Apex Scope 3 Emissions Platform

Core Features

RDC's Scope 3 Emissions Platform combines terrestrial and satellite-based ADS-B flight tracking with its fuel-burn methodology, LOOP aircraft database, and ICAO and EUROCONTROL data to calculate flight-level emissions. Its key features include:

• Flight-Level CO₂ Calculation: Calculates fuel consumption and CO₂ for individual flights and different stages of flight, including landing and take-off (LTO) and cruise emissions.

• Scope 3 Reporting: Provides ready-built reporting specifically for airport aviation Scope 3 emissions, with calculations independently verified against relevant Airport Carbon Accreditation requirements.

• Detailed Aircraft Modelling: Incorporates variables including aircraft and engine type, aircraft age, seating configuration, passenger and cargo loads, taxi times and actual airborne time rather than relying solely on route and aircraft type.

• Emissions Analysis: Breaks results down by airline, aircraft type, engine, market, business type and emissions scheme, enabling airports to investigate which operations contribute to their footprint.

• Benchmarking: Allows airports to examine airline efficiency at their own airport and compare performance against peer airports in their home country, with metrics including emissions per ASK, seat and departure.

• Customizable Dashboards & Updates: Provides pre-built and customizable Scope 3 dashboards, at least 12 months of historical emissions data from initial access and monthly updates based on actual flight movements. RDC analysts can also develop bespoke dashboards.

Closing Insights

RDC launched the Scope 3 Emissions Platform in October 2024, building on aviation emissions modelling work dating back to 2009. A significant development followed in September 2025, when Normec Verifavia independently audited and verified RDC's emissions methodology and CO₂ data. The audit confirmed alignment with ICAO data and EUROCONTROL methodology, correct use of ICAO emissions factors, and compliance with relevant Airport Carbon Accreditation (ACA) requirements for aircraft Scope 3 emissions.

RDC also offers its Airport Scope 3 Emissions Data as a standalone dataset or through the Scope 3 Emissions Platform, providing an alternative for organizations that want the underlying data rather than primarily dashboard-based analysis. The dataset has global coverage from January 2023 to the latest calendar month and includes fuel consumption, full-flight, LTO and cruise CO₂, NOx, and emissions-intensity metrics such as CO₂ per ASK, seat, departure and RTK. It is also available through an Apex subscription.

This flexibility broadens the potential use of RDC's methodology beyond airport sustainability teams. Apex itself is used by more than 130 airports, airlines, investors and tourism organizations, and incorporates independently verified CO₂ data alongside wider aviation market intelligence. For airports specifically, the combination of verified calculations, global flight coverage and no requirement to supply their own movement data could reduce the data burden associated with Scope 3 inventories and ACA reporting.