The effects of aviation on the environment are becoming increasingly important. The world's airlines already have thousands of aircraft serving the passenger and freight markets and the market demand is still increasing. Unless steps are taken to address the problems created by aircraft noise and emissions, the future progress of the air transport industry will be inhibited.

The seriousness of the topic and the factual nature of the Technology Sub Group report are the reasons why this special issue of The Aeronautical Journal is being devoted to “Greener by Design”. Although the report has been carefully read by a number of people outside the Sub Group, it has not been refereed in the normal way (though a number of minor numerical changes have been made to the tables and text of the original report, partly to correct errors and partly for internal consistency). The reports from the other two Sub Groups, covering operations and market-based options, together with the Summary for Policymakers of the Technology Sub Group, will be issued shortly in a single volume but will not necessarily be published in The Aeronautical Journal.