🏦Registry Governance
Terms of Reference for the registry governing board
The scope and limitations of the SAFc Registry Governing Board are outlined below and in the attached Terms of Reference.
Purpose
As the founders of the SAFc Registry (the Registry), RMI and the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) are establishing a SAFc Registry Governing Board (the Board) to approve major operational and design changes to the registry and to discuss other matters relating to the operations of the Registry. The Board is a broad multi-stakeholder entity intended to ensure that the needs and interests of registry users and other stakeholders are properly represented in the functioning of the SAFc Registry, and to ensure that the SAFc Registry effectively serves the SAF market over time.
Context – the Registry's governance model
The Registry was founded by RMI and EDF in collaboration with the Sustainable Aviation Buyers Alliance (SABA). Energy Web was contracted by RMI to develop the Registry’s IT infrastructure. Energy Web also serves as the Registry’s Administrator. The Registry will be operated with a not-for-profit approach but with the aspiration of being able to cover its investment and operating costs. The Registry’s functionalities are specified in the SAFc Registry Rulebook, which was developed by RMI, EDF, and the SABA secretariat with input from future users, standard holders, Energy Web, and other stakeholders.
RMI, EDF, and the SABA Secretariat constitute the Executive Committee, which has the following responsibilities:
oversee and direct the work of the Registry Administrator,
propose major registry changes to the Board for approval,
inform the Board of any major events or issues related to the Registry,
manage the Registry’s revenue model, and
keep the Rulebook up-to-date in line with any approved changes.
In urgent circumstances that affect the Registry’s safety or security, the Executive Committee has the right to make major operational and design changes to the Registry without seeking the Board’s approval. In these cases, the urgent circumstances and the response measures adopted will be presented at the Registry Governing Board’s next scheduled meeting.
Board Responsibilities
Board resolutions on registry change proposals
The Board will discuss and adopt or reject proposals from the Executive Committee for major changes to practical platform functionality and sustainability-related design elements, and other substantial changes to the registry. These elements include:
Practical platform functionality, e.g.:
Fraud and security issues,
Major changes related to market needs or customer experience,
Other IT changes that affect user experience, such as level of helpdesk support, or minimum speed and downtime decisions, major design improvements that would incur significant cost.
Changes to sustainability-related design elements, e.g.:
Implementation of an additional sustainability tier, or
Major changes to issuance flow or retirement sequence.
Other substantial changes to the registry's functional specifications, as described in the SAFc Registry Rulebook
The resolutions of the Board will be implemented by the Registry Administrator and/or the Executive Committee in accordance with the Change Management Process set out in Annex 1, as applicable.
Board resolutions on registry change proposals
The Board may also be consulted by the Executive Committee for non-binding opinions on:
Registry changes required due to amendments to applicable legislation or changes to external governing documents of the Registry, such as RSB’s Book and Claim Manual or the SABA SAF Sustainability Framework, and
Changes to the Registry’s revenue model and fee structure.
Discussions of other matters
At the initiative of the Executive Committee, the Registry Administrator or any Board Member (Member), the Board may discuss any other issues or questions of interest related to the registry’s operation or functionalities. Following the initial discussion, the Board may decide to raise the issue with the Executive Committee, which is responsible for developing such issues into formal registry change proposals (see change management process in the Annex for more detail).
Rules of Procedure
Facilitation: Board meetings will be organized and facilitated by the SAFc Registry Executive Committee. The Executive Committee will organize and prepare recommendations for Board meetings.
Consensus or majority vote: Members shall strive to adopt its resolutions and conclusions by consensus. If this proves impossible, the Board shall vote with a simple majority of those present.
Personal representation: Members of the Board shall serve in their personal capacity and not as representatives of their organisation. They will represent their own, expert views and not the views of their organization for the betterment of the Registry.
Equal representation: All members’ views receive equal weight. No member should feel under pressure to change their views based on the perspectives of other Board members.
Confidentiality:
Board members shall treat all information not in the public domain as confidential, whether or not marked or designated as “confidential.” Members agree not to disclose confidential information to any third party without the prior consent of the Executive Committee.
Board discussions are intended for internal SAFc Registry operations purposes and will generally not be made public. However, if a resolution to change the Rulebook is adopted, the Executive Committee will make the approved changes and publicly update the Rulebook, and Energy Web will update the registry to mirror this rule change where appropriate. There could be other Registry-related changes (e.g. changes in the fee structure) where the Board may decide to make its resolution public.
Voting outcomes will not be disclosed in public documents.
Composition
Board members will be appointed by the SAFc Registry Executive Committee based on their expertise in the following:
SAF and SAFc market dynamics.
SAF sustainability standards and certification processes.
Needs of a specific stakeholder type in registry use.
Registry functionality and operations.
Members will be appointed with a view to achieving stakeholder type and expertise balance and diversity. No more than one member for each type of stakeholder organization will be represented (that is, air transport provider, passenger customer, freight customer, fuel producer, fuel provider, logistics service provider, supply chain auditor, disclosure auditor, and a representative of each relevant standard holder). See Annex 2 for details.
Board Members will be announced in 2024.
Annex 1: Change Management Process
Annex 2: Board Composition
| Representative | Organization | Organization Role | Voting? |
|---|---|---|---|
RMI | Executive committee, Founder, Convener | Yes | |
EDF | Executive committee, Founder | Yes | |
SABA Secretariat | Executive committee | Yes | |
Corporate customer (passenger) | Yes | ||
Corporate customer (shipper) | Yes | ||
Air transport provider | Yes | ||
Fuel producer | Yes | ||
Fuel provider (distributor) | Yes | ||
Logistics service provider | Yes | ||
Standard holder | Yes | ||
Standard holder | Yes | ||
Certification body (supply chain auditor) | Yes | ||
Disclosure (reporting) auditor | Yes | ||
Energy Web | Registry developer and administrator (observer) | No | |
Broader standards organization (observer) | No | ||
Broader standards organization (observer) | No | ||
Total number of members | 16 | ||
Total number of members representing registry users | 6 | ||
Total voting members | 13 |
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