23 minute read
Climate Friendly Travel - Why carbon offsetting should form a core part of your sustainability strategy, with CarbonClick
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Advertisement
About CarbonClick -
Spotlight on Michelle Noordermeer, Co-Founder & Chief Operating Officer at CarbonClick............................................................................... 42
Aviation’s impact on climate change and the challenges for sustainability in aviation............... 43
Carbon offsetting - bridging the gap for a Net-Zero future in aviation ............................................45
The role travel agents and airports can play in voluntary carbon offsetting..............................................49
Who does CarbonClick work with? ....................... 50
INTRODUCTION
Sustainability and the challenge the aviation industry faces in reaching net zero is a major theme of this month’s issue of AMM.
As we’ve said in past issues, dealing with climate change is the big issue facing the industry over the next few decades.
However, although Qatar Airways CEO Akbar Al Baker said that reaching net zero would be “very challenging” at the recent annual IATA summit, it’s also not impossible to achieve.
In fact, the International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT),has said that we can reduce aviation emissions enough to keep global warming below 2 degrees.
This will require a lot of international cooperation, investment and Government help. . Fossil fuel use by the industry will also need to peak in the next three years.
Any scenario of reaching net zero by 2050 requires a massive upscaling of sustainable aviation fuel as well as the development of new technologies such as hydrogenelectric aircraft.
But these SAF quantities are not here right now, and these new technologies are often still at prototype stage and will require years, possibly decades, to develop to being widely accessible. .
There is however a tool which is available, and that can be deployed at scale right now, namely carbon offsetting.
There’s a lot of misinformation around carbon offsetting, with many thinking it just involves planting trees every time you take a flight. A handful unscrupulous operators have also given the sector a bad name.
This is why it’s important to work with a credible provider, which properly accounts for and audits all its projects.
Our partner CarbonClick is B Corp certified, with an overall B Impact score of 106.7, far higher than the score of 80 required for certification.
Every project is verified by 3rd party registries and meets UN Sustainable Development goals.
To take just one example: One of the projects CarbonClick supports is the delivery of solar water heaters to Indian communities and businesses, helping to avoid the burning of coal. So far, 91,124 solar heaters have been installed, generating free, clean hot water for schools, households and hospitals.
This particular project has resulted in over seven million kg of CO2 mitigation, and meets five UN Sustainable Development Goals.
In this special supplement, we’ve partnered with CarbonClick, to talk more about carbon offsetting, and how airlines and airports can effectively use it as a key tool in their sustainability strategy.
We look at some of CarbonClick’s projects, talk about best practices in this space, and examine how airlines can substantially increase the sometimes low passenger participation rate in voluntary offset
Want to know more about CarbonClick in the meantime? Head over to their website.
ABOUT CARBONCLICK - CLIMATE ACTION MADE SIMPLE
CarbonClick was established in 2019 to make climate action simple, meaningful and trustworthy. It emerged after its founders worked on the voluntary carbon offsetting for a major airline.
They could see the potential these programs had to help restore the planet, but also realised that taking climate action is complex, expensive and time-consuming, and not widely trusted by consumers.
They knew passengers were unlikely to offset the carbon emissions on flights unless they could demonstrate high trust, and could integrate carbon offsetting into the booking process.
CarbonClick was formed to remove all of these barriers, making it simple, costeffective and transparent.
Today, CarbonClick is a global leader in climate action, working with over 1,000 brands across airlines, airports, loyalty programmes, corporate travel and hotels, as well as e-commerce, retail and Web3.
CarbonClick is helping its partners, like Etihad Airways and Amadeus, to accelerate their sustainability journey by providing their customers the choice to offset the environmental impacts of their purchases.
With one simple click at the point of purchase, thousands of customers are taking climate action that is immediate and trustworthy, supporting real projects that make a difference to people and the planet. Each project supports several UN Sustainable Development Goals.
After making a contribution, every CarbonClick customer immediately receives a verified receipt which they can use to trace their offsets to high quality reforestation, biodiversity and clean energy initiatives in some of the world's most vulnerable ecosystems.
CarbonClick CEO Dave Rouse says,
"Yes, it is about making a positive impact on climate change for the planet, but these projects also affect positive change on people and communities."
In 2022, CarbonClick earned the esteemed B Corp Certification, recognising the company for meeting and maintaining the highest standards for environmental performance, social impact, accountability and transparency.
Carbon offsetting can make a tangible difference to the environment and to communities worldwide. More to the point, unlike other solutions, it can be deployed at scale right now.
However, there are some groups that have strong views against it. Currently, the voluntary offset market is under-regulated, leaving us with a huge disparity in both the value of a credit and the climate impact it has. The voluntary carbon market is rife with low-quality carbon projects. Individuals and businesses are using these projects to offset their emissions which actually are not delivering on promised climate benefits, or that have serious negative consequences for biodiversity and human rights.
The key is to partner with a provider that audits and accounts for all projects, and this is the case for CarbonClick, which goes so far as to measure the carbon offsetting schemes it is involved in against UN Sustainable Development Goals.
Here we provide an introduction to carbon offsetting, and answer some of the common questions and misconceptions around it. What is carbon offsetting?
Carbon offsetting is a way to compensate for unavoidable carbon emissions right now. This is done by purchasing an amount of carbon credits equal to the emissions produced by an activity.
Each carbon credit represents one tonne of carbon removed by verified projects that reduce carbon emissions - like growing, protecting and restoring forests which absorb them - or avoid carbon emissions - such as developing clean energy solutions in place of fossil fuels.
So, while the carbon emissions associated with an activity have still happened, they have been offset because an equivalent amount of carbon has been absorbed or prevented somewhere else - often with wider-reaching social, environmental and ecological benefits attached.
If the positive impact of this support negates the negative impact they have, i.e. if the emissions avoided equal the original emissions of an activity, that activity is said to be “offset”. In most circumstances, the activity or product can now be classified as carbon neutral as far as you’ve offset.
Is carbon offsetting all about planting trees?
It is a common misconception that all carbon offsetting is done through tree planting. In fact, carbon offsetting happens via a vast array of different climate projects that either remove or avoid greenhouse gas emissions from entering the atmosphere. These include reforestation and avoiding deforestation, renewable energy projects that replace coal generated electricity or energy efficiency projects like improved cookstoves, that give communities more efficient cooking methods which means they use less fuel.
Contrary to common misconceptions, projects that support reforestation and avoid deforestation already absorb greenhouse gases, therefore, the carbon offsets have an immediate impact. Demand for carbon credits is expected to increase, and there is a finite amount of forestation-based carbon credits available. Clean energy projects absorb similar amounts of emissions while continuing to be available at scale.
CarbonClick’s approach to carbon offsets is to work with customers to create custom project “baskets” which can consist of one or up to 5 different projects. CarbonClick works with its customers to select the right project or projects that will have an effective and relevant impact, resonate most with respective consumers and that fulfil a desired price point.
What should you look for to ensure a provider sources high quality carbon offsetting projects?
CarbonClick only short-lists projects that comply with its independently verified offsetting selection methodology, which uses many of the same stringent requirements of ICROA Code of Best Practice.
Internationally, CarbonClick offsets projects which have been certified by the most reputable registries, such as the Gold Standard, Verra Carbon Standard and the American Carbon Registry.
These standards provide a methodology framework, independent verification process and a registry, ensuring emissions reductions are real, additional, permanent, measurable, verified, unique and supports co-benefits and biodiversity
How do you know the money you pay to offset has an impact?
CarbonClick pre-purchases and then immediately retires the carbon credits. This transparent reimbursement model means that you can immediately see the retirement certificates from the projects you are supporting and know your contribution is having a direct impact. While this creates a greater financial risk to CarbonClick, it offers market-leading transparency as customers do not have to put faith in us to pool and eventually offset in the future.
Wouldn’t the project in question have happened anyway?
A commonly heard criticism of carbon offsetting is that you are paying for initiatives that would have happened anyway, meaning the actual positive net impact is zero.
This question is referring to additionality, arguably the most important criteria for an offsetting project. For a project to be additional it must not be possible without the funding from carbon credits.
CarbonClick rigorously audits projects to ensure that additionality criteria is being met and your money is having a direct impact.
Why do so few passengers take part in voluntary carbon offsetting programmes?
Most airline carbon offsetting programmes suffer from three problems.
They are not integrated into the actual booking flow, t he consumer d oesn’t u nderstand what s/he is getting, and the consumer also often doesn’t trust that their money is going where the airline says it is.
CarbonClick’s partnerships are designed to address all three of these areas.
SPOTLIGHT ON MICHELLE NOORDERMEER, CO-FOUNDER & CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER AT CARBONCLICK
Michelle has a passion for aviation that is evidenced by her two-decades in the sector. From flying planes to teaching others how to fly planes to advancing through the analytical and strategic aspects of the sector with Air New Zealand to moving into the airport side of the business with Auckland International Airport, it is fair to say that Michelle has a very thorough understanding of this multi-faceted and highly dynamic industry.
A growing awareness both personally and professionally of the impact of air travel on climate change and the need for immediate action was employed at Auckland International Airport and led to the very natural migration to CarbonClick.
While aviation’s impact on global carbon emissions currently sits at 2-3%, it will soon become more noticeable as many other industries reduce their footprint over the coming years. Couple this with the fact that Sustainable Aviation Fuel will not be widely accessible or commercially viable for a few years, and other alternatives such as hydrogen powered planes are possibly even decades away.
“If the aviation sector is going to get anywhere near its 2050 net zero goal, then positive action needs to start now”, says Michelle. Carbon offsetting through a hightrust programme that is linked to verified projects and is aligned to specific SDG’s presents organisations and their customers with an immediate opportunity to take action and make a difference. Michelle is quick to point out that there are also flow on benefits from participating that reach beyond emission targets.
“More and more, customers are making conscious choices in their purchasing preferences. This includes the business travel sector where organisations are looking to align their own environmental objectives with suppliers, but more and more this is becoming important to mainstream travellers.” Afterall, says Michelle, “Who doesn’t want to become a ‘climate friendly traveller’ when the opportunity is there.”
This is supported by a 2021 McKinsey & Company ‘CleanSky’ survey, showing that 39% of customers would pay a premium for carbon neutral flights. Amongst younger travellers, 48% would do so.
Michelle is the first to point out that “decarbonising the aviation sector is a big task,” but as awareness increases around the impact of air travel where one long haul flight accounts for around 25% of the average person’s annual carbon footprint, so too the expectation will increase for the opportunity to offset.
As COO, Michelle is a key driver of CarbonClick’s mission to effect immediate action in the fight against climate change and is a passionate champion for enabling this mission across the aviation sector.
AVIATION’S IMPACT ON CLIMATE CHANGE AND THE CHALLENGES FOR SUSTAINABILITY IN AVIATION
By Michelle Noordermeer, COO and Co-Founder, CarbonClick
We all love to travel, to explore the world, to see friends and family, and to fulfil business opportunities. But, peoples’ desire and need to fly comes with a great impact on climate change.
Although new, more environmentally friendly aircraft technologies are in development, these options are unlikely to be ready for commercial use on a large scale until after 2050. Thus, aviation is facing a challenging journey to sustainability.
Let’s look in more detail at the environmental challenge:
Whilst aviation only accounted for 2.5% of total human-made emissions pre-Covid, for those who did fly, it represented a large part of their climate footprint.
It’s important to note that only 1% of the world’s population cause 50% of global aviation emissions. Similarly, that 2.5% hides what’s going on by a country to country level. For example, in a major developed economy such as the UK, aviation actually accounts for 7% of emissions.
And that figure will grow. Post-Covid, people will once again resume unrestricted travel, and both the volume and share of aviation’s climate impact are expected to increase. In fact, international aviation emissions are expected to double — and possibly almost triple — between 2015–2050.
Radiative forcing doubles aviation’s impact Whilst CO2 is generally viewed as the most problematic greenhouse gas, it is accepted that non-CO2 emissions from aviation (e.g. nitrogen oxide, ozone, soot and water vapour) also have an impact on radiative forcing and, consequently, the climate particularly at the higher altitudes, although it remains difficult to quantify the effect.
Radiative forcing is the balance between the sun’s radiation reaching the earth, and heat leaving the earth. Current recommendations from a 2021 study are for a ‘Radiative Forcing Index’ factor of 1.9. This effectively doubles the size of aviation’s impact on climate change.
SAF - Supply can’t yet meet demand So we need to find solutions quickly, and though both Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) and new propulsion technologies are promising, they are not immediate solutions that can be deployed at scale.
Let’s first of all look at SAF:
The adoption of Sustainable Aviation Fuels (SAF) is constrained by high costs compared to fossil-based jet fuels (it is two to seven times more expensive). Current aircraft can use up to 50% SAF, but SAF makes up less than 0.1% of global jet fuel supply.
Although demand is clearly increasing, a massive scale-up of SAF would require significant policy, technological, and supply-chain support, to make it sustainable, affordable, reliable and available. And we are just not there yet.
New propulsion technologies will take decades to be in use Currently, fuel provides far more energy than batteries.
The battery weight to achieve the same energy as fuel would be 47 times heavier or nearly seven times the weight of a fully fueled plane. In short, replacing fuel with a battery isn’t currently possible for larger aircraft.
Decarbonizing larger aircraft requires us to wait for significant improvements to batteries, or different kinds of innovation such as hydrogen. These innovations are not expected to be in wide-scale commercial use until well after 2050.
Bridging the gap to take action now Most carbon reducing innovations are longterm solutions, but the climate emergency requires us to take action now.
While governments must implement policy frameworks that focus on production incentives for sustainable aviation fuels (SAF), and the industry needs to support aircraft and engine manufacturers to accelerate research on clean propulsion technologies, high-quality, meaningful and transparent carbon offsetting is the right method to bridge this gap now.
In the next piece, I’ll talk about the promise of carbon offsetting, and why it’s an effective solution both right now, and for the long term.
CARBON OFFSETTING - BRIDGING THE GAP FOR A NET-ZERO FUTURE IN AVIATION
By Michelle Noordermeer, COO and Co-Founder, CarbonClick
According to IATA, the estimated reliance on carbon offsetting to reduce emission will be substantial for decades to come.
The Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA), aims to address any annual increase in total CO2 emissions from international civil aviation above 2019 levels. sions, aviation has a unique opportunity to change the behaviour of just a small group of people, to make a big impact in fighting climate change.
Not all carbon offsetting is the same We need carbon offsetting, but currently, the voluntary carbon market is rife with low-quality carbon projects.
Pre-covid, the scheme was expected to cover just 21.6% of the sector’s emissions between 2021 and 2035.
With only 1% of the world’s population causing 50% of global aviation emisIndividuals and businesses are using these projects to offset their emissions which actually are not delivering on promised climate benefits, or that have serious negative consequences for biodiversity and human rights.
What does good carbon offsetting look like? However, done well, using quality carbon credits, offsetting is a powerful way to remove carbon and build the clean energy infrastructure to avoid further emissions.
At CarbonClick, we have combined leading industry carbon offsetting methodologies to develop our own framework, ensuring our projects are of the highest standard. We are dedicated to ensuring our credits stand up to the highest level of scrutiny. Before we bring on a new project, we conduct extensive due diligence to ensure our offsets meet the following criteria:
-Real — Sequestration or emissions reductions have taken place -Additional — If not for carbon finance, the project would not have happened -Quantified — Credits are accurate and not double-counted -Permanent/no leakage — for example, forestry projects are protected for 50–100 years and emissions are not increased elsewhere -Verified — Independently verified on a reputable registry -Co-benefits — Supports communities, biodiversity, ensuring no negative consequences
The key to increasing uptake in voluntary carbon offsetting in aviation A major hurdle for carbon offsetting in air travel is that, while 46% of people are saying that they are happy to pay a premium for carbon neutral flights, only 1% are doing so.
There are 3 key reasons for the low uptake:
1. Very few flight carbon offsetting solutions are integrated in the booking flow, meaning customers only get the opportunity to offset post-purchase 2. Consumers don’t understand or don’t relate with the projects the offset contribution go to 3. People doubt their contributions go where the airline says they go, due to a historic lack of trust and transparency
To tackle these hurdles and achieve a higher uptake, offsetting needs to be simple, meaningful and trustworthy.
-Simple — by being integrated in the booking flow so the offsetting happens at the point of purchase. -Meaningful — contributions go to projects that truly resonate with customers. Meaningful projects should have a long-term impact, be verified by third-party registries and undergo rigorous, continued auditing. -Trustworthy — providing full transparency in where contributions have gone. Unlike other providers, CarbonClick purchases carbon credits in advance, meaning the customer will receive an immediate receipt that allows them to 100% track and trace their contribution.
Carbon offsetting: Climate action to be taken now While long-term solutions for carbon reductions are being developed, aviation leaders need to implement high-quality, transparent carbon offsetting programmes to take action right now.
We only get one shot at fighting climate change. We have to do everything we can do together and we have to encourage others’ efforts in taking action.
Leading the way in next gen solutions Finally, it’s worth saying that carbon offsetting is a solution that will remain important for the future, even as other carbon reduction methods are developed.
At CarboClick, we don’t stop at the status quo and we’re working on new opportunities in the space of sustainable aviation.
This includes:
1 - Cargo, such as methods for calculating & offsetting end-to-end freight & logistics)
2 - “Green” loyalty programmes. One example is CarbonClick partner Etihad. This year, Etihad launched the world’s first Green Loyalty program called ‘Conscious Choices’.
The program allows corporates and their employees to incur an environmental surcharge and decide how it would be used.
The surcharge can be put into accredited afforestation programs, or to forest the Abu Dhabi mangroves.
In addition, the guest miles earned can be pledged to the same three carbon-combating strategies (to find out more, listen to the interview with Tony Douglas in the Sustainability in the Air podcast).
3 - Corporate offsetting, where companies pre-offset their emissions (including scope 3 emissions such as business travel)
THE ROLE TRAVEL AGENTS AND AIRPORTS CAN PLAIN IN VOLUNTARY CARBON OFFSETTING
Traditionally, offering voluntary carbon offsetting is seen to be the primary job of airlines.
However, there are many touchpoints to air travel, and the more of those touchpoints support and provide carbon offsetting, the higher the impact will be for the entire industry.
It’s about changing people’s perception & habits, taking responsibility for their personal impact
The role of travel agents (corporate & individual): Many individuals or businesses book their flights via agents, so they function as the advisor and educator.
Agencies can leverage this function to raise awareness, educate and offer a simple solution for businesses and individuals to offset their impact and do good for the planet. Integrating carbon offsetting with travel agency solutions also helps the agencies fulfil their mission in addressing sustainability, and empowers customers and businesses to take action and reduce their impact
The role of airports: Travellers spend a good portion of their journey in an airport
They interact with the airport’s wifi, the airport’s app or a loyalty programme. These interactions provide a great opportunity to catch people’s attention and educate them.
We could also see scope for involving airport retail, where certain purchases or a certain value of purchases results in contributions being made to carbon offsetting initiatives. This would both encourage passengers to spend, while providing a socially responsible pay-back for them doing so.
WHO DOES CARBONCLICK WORK WITH?
CarbonClick is championing the fight against climate change in the aviation sector by enabling aviation partners and associated sectors such as airports, General Distribution Systems and travel agencies with high-trust carbon offsetting solutions.
CarbonClick’s current partners include Etihad Airways, Air Tahiti Nui, Manchester Airport, Lima Airport, Ljubljana Airport, Galapagos Airport, Amadeus and Locomote, with many more in the pipeline to go live this year.
Here is what some of CarbonClick’s partners have to say.
ETIHAD AIRWAYS Tony Douglas, Etihad Airways Group CEO, recently spoke about the airline’s sustainability initiatives on SimpliFlying’s ‘Sustainability in the Air’ podcast series.
“The airline’s partnership with CarbonClick delivers a fully verified carbon offsetting programme to Etihad customers and, in doing so, supports reforestation, biodiversity and clean energy projects. Etihad travellers can track the project and trace the positive impact of their contribution to a specific project. “
When speaking with SimpliFying, Etihad Airways Group CEO Tony Douglas also saw offsetting as an “immediate solution” to the emissions challenge and called out CarbonClick during the podcast series for having been “essential” in Etihad’s journey.
“Offsetting for such a long time has had a questionable reputation around whether it is real or how can the offsetting benefit be converted into reality. So, accreditation means much lies in the governance that can be attested, audited and therefore working with CarbonClick has been good for us for all manner of reasons.”
See the Etihad / CarbonClick landing page
Amadeus’s partnership with CarbonClick marks a positive step toward taking transformative action on a global scale by adding both a business and customer offering to a growing suite of sustainability actions.
It presents agents and travellers with a way to take instant and positive climate action to benefit both people and the planet. The voluntary carbon offsetting program will be rolled out to 100,000 travel agents across the globe through a simple, easy to use portal.
Olivier Girault, VP, Sustainability Ecosystem Initiatives, Amadeus says, “At Amadeus, we recognize that sustainability in the travel industry is a global challenge and, by definition, we need to work collaboratively to provide global solutions. In this context, Amadeus has been reinforcing its strategy to address environmental concerns, especially in cooperation with industry stakeholders.
The launch of our partnership with CarbonClick demonstrates such commitment, where our travel agency platforms now enable agents to provide a high-trust carbon offsetting opportunity to their clients.”
AIR TAHITI NUI Air Tahiti Nui’s partnership with CarbonClick was fostered to support the airline’s mandate for more sustainable air travel.
“By offering our passengers the opportunity to participate in offsetting their carbon impact, we are empowering them to take a very real and measurable action on their carbon footprint through the delivery of this partnership,” says Air Tahiti Nui CEO Michel Monvoisin.
With a focus on conservation and regeneration, the CarbonClick programme splits its benefits 50/50 between high-impact clean energy international projects. Air Tahiti Nui’s programme supports biodiversity and reforestation projects in Cumbria, England, Prince of Wales Island, Alaska and Canterbury, New Zealand.
See the Air Tahiti Nui / CarbonClick landing page
Locomote, a leading corporate travel technology company, has partnered with CarbonClick to provide a new way for businesses to meet their sustainability objectives when travelling for work.
The partnership enables Locomote customers to easily offset their flights’ carbon impact by contributing to a selection of top-quality, verified carbon offsetting projects.
These focus on clean and renewable energy solutions as well as enhancing biodiversity and reforestation.
One of Locomote’s key objectives is to provide companies with one single platform to manage their business travel program, which includes addressing and acting on sustainability concerns.
“Working with CarbonClick, we will be able to offer our customers ways to manage their sustainability objectives by offsetting the environmental impact of their corporate travel. Our partnership demonstrates a shared belief by two B Corp Certified companies in the power of technology to positively impact people and the planet.” Locomote CMO, and co-founder, David Fastuca
Want to know more?
With an aviation industry background, CarbonClick’s founders worked on carbon offsetting for a major airline.
They saw and confronted the barriers to an effective programme passengers could trust.
CarbonClick was created to remove these barriers and make climate action simple, cost-effective and transparent.
Today, CarbonClick works with over a 1000 brands, including airlines and airports across the globe to deliver transparent offsetting programmes customers can see, understand and trust.
Email Michelle Noordermeer, Co-Founder and Chief Operating Officer at michelle@carbonclick.com, to find out how CarbonClick can help you.
Aviation Marketing Campaigns
