Qatar Airways launched a voluntary carbon offset programme that will enable corporate and trade clients to offset their own carbon emissions via a dedicated web portal at any time before or after a flight.
The Qatar Airways voluntary carbon offset programme allows its corporate clients to offset or reduce the carbon emissions associated with their business travel, and empowers them to make sustainable choices. With this, companies work towards their sustainability goals while they collaborate with the airline to advance their carbon neutrality goals.
Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive, HE Akbar Al Baker, said that building a long-term sustainable aviation industry requires coordinated efforts, and businesses play an important role in building more environmentally friendly and more sustainable air travel.
We are happy to provide an opportunity for our corporate clients to voluntarily offset the carbon footprint of corporate trips through recognised projects that help both communities and the environment, and encourage them to make carbon offsetting part of their carbon management plan.
Al Baker said that the initiative further supports their goal to strengthen their environmental sustainability efforts and enhance their leadership position in the aviation industry.
Customised environmental solution
Built on a partnership with the International Air Transport Association (IATA), the programme provides customers of Qatar Airways a customised environmental solution with the assurance that the credits bought to offset these emissions are from projects delivering independently verified carbon reductions, as well as wider environmental and social benefits. The new programme reaffirms the industry’s ambition to reach their climate targets while they drive innovation and bring other social, environmental or economic benefits.
The new programme uses the IATA industry best practice for calculating CO2 emissions, and the programme has been designed to simplify the process for customers, offering them innovative solutions towards achieving their environmental commitments on climate change. Initial emissions will be offset with a leading renewable energy project with additional verified projects to be included in the near future.
Qatar Airways’ Voluntary Carbon Offsetting Programme
Since 2020, the Voluntary Carbon Offsetting Programme of Qatar Airways has been contributing to the Fatanpur Wind Farm project located in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh, consisting of 54 wind turbines, which generate a combined output of 108 MW, and avoids 210,000 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions per year.
The support for the Fatanpur project not only reduces global carbon emissions, it also provides employment opportunities, delivers improved education by providing materials and expertise to nearby schools, and supports a mobile medical unit – enabling improved healthcare to the local community.
In November 2020, Qatar Airways announced the official launch of its voluntary carbon offset programme for passengers. Subsequently in November 2021, Qatar Airways Cargo, the freight division of Qatar Airways Group, also launched its new voluntary carbon offsetting programme for air cargo shipments, becoming the first cargo carrier to join the IATA CO2NNECT platform and the first airline in the world to make a carbon transaction through the IATA Aviation Carbon Exchange (ACE) via IATA Clearing House (ICH).
As one of the world’s leading airline, Qatar Airways is committed to collaborate with industry stakeholders to address carbon emissions, and allow its customers to easily incorporate carbon-neutral business practices into their overall corporate strategy.
For more information about the programme, visit qatarairways.com.
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