AIAA has prioritized the exploration and orientation to sustainable aviation design and operations over the past three years, led by the Sustainable Aviation Integration and Outreach Committee (IOC) established in 2024 and chaired by Phillip Ansell from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. The committee was born from a task force chaired by Ellen Ebner from The Boeing Company. Both initiatives successfully aligned government, industry, and research-focused members and enthusiasts to help build a community focused on novel aircraft designs and operations, considerate of resources and societal needs.
The committee held the Sustainable Aviation Workshop during AIAA AVIATION Forum 2025 in July, building on the inaugural workshop held at the previous year’s forum. Attendees also participated in panel discussions across the topics of energy systems, operations and safety, integration, advanced technologies, and military aviation throughout the week.
Related Reading: 2024 AIAA Sustainable Aviation Workshop Outcomes
During the workshop, attendees acknowledged that addressing aviation’s impact on the climate requires more than incremental improvements and necessitates harmonized approaches to energy and technology, in addition to further financial support. A significant factor in promoting sustainability is either a clear market opportunity or policy mandates/accountable sector commitments that are imposed.
Promoting sustainable aviation also requires better coordination between stakeholders within the aircraft product supply chain, as well as associated new and existing adjacent groups. In addition, advancing sustainable aviation requires further development of tools and practices that engage at the system level, including factors beyond the aircraft.
The committee’s next steps include preparing for a third installment of the Sustainable Aviation Workshop at the upcoming AIAA AVIATION Forum in June 2026 in San Diego. Other sustainability-related products planned for 2025 include the release of a Fuel Efficiency paper spearheaded by the Aircraft Operations Technical Committee, and a report on sustainability-related priorities for high-speed flight as part of the High-Speed Flight Task Force.
