By Sally Davey, CEO
Two years ago, a group of us met at Google’s offices in Zurich. We were an eclectic bunch – from scientists and NGO representatives, to airlines and Google engineers. We met to discuss how we could collectively shape the Travel Impact Model into the world’s leading way of getting accurate flight emissions estimates into the hands of millions of travellers.
Google had developed a methodology – later called the Travel Impact Model or ‘TIM’ – for doing just that, and shared it with Travalyst. At the time, one of the world’s leading approaches for consumer engagement had been developed by a competitor, Skyscanner, under the ‘Greener Choices’ brand. Through Travalyst and our unique pre-competitive structure, we were able to bring these competitors together and agree to align on a single, unified approach.
It was agreed that Google would join the Travalyst Coalition, bringing its model into the fold. What’s more, thanks to the TIM’s open source approach and significant alignment with the Greener Choices methodology, the Travalyst Coalition would adopt the Travel Impact Model as its unified approach for displaying flight emissions to consumers going forward. Further, the group would collaborate actively on all future updates and versions.
Google also proposed that the overarching governance of the model should be transparent and consultative, and so created the TIM Advisory Committee to steer and govern model developments and changes. And so the ‘TIM AC’ was born.
The first TIM Advisory Committee meeting happened in Zurich in the summer of 2023. Much like Travalyst, the ambition was pretty radical to bring together a diverse group of stakeholders with very different interests and goals, not to mention operating styles, and collectively oversee the delivery of a single approach to communicating aviation impact to consumers.
However, just as we have found over the years with Travalyst, a shared vision and agreed set of principles can go a long way in finding a path through our differences. And so it was for the TIM AC and its shared, vested interest in aligning on a robust and rigorous approach, based on the latest research for estimating emissions from consumer air travel. Critically, it was always with the end goal of surfacing this information in the mainstream and getting it into the hands of travellers so it could be used by all – for free.
Sitting in London in summer 2025 for our third in-person meeting, what struck me most was how different the conversations were compared to two years ago. There was an efficiency to the conversation that clearly took those shared principles now as a given, with a strong undercurrent of trust. An inherent knowledge that everyone is here for the same shared goal: to play our part in delivering a net zero pathway for aviation, and in doing so, secure the future of this industry. As a result, the group continues to make astonishing progress at pace.
The TIM (or any other model for that matter) is neither perfect nor going to solve the issue of aviation decarbonisation alone. But the scale of adoption and display we have achieved is a very strong start, and a vital piece of the wider picture of how we accurately measure, monitor and improve our way towards net zero.
Most excitingly, it’s a model that we’re building on in the form of the Data Hub – a central source of sustainability data focusing first on accommodation, before moving to rail and destinations. This has the potential to be a game-changer not only for the industry, but for nature and the local communities who call destinations home.
The TIM has shown what’s possible, and we’re already moving forward and building on those foundations with the Data Hub. I can’t help but feel that – through increased and continued collaboration – we really can change travel, for good.