Our Responsibility

Nothing about aviation is green, but we all share a common obligation to make every aspect of aviation greener. And at APEX, we understand that aviation significantly impacts the environment, and it is our responsibility to work towards a future where air travel is sustainable, efficient, and safe for future generations. Therefore, we are committed to continuously seeking ways to reduce aviation’s impact on our environment.

That’s why we are thrilled to introduce APEX Greener powered by SimpliFlying, a groundbreaking program that helps airlines choose sustainable products without adding extra costs for airlines.

 

APEX Greener powered by SimpliFlying

Every in-flight airline product is evaluated across its complete lifecycle, including sustainable sourcing, production emissions, weight reduction benefits, recycled materials, recyclability, and end-of-life disposal. Each product receives a score, which is made available in a database. All certified products are highlighted in the APEX Aircraft Interiors Database powered by CAPA, helping airlines decide which products to use and promote to their passengers.

We are proud to leverage the technology developed by Finch, which has already rated over 1 million products, for APEX Greener powered by SimpliFlying. By harnessing this technology, we can evaluate and certify sustainable products with a degree of accuracy and efficiency never seen before in the aviation industry.

The product categories we intend to launch in the next few months include:‎

Amenity Kits

Sanitizing Kits

Passenger Catering
(cutlery, crockery, glasses/cups, salt and pepper set, etc.)

Passenger Catering
(food & drink)

Passenger bed linen & duvets

Seats, seating materials, and headrest covers

Inflight Entertainment & Connectivity

Headsets

Lighting

Passenger Service Unit

Recycling/Composting Units

Trash Compacting Units

The Future

APEX Greener powered by SimpliFlying is a significant step towards a more sustainable aviation industry. But we know that we cannot do this alone. Making aviation sustainable is a collective responsibility; we must all do our part.

At APEX, we are committed to reducing the impact of aviation on the environment while ensuring that air travel remains safe, efficient, and comfortable. We are driven by a vision of a future where the skies are cleaner, and our commitment to sustainability is unwavering. With APEX Greener powered by SimpliFlying, we are leading the way towards a sustainable future for aviation. Let us continue to innovate, collaborate, and find new ways to reduce the impact of aviation on the environment. Together, we can make a difference and help protect our planet for future generations.

Partners

SimpliFlying is the world’s leading aviation strategy firm, having worked with over 100 airlines and airports in the past fifteen years. Founder, Shashank Nigam, is a global authority in helping airlines build trust. He is the host of the world’s first podcast on sustainable aviation, having interviewed over 50 senior industry executives, and is the co-author of an upcoming book on the topic. 

APEX and SimpliFlying had partnered to successfully develop the APEX Health Safety Powered by SimpliFlying during the pandemic, which helped build trust in travel by rating over 30 airlines globally. Now, we are partnering to usher in a greener future for the industry.

Finch decodes products’ environmental impacts and encourages consumers to make better purchasing decisions and helps businesses with their sustainability goals.

The Finch scoring system is built to decode and simplify sustainability and is powered by top scientific research and our unique insights. The Finch algorithm is supported by peer-reviewed scientific literature from academia, white papers by business leaders, government reports, quantitative insights, and qualitative information. Each of these pieces of data are applied to well-established environmental footprint assessment techniques, weighting schemes, and frameworks.

As of May 2023, Finch has scored more than 1M products across 120 categories and add more each week. Finch began by scoring consumer packaged goods and quickly became the CPG sustainability scoring partner for Microsoft Bing.

CAPA -Centre for Aviation is the world’s most trusted and comprehensive source of market intelligence for the aviation and travel industry. Its combined Fleet and Aircraft Interiors Database contains over 43,000 aircraft listings for over 600 airlines worldwide. It encompasses the most extensive global commercial fleet interiors records, adding access to rich and unrivalled insights. The Aircraft Interiors database includes a.o. seat models, dimensions and manufacturers, inflight entertainment (IFE), wireless inflight entertainment (W-IFE) and inflight connectivity (IFC).

Learn more about APEX Greener

Frequently Asked Questions

Sustainability

APEX Greener helps the environment by promoting more sustainable and eco-friendly products in the aviation industry. By evaluating in-flight airline products and providing a rating system highlighting the most sustainable options, airlines can make more informed decisions about their products and promote greener products to their passengers. This can help reduce the aviation industry’s carbon footprint and mitigate the impact of air travel on the environment.

The ultimate goal of APEX Greener is to make aviation greener and help protect the planet for future generations. While this program is a step in the right direction, it is not the ultimate solution. APEX and its partners aim to continue innovating and finding new ways to reduce the impact of aviation on the environment.

We believe that the aviation industry has a responsibility to minimize its impact on the environment. As an industry trade association representing the world’s leading airlines and in-flight product suppliers/manufacturers, we have a unique opportunity to bring together stakeholders from across the world. By developing APEX Greener powered by SimpliFlyting, we are showing our commitment to promoting sustainable practices in air travel.

APEX Greener

APEX Greener is a free program offered by APEX (Airline Passenger Experience Association) that helps airlines evaluate and choose greener products to use in their aircraft. It provides a rating system for in-flight airline products that take into account sustainable sourcing, carbon footprint, weight reduction, recycled materials, recyclability, and end-of-life disposal.

Initially, it is intended for airlines to help them choose the most sustainable in-flight products. Suppliers can communicate to airlines that their product has a Greener score, just like airlines can choose to communicate to the passengers that they have selected a Greener option.

APEX Greener is available for free to APEX/IFSA (International Flight Services Association) airlines. This program helps airlines choose greener products without added overhead costs of double-validating claims.

APEX Greener uses a rating system that takes into account sustainable sourcing, carbon footprint, weight reduction, recycled materials, recyclability, and end-of-life disposal. Each in-flight airline product will receive a score based on these factors, and certified products will be highlighted in the APEX Aircraft Interiors Database powered by CAPA.

For this projects APEX joins forces with SimpliFlying, Finch and CAPA – Centre for Aviation

APEX Greener leverages the technology developed by Finch, which has already rated over 1 million products in the Consumer Packaged Goods industry. Amazon, Target and Microsoft Bing are using its technology. And together, we will enter the aviation domain with Finch’s technology

SimpliFlying is a leading airline branding and marketing consultancy that helps airlines become remarkable in the eyes of their customers. Finch is a data analytics and AI company that provides product intelligence solutions to businesses.

All certified products will also be highlighted in the APEX Aircraft Interiors Database powered by CAPA. “

Finch’s proprietary algorithm considers the following six footprints of a product: Climate Footprint, Ecosystem Footprint, Human Well-being Footprint, Raw Materials Footprint, Waste Footprint, and Water Footprint. And it assesses the following three impact areas Company/Brand Impact, Product Impact and User Impact. The Finch algorithm determines one overall score.

The Finch scoring system is powered by top scientific research and unique insights. The Finch algorithm is supported by peer-reviewed scientific literature from academia, white papers by business leaders, government reports, quantitative insights, and qualitative information. As of May 2023, Finch has scored more than 1 million products across 120 categories. Finch provides the sustainability scores for Consumer Packaged Goods in Microsoft Bing. “

The in-flight product manufacturers will pay a fee to have their products certified. Access to the database with the product scores is available free of charge for airline members.

We will start of with the amenity kits. Next we will focus on product categories from the following list:

Sanitizing kits
Passenger catering (cutlery, crockery, glasses/cups, salt and pepper set, etc.)
Passenger catering, food and drink
Passenger bed linen and duvets
Seat covers (not full seat)
Headrest covers
IFE hardware (screens, remote controls)
Headsets
Lighting
Passenger Service Unit
Recycling/composting units
Trash compacting units”

Suppliers who are interested can fill in the contact form here, and they will then be contacted.

If your airline is an APEX and/or IFSA member you will have free access to the database with Greener scores. There is no other immediate involvement.
If your airline is not an APEX and/or IFSA member, you dont have access to the database. Contact us here if you want to become a member and get access to the APEX Greener database”

Who's involved

The Airline Passenger Experience Association (APEX) encompasses a network of airlines, businesses and professionals that are committed to providing a world-class airline experience for passengers around the globe. Every day, APEX members are improving every aspect of the airline experience, from designing, building and installing seating, entertainment and communications systems on commercial aircraft, to airport lounges and in-flight dining. 

SimpliFlying is the world’s leading aviation strategy firm, having worked with over 100 airlines and airports in the past fifteen years. Founder, Shashank Nigam, is a global authority in helping airlines build trust. He is the host of the world’s first podcast on sustainable aviation, having interviewed over 50 senior industry executives, and is the co-author of an upcoming book on the topic. 
APEX and SimpliFlying had partnered to successfully develop the APEX Health Safety Powered by SimpliFlying during the pandemic, which helped build trust in travel by rating over 30 airlines globally. Now, we are partnering to usher in a greener future for the industry.”

Finch decodes products’ environmental impacts, encourages consumers to make better purchasing decisions, and helps businesses with their sustainability goals.
The Finch scoring system is built to decode and simplify sustainability and is powered by top scientific research and our unique insights. The Finch algorithm is supported by peer-reviewed scientific literature from academia, white papers by business leaders, government reports, quantitative insights, and qualitative information. Each of these pieces of data is applied to well-established environmental footprint assessment techniques, weighting schemes, and frameworks. “

CAPA -Centre for Aviation is the world’s most trusted and comprehensive source of market intelligence for the aviation and travel industry. Its combined Fleet and Aircraft Interiors Database contains over 43,000 aircraft listings for over 600 airlines worldwide. It encompasses the most extensive global commercial fleet interiors records, adding access to rich and unrivalled insights. The Aircraft Interiors database includes a.o. seat models, dimensions and manufacturers, inflight entertainment (IFE), wireless inflight entertainment (W-IFE) and inflight connectivity (IFC).