Our work

Introducing Contrails.org

Aviation is under pressure to cut its greenhouse gas emissions, with most attention on sustainable aviation fuels, more efficient engines, and, in the longer term, new aircraft designs. Yet flying contributes to global heating in another way, one that could be addressed much more quickly: contrails. Condensation trails are created when soot and water vapour are emitted from an aircraft’s jet engines in a cold and humid atmosphere. For around 5% of flights, these contrails act as a potent greenhouse gas, trapping heat in the atmosphere, and are likely responsible for 1–2% of all human-caused global warming.

Managing contrails represents one of the most immediate and scalable opportunities for aviation to reduce its climate impact over the next decade. Yet until now, contrails have been largely absent from climate and aviation debates. Diffusion has been briefed to launch and support Contrails.org, a science-led non-profit working to change that. By coordinating research, building technological tools, and fostering adoption across industry and policy, it aims to make contrail management a practical climate solution.

Insight & Implementation

Contrails.org’s strength lies in being a science-led convener and campaigner, bringing together leading researchers, aviation industry players, and policymakers with an ambition to turn contrails science into climate action. Ahead of its formal launch in March 2025, the organisation needed to position itself, state its mission, and build credibility as the trusted authority on contrails within aviation and climate.

Diffusion was tasked with strategic messaging and storyline development to ensure Contrails.org emerged with a clear identity, a strong digital presence, and a comms roadmap. This required balancing ambition with the need to remain firmly science-led, while showing realism about the challenge and emphasising collaboration with multiple stakeholders and external interests.

Impact & Action

The storyline development underpinned a new website and explainer video, created in collaboration with designers and aviation industry influencers to articulate the organisation’s mission and contrails science to a broad non-technical audience.

To build visibility, Diffusion helped shape the messaging for a podcast appearance with SimpliFlying, one of aviation’s leading sustainability think tanks, and developed Contrails.org’s official LinkedIn presence with a content strategy to support the launch. This was complemented by a wider programme of B2B engagement through blogs, newsletters and events, creating a strong platform for awareness and attracting new collaborators and partners.

With a clearer identity and stronger presence, Contrails.org is now positioned as the leading voice on contrail management, ready to galvanise industry, policy and scientific communities into action on one of aviation’s most urgent climate challenges.

Next Case Study

Aether Fuels

Learn more

We’d love to Talk!

Let’s bring
tomorrow closer.

Get in touch