N E W S
BUSINESS AVIATION
TURNS TO OFFSETTING
TO IMPROVE SUSTAINABILITY
More operators, airports and FBOs are
offering clients the option to offset the
carbon emissions they produce when
using private aviation as criticism of
the industry’s impact on the environment grows.
Several carbon offsetting schemes have been
launched in the last few months by business aviation
companies and jet manufacturers in an effort to
reduce the environmental impact of the sector.
Critics have highlighted the large individual carbon
footprints of VIPs, celebrities and corporations that
use private jets for international travel.
Although there are around 20 different
carbon standards, they are all based
on research which establishes that a
single carbon offset represents the
reduction of 1 metric ton (2,205 lbs)
of greenhouse gas emissions.
In October, Gulfstream launched
a scheme through a third party
which enables its customers to pay
an annual fee for offsets based on
aircraft use. Mark Burns, president
of Gulfstream said, “Many of our
operators want to leverage the benefits of
business aviation in an eco-friendly way and
this allows them to do so.
“Our provider will report annually what projects
the carbon offset funds are used for,” Burns said.
“The certified and verified projects that benefit
the climate have included wind energy, forest
management, farm power and recovery and utilization
of landfill gas.”
One of the first business aviation companies to
offer offsetting was UK-based jet charter marketplace
Victor. The company launched its scheme in
partnership with Air BP in April 2018 and offsets
using reforestation programs.
Every flight that is booked via Victor’s
charter jet marketplace, which flies around
7,000 passengers on 4,000 flights a year is
double offset by the company. Passengers
also have the option to increase the offset by
up to 800%.
In the USA, FBO chain Modern Aviation is
partnering with the Carbonfund.org Foundation
to offset each gallon of fuel they purchase through
the company with a small additional fee. The
company has committed to funding 20%
of its customer’s contributions in the
program’s first year.
14 | BU S INE S S A I R P O RT INT E RNAT I ONA L JA N UA RY 2 0 2 0
Meanwhile, brokerage Paramount
Business Jets launched its open
source private jet offset system in
November 2019. Richard Zaher,
CEO of Paramount Business Jets
said there has been “tremendous”
interest in system.
“We’re providing an easy-to-use
way to determine a flight’s carbon
footprint. We’ve made it available to anyone
in our industry, including competing jet charter
brokers. Anyone wishing to implement an offset tool
for their own company may do so without any added
cost,” said Zaher.
“We’re seeing more companies seeking ways to
minimize their carbon footprint in today’s regulatory
and media environment. It’s no longer just about
reducing their impact on the environment, it’s now an
ethical issue too and companies are aware of that.”
0.04%
Proportion of global CO
emissions business aviation is
responsible for
(International Council on
Clean Transportation)
2%
Proportion of CO emissions
business aviation is
responsible for within the
whole aviation industry
/Carbonfund.org