Have you ever thought about the ecological impact of your luggage during travel?
The act of travelling has become a fundamental part of contemporary life, bridging connections between individuals and cultures worldwide. Yet, as environmental consciousness continues to rise, it's imperative to scrutinise the ecological consequences of various aspects of travel.
Each bag uses the same energy as charging a smartphone approximately 50 times.
The CO2 from a 20kg bag is the same as driving a car for roughly 110 kilometres.
26 million bags were mishandled last year, equalling the same CO2 emissions as 6,500 flights.
How Greenbaggage helps
BagsID and NACO have united to lead the way in an aviation revolution that will revolutionise our industry in the coming decade. The focus spans from enhancing revenue recovery and management strategies to bolstering sustainable practices and climate resilience. We empower airports to drive growth, enhance efficiencies, and mould the next era of aviation.
Our sustainable ethos covers every aspect of aviation. We aim to optimise airport spaces, curbing ecological footprints, and show resilience through effective climate disaster mitigation strategies. With a firm commitment to advancing aviation's future, we particularly focus on the untapped potential of Baggage. Leveraging our expertise in Baggage, sustainability, and terminal planning across global projects, we envision a sustainable Baggage future.
The inception of the Green Baggage Alliance (GBA) serves as a vital platform to exchange insights and innovate Baggage handling processes. By uniting airports, airlines, suppliers, ground handlers, and knowledge hubs, GBA facilitates international collaboration within the industry. As proud founders of the Green Baggage Alliance, NACO and BagsID strive to shape aviation's sustainable future collectively!
Mishandled baggage and emissions
Around 26 million bags were mishandled in 2022, causing environmental impact. Each 20 kg bag on a typical flight has a carbon footprint of 13.1 kg CO2e. If we consider these mishandled bags, it sums up to roughly 340 kilotons (kt) of CO2e emissions. To understand the scale, this is similar to emissions from about 6,500 typical flights (1,930 km with a Boeing 737-800).
Flight emissions and baggage impact
On a typical flight, a 20 kg bag creates around 13.1 kg of CO2 emissions. If all 154 passengers reduce their baggage weight by 20 kg each (like using only carry-on bags), the flight's carbon footprint could drop a lot, by about 2.0 tonnes of CO2. This decrease is similar to using a 10% sustainable aviation fuel blend to reduce emissions.In a usual flight, a 20 kg bag makes around 13.1 kg of CO2e emissions. To put it in perspective, a 2019 European car emits about 122 grams of CO2 per kilometre (g CO2/km). So, the CO2 from a 20 kg bag equals driving a car for roughly 110 kilometres.
Energy consumption in airport handling systems
Our research has unveiled a compelling insight: on average, each bag passing through an airport's baggage handling system consumes around 0.5 kWh of energy. To put it into perspective, processing a single bag's energy is equivalent to charging a smartphone approximately 50 times using a 5-watt charger over two hours, amounting to 0.01 kWh.