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By Janice Zaltman
As we scramble to get flights with low fares this season, we also can choose airlines based on their environmental impact. About 2.8 billion people will fly this year, according to the International Air Transport Association”s predictions. That means supporting airlines that make less of an environmental impact can make a big impact.
Many airlines use carbon offsets to reduce their carbon footprint. A carbon offset is defined by Wikipedia as a reduction in emissions of carbon dioxide or greenhouse gases that is meant to compensate for an emission made elsewhere. The idea is to create balance for the planet by doing something good to compensate for generating something bad, i.e. pollution.
So which airlines are eco-friendly? The first clue is to use search terms such as green, sustainability, and carbon offset when researching your airline. If you have to search too hard to find their environmental policies on their Web site, then maybe it is not very important to them. Ask yourself, “Does this airline offer specific and substantial information and examples of their green initiatives?”
Here are some options with well-defined green initiatives:
Jet Blue boasts that all their business travel was offset in 2008 and 2009. This airline has a Jetting to GreenInitiative that offers you the opportunity to offset your travel with its partner, CarbonFund.org. You can contribute dollars based on your roundtrip mileage to projects which support and preserve the environment. Jet Blue recycles spent jet fuel and oil filters. It recycles about 1,500 gallons of fuel and oil and about 600 pounds of steel each month. It eliminated paper tickets and paper holders, as well as disposable headsets and in-flight magazines.
Deltawas the first airline to launch a comprehensive recycling program for domestic flights in 2007, and has one of the best recycling policies in the industry. Dow Jones includes Delta Air Lines in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index, and even named it a sustainability leader. This airline also has a LEED- certified (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) terminal in Boston. Still, it is challenging to find about any green initiatives by searching Delta”s website.
Southwest promotes itself as the industry leader in fuel casino online efficiency. The airline committed over $175 million over a six-year period to retrofit its fleets with advanced avionics that conserve fuel, improve safety, and reduce carbon emissions. The Southwest fleet consists of next generation Boeing aircrafts (737-700), which are outfitted with winglets that save on fuel consumption by about 2.5%. Southwest has a Green Team comprised of employee volunteers who foster environmental business practices. Southwest also offers a combined recycling program.
Virgin Atlanticfounder Sir Richard Branson recently announced that the airline will begin using a “green aviation fuel” within the next three years. His plan is to convert waste gases from industrial steel production into a jet propulsion that could potentially account for almost a fifth of the current annual global consumption of aviation fuel. Branson claims this invention could turn one of the dirtiest industries into one of the cleanest. Virgin Atlantic also set an ambitious target of reducing its carbon emissions from every mile it flies by 30% between 2007 and 2020. To boot, an impressive 94% of the electricity the company buys in the UK is from renewable sources.
Flying with airlines that are greener benefits YOU. You are investing in companies that share similar values to you, saying YES to flights with less environmental impact, and promoting recycling, fuel efficiency, carbon offsets, and green initiatives.
This holiday season may you pay low, fly high, and be green. Happy travels from SCGH!
