VerifAvia, the First EU ETS Verification Body Dedicated to the Aviation Sector

PARIS and LONDON, April 28, 2010 /PRNewswire/ --

- Now Ready to Process Applications From Airlines and Business Aviation Operators

VerifAvia, the first EU Emission Trading Scheme (EU ETS) verification body dedicated to the aviation sector, announced today its readiness to process applications from airlines and business aviation operators for pre-verification and verification audits. The company, which was recently created to respond to the needs of the aviation sector for expert verifiers, has now implemented its ETS assurance management system which has procedures in place to undertake the contract review stage, the first step of a verification audit.

With the inclusion of the aviation sector in the EU ETS, airlines and business aviation operators must have their annual aircraft CO2 emissions and tonne-kilometre data verified by an accredited verification body. The verified reports must then be submitted to the Competent Authority by March 31 of each year beginning in 2011. The aim of verification is to check that the data in the annual reports is correct and to ensure that the existing procedures conform with the approved monitoring plans and the ETS regulations.

As of today, VerifAvia has applied to COFRAC (the French accreditation body) for ISO 14065 accreditation and to UKAS (the UK Accreditation Service) for BS EN 45011 accreditation in accordance with EA-6/03 which is the European guidance for recognition of verifiers under the EU ETS Directive. These accreditations will allow VerifAvia to verify EU ETS reports of aircraft operators administered by most EU Member States. Verification is a two-stage process that can start in 2010.

"We encourage operators to start the verification process as early as possible in 2010 in order to spread the verification work over the year and avoid pressure by conducting the work at the last minute. Verification can start as soon as some data is available," advises Julien Dufour, VerifAvia's CEO. Starting the verification process early also allows time for corrective actions. "Verification is an iterative process aiming at continuous improvement of the operator's EU ETS management system," adds Dufour.

VerifAvia has built up a team of auditors who have all received professional training in EU ETS verification and worked with aviation clients preparing EU ETS monitoring plans and implementing EU ETS management and control systems. "We are aviation experts with strong EU ETS experience so we can focus on the key areas and not waste clients' time and resources," says Gary Cleven, one of VerifAvia's worldwide auditors. "We will be using an electronic EU ETS data analysis system to ensure a more accurate verification process."

In addition to the legal verification process required under the ETS rules, VerifAvia offers a Pre-verification Gap Analysis, a 'readiness for legal verification' which aims to highlight any weakness in the aircraft operator's EU ETS management and control system and to identify any areas where there is non-compliance with the requirements.

About VerifAvia - http://www.verifavia.com

VerifAvia is a verification body of greenhouse gas emissions and payload tonne-kilometre data for the aviation sector under the EU ETS Directive. VerifAvia has offices in Paris and London and expects to be accredited by both COFRAC and UKAS. The company uses a team of aviation experts with extensive EU ETS experience that all received professional verification training. VerifAvia partners with OpenAirlines for the use of EU ETS data analysis system SkyBreathe. VerifAvia is an associate member of the European Business Aviation Association (EBAA) and an affiliate member of the European Regions Airline Association (ERA).

SOURCE VERIFAVIA