In an encouraging development last week, the Bombardier Global 7500 business jet has received an Environmental Product Declaration - the first to date in private aviation.

Environmental Product Declarations (or EPDs) are produced pursuant to the International EPD System, providing information on the environmental impact of a product throughout its life cycle, and are subject to external confirmation by an approved third party. As the EPD for the Global 7500 explains, ‘It summarizes and communicates comparable information about the environmental impact of a product at each phase of its life cycle in a transparent manner.’ These impacts include, for example, the aircraft’s noise level, the energy consumed in its production (from both renewable and non-renewable sources), and recyclability and recovery rates.

As private aviation, like so many other industries, grapples with the imperative for a green recovery from the current crisis, developments such as this will send a powerful signal to regulators and passengers that environmental obligations are front of mind, from the initial design stage right through to end of life.