDIX B: Multiple Choice Questions 1. Overview Any two of the following questions Who provides the underlying methodology and factors used by QuickTrav to calculate carbon emissions on travel items? Quick Software The South African Government Cleaner Climate / UK DEFRA World Health Organization United Nations The Greenhouse Gas Protocol Corporate Accounting Standard is a set of guidelines; Forming part of the Generally Accepted Accounting Practices (GAAP) in South Africa For understanding, quantifying, managing and accounting for greenhouse gas emissions For alternative energy For domestic agricultural schemes Carbon emissions (CO 2 ) are calculated in Tonnes or Kilograms Kilojoules Millibars Hectopascals Pounds Carbon emissions may be reflected on client invoices? Yes No 2. Setup Any two of the following questions The cleaner climate factors have to be manually loaded into the system setup before calculations can be made? Yes No The system can calculate carbon emissions on Air tickets Car Hire Hotel Accommodation All of the above None of the above In order for carbon emissions to be calculated on air miles, you need to activate the air miles in the system setup? Yes No In order for carbon emissions to be calculated on car hire and accommodation, you need to activate the capture of return dates in the system setup? Yes No Pg 12
3. Calculations Any 4 of the following questions The carbon emission calculation on air tickets is affected by Air miles Route type (domestic, short or long haul) Seating class (economy, business or first) All of the above None of the above The carbon emission calculation on air tickets is not affected by the seating class True False The carbon emission calculation on air tickets is affected by the routing type (domestic, short haul or long haul) True False A flight leg is deemed to be long haul if the distance is greater than or equal to 10,000 km 3,122 km 5,000 statutory miles 3,700 kms 2,850 nautical miles A flight leg is deemed to be domestic if The from and to airports are in the same country The distance is less than equal to 450 nautical miles The air commission type is domestic The distance is less than or equal to 450 kilometres The from and to airports are the same Air miles for all routes on an air ticket must exist in the system setup (imported, automatic or manual) before the carbon emissions for that ticket can be calculated True False The carbon emission calculation used by QuickTrav / Cleaner Climate for car hire is based on The car type The actual distance travelled The number of days hired All of the above None of the above As at the time of the booking, actual distance is not known, the car hire emissions are calculated on the number of days hired for which default car? 3.0 liter 4x4 diesel doing 100 km/day 1.3 liter hatchback doing 50 km/day Luxury German saloon with unlimited mileage 1.4-2.0l petrol vehicle doing 200 km/day Family MPV doing 200 km/day The carbon emission calculation provided by the car hire company will always exactly match the emissions calculated by QuickTrav. True False Pg 13
The carbon emission calculation used by QuickTrav / Cleaner Climate for hotel accommodation is based on The room type The number of nights The hotel star grading The hotel location 4. Queries One of the following questions What is the easiest way to check that air miles have been defined for all segments on all air ticket routes included in a line item query? It is not possible to check this Set the air miles filter to blank and check if any records are included Set the duration filter to zero and check if any records are included If the air miles are not defined for all legs on an air ticket, the reported miles for that ticket s route will be set to zero True False When building a query on carbon emissions by ticket, one must not include any segment fields as It will confuse the users It will cause the line item query module to repeat the line for each segment on the ticket and thus overstate the total route emissions in the totals It will cause the query module to ignore the total route emission and only show the segment emissions They are not applicable 5. Offsetting Offsetting one s carbon footprint is a process of Reducing the carbon emissions incurred from travelling Neutralizing the carbon footprint incurred from travelling by purchasing equivalent carbon credits Paying additional taxes to cover your carbon footprint Pg 14