The first place winner of the 2022 Rotman Design Challenge, our team devised a carbon offset investment fund targeted at low cost carriers and presented to an airline leasing company, SMBC Aviation Capital. The fund would be built through a consortium including the leasing company itself, its parent bank, and experts in the offset market. The fund would consist of high quality offsets with particular relevance to the airline industry, prioritizing those in adjacent transportation industries, those that are regionally relevant to airline partners, and those that remove rather than abate carbon emissions. The carbon offset investment fund addresses a direct and timely need of airlines. While some of the larger legacy airlines are making sizable investments in carbon reduction technology, most airlines are not capitalized to do so. Smaller airlines will still be subject to mandatory carbon reduction requirements that take effect in 2027. They are highly exposed to market forces, and the cost to offset their emissions will become very significant by as the compliance date nears. By investing today through this consortium, investors can protect the industry against inflation, as well as provide a healthy return for our original investors.

Designers : Aman Bhardwaj, Takayuki Kato, Simone Dunne, Sze-Chieh Sophie Chen

Competition : Rotman Design Challenge 2022

Project Partner : Rotman School of Design, SMBC Aviation Capital