The carbon offset programme, Fly Greener, has been expanded by Cathay Pacific to include air cargo services. As part of the airline’s pledge to combat climate change by achieving net-zero carbon emissions by 2050, Fly Greener is driven by an integrated carbon emissions calculator. In just a few easy steps, the new carbon emissions calculator calculates the carbon emissions of shipments and the cost to offset them.
Then, clients can contribute funds to purchase carbon offsets that are produced by carefully chosen carbon offset projects. All chosen projects are Gold Standard certified to guarantee that their carbon reductions are confirmed and have positive societal and developmental effects, “the statement read. The corporate sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) programme from Cathay Pacific, which introduces SAF into Hong Kong International Airport for the first time in history, was launched earlier this year. This programme offsets carbon emissions. By supporting the use of SAF, it gives corporate clients the chance to lessen the environmental impact of their air freight shipments and business travel. Additionally, Cathay Pacific was one of the first airlines to set a goal of using 10% SAF for all of its fuel use by 2030.
General Manager Cargo Commercial George Edmunds said, “The carbon emissions calculator is another tool we have made available to help our customers achieve their sustainability targets to make our business and our industry more sustainable. In tandem with our promotion and development of Sustainable Aviation Fuel capabilities, the calculator will give our customers flexibility to offset their carbon emissions via a suite of accredited carbon offset projects.”
Customers have already been able to estimate their potential carbon emissions by searching for flight connections with the emission calculator on cathaypacificcargo.com, but now registered customers using the website will be able to offset their shipments by air waybill (AWB) number. Users can enter five AWB numbers at a time, but can submit as many applications as required over any monthly period. The tool, which uses the latest IATA methodology, will show the volume of emissions and display the offset charge in local currency, calculated by weight and aircraft type.
Customers will receive a spreadsheet with the totals carried and claimed along with the calculated carbon offset after each submission. Additionally, they will get a monthly statement that lists all of the submissions from the previous month along with the final amount due. Customers will subsequently receive a certificate that can be used for their own sustainability auditing procedures, displaying the overall amount of offsets and the project that they sponsored. The monetary contributions go directly to fund third-party validated projects that help to offset the CO2 generated by shipments through carbon credits bought by Cathay Pacific and passed on to customers at cost. The airline makes no profit in the carbon-offset transactions.
The scheme currently funds four projects that provide solar-powered cooking stoves and small biogas plants to people in the Chinese Mainland; solar-powered hot water to homes in India; and fuel-efficient cooking stoves to families in Bangladesh.
The carbon emissions calculator will initially accept AWB numbers that have been issued in the past, but further iterations will include the tool within Cathay Pacific Cargo’s Click & Ship digital booking and confirmation platform. Customers will be able to quickly and easily add offsets to their bookings. Chris Bowden, director of cargo global alliances, said: “We are aware that carbon offset calculations can be difficult and require precision for sustainability auditing. The rigour and complexity involved in calculating carbon emissions are made simple and understandable, in our opinion, by Fly Greener and the carbon emissions calculator. This is something that our clients have been actively pursuing.
