Airlines

FlyNeutral Takes Off

Air New Zealand and its customers have purchased over NZD$1 million worth of carbon offsets from permanent New Zealand native forestry projects through the airline’s voluntary carbon offsetting program, FlyNeutral.

The program was re-launched in late 2016 and it gives the airline’s customers the option to offset the carbon emissions associated with their flights when booking online.

The funds collected all go directly towards the purchase of certified carbon credits, which help to remove carbon from the atmosphere.

Carbon credits are purchased from a range of permanent native forest projects registered with the New Zealand Government under the Permanent Forest Sink Initiative, and from a handful of international sustainable energy projects.

Forests are located across New Zealand, from Northland, to the Chatham Islands, to Wellington City Council’s Outer Green Belt and Hinewai Reserve on Banks Peninsula.

Air New Zealand Head of Sustainability Lisa Daniell said: “We’re delighted to see the program reach this first milestone with the support of our customers. Climate change is an urgent global issue, and as an airline we know we must play our part in finding solutions. Providing our customers with an easy way to offset the carbon emissions associated with air travel is one way to do this.”

Daniell continued: “As with anything of this magnitude it’s a step in the right direction. Last year we offset 8,700 tonnes of carbon on behalf of all our employees who travelled for work, and we’d obviously love to see even more travellers, including business travellers, join us in offsetting their emissions in the future.”

The airline’s FlyNeutral voluntary carbon offsetting program goes above and beyond regulatory obligations for carbon emissions under the New Zealand Emissions Trading Scheme, which Air New Zealand itself meets.

Since 2018 Air New Zealand’s corporate and government customers have also been able to offset their carbon emissions under the program. The airline also offsets emissions on behalf of its employees travelling for work.

Check out the video at https://www.airnewzealand.ca/sustainability-customer-carbon-offset .