Fresh off the rollout of its first production model aircraft and an FAA greenlight to begin flight testing, Santa Cruz, California-based electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft manufacturer Joby Aviation has released what it believes is the industry’s first life cycle assessment (LCA) for air taxis.
The LCA is part of Joby’s inaugural environmental, social, and governance (ESG) report, which the company now plans to release annually. The report was led by Claire Boland, the company’s newly appointed sustainability lead who has held sustainability roles for about a decade with companies such as PepsiCo and PVH Corp.
“I’m delighted to join a company that is changing the future of transportation for the better while being transparent about how we impact the environment and local communities,” said Boland. “Every team member at Joby touches a part of this report. It’s a first step that will help us build a robust plan of action to ensure the company positively impacts the environment, the people who work here and the larger communities we operate in.”
In developing the report, Joby worked with organizations such as NASA and the Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) to assess its environmental impact. It also highlighted its commitment to safety and workforce development through a range of policies, programs and initiatives.
A Look Ahead at Air Taxi Emissions
Perhaps the most consequential component of Joby’s ESG report is the LCA it conducted in partnership with the NREL. The assessment estimated the lifetime greenhouse gas emissions of each Joby aircraft, from manufacturing through operations.
On a per-passenger-mile basis, Joby and the NREL found that the company’s five-seater air taxi will produce 1.5 times less emissions than an electric passenger car. Joby believes that figure—combined with the ability to carry an average of 2.5 passengers per flight (versus an average of 1.2 per car trip)—will allow it to move passengers more efficiently.
The LCA did not estimate the total environmental impact of Joby’s future operations, but it did break down where that impact may come from. Inflight energy use (32 percent) and battery cell manufacturing (31 percent) are likely to account for the largest share of emissions, with another 23 percent coming from “materials and energy associated with machining.”
Joby also reiterated its commitment to develop a hydrogen propulsion system for its aircraft through its subsidiary H2Fly, which it secretly acquired in 2021. It believes hydrogen will ultimately play a larger role than sustainable aviation fuels (SAF) in reducing emissions from operations.
“We believe that electric and, eventually, hydrogen aerial transportation that is quiet and clean has the potential to transform cities and communities facing increasing congestion, changing the ways in which we live, work and spend our time,” said Joby founder and CEO JoeBen Bevirt.
Current Sustainability Efforts
In addition to future operations, Joby calculated the current environmental impact of its offices, fleet and manufacturing activities in California. It found that those operations produced 565 metric tons of CO2 and CO2 equivalents in 2022, about 120 of which were Scope 2 emissions from electricity procurement.
The company’s 2022 energy consumption totalled 8,123 megawatt hours (MWh), about two-thirds of which came from renewable sources. Fuel consumption, which accounted for around one quarter of that total, came entirely from nonrenewable sources.
However, Joby was able to produce 88 percent of its electricity from renewable sources, in part because of the firm’s commitment to transition to 100 percent renewable electricity for all California operations. It also purchased a new headquarters equipped with solar panels last month and plans to transition Joby-operated skyports to renewable electricity as they come online.
Joby further emphasized its efforts to recycle the waste it does produce. It conducted an initial manufacturing waste audit last year and found that just under half (49 percent) of the 20 metric tons of waste it produced in 2022 was recycled, or incinerated and turned into energy.
Another highlight of the report is the noise assessment Joby conducted in partnership with NASA last year, which found that its aircraft is as quiet as promised.
During cruise flight at 100 knots and a 1,640-foot altitude, Joby’s air taxi produced 45.2 dBA of noise—somewhere between the volume of rustling leaves and normal conversation. And during takeoff and landing a few hundred feet away from the flight path, the aircraft registered below 65 dBA, 10dBA quieter than a vacuum cleaner.
WATCH: Joby’s Prepreduction Demo in Flight
The company attributed noise reduction to the aircraft’s painstakingly engineered acoustics, which eliminate the “wop-wop” sound of a helicopter by blending sound across the spectrum of frequencies humans can hear.
Safety and Workforce Development Also Prioritized
One of the first efforts Joby’s ESG report emphasized was its establishment of a safety management system (SMS). The SMS calls for routine internal evaluations and data analysis of risk as well as the visible encouragement of safe practices through signage, newsletters and town halls.
But the most intriguing aspect of the safety plan is a mechanism for all staff to anonymously report safety concerns, incidents, and “near misses.” Those reports feed into a database, which allows Joby to keep track of all self-reported risks.
“All team members and contractors are encouraged to use our SMS and have the authority to stop work when they see unsafe conditions,” the report reads. “In 2022, our biggest focus was ensuring continued compliance with the standards set by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).”
Joby added that it expanded companywide safety education and training programs in 2022, including special sessions for managers and team leaders, by hiring more safety professionals.
Further initiatives included efforts to build out the Joby team—which grew from 641 members at the end of 2020 to 1,413 this past December—with a young and diverse workforce.
A few highlights include the Joby Aviation Academy, which is currently developing customized pilot training under FAA Part 61, and a partnership with Aviation High School in New York City that introduced students to Joby simulators. And through initiatives like the Advanced Manufacturing Apprenticeship Program, the company is partnering with California organizations to provide opportunities to underutilized workers.
At the top of the company, Joby has developed several corporate risk management committees that evaluate safety and environmental risks. And going further, it said it engages with suppliers to ensure ESG compliance from end to end.
Several of Joby’s ESG initiatives are likely shared by air taxi rivals like Archer and Lilium. But for now, the Santa Cruz-based firm is the only one to give the public a peek behind the curtain.
