Corporate travel can account for as much as 10-25% of a company's total carbon footprint. With Corporate Social Responsibility now a prerequisite of sustainable business practice, as well as Scope 3 emissions, this presents a major challenge. Companies must find a way to carbon offset air travel while ensuring operational resilience and continuity of service.
At CFP Energy, we provide a host of solutions to help address your carbon footprint. From biofuels and SAF credits to voluntary carbon markets and carbon credits backed by our independently led reforestation projects, we can help you every step of the way.
Contact our team at CFP Energy to discuss your climate goals and see how we can offset your emissions.
Track and Calculate Your Carbon Offsets for Air Travel
To implement a business airline carbon offset, it’s important to take the following steps:
- Track and record air travel. This can be done via specialised travel management software or simply by keeping internal travel logs within a spreadsheet.
- Calculate the total emissions produced with a carbon calculator (e.g., ICAO, DEFRA, or CoolClimate) to see potential areas for reduction or mitigation.
- Invest in verified carbon offset projects that either remove the equivalent amount of CO₂ from the atmosphere or reduce it through conservation efforts.
The Big Debate: Are Flight Offsets Effective?
Although carbon offsets are often divisive, with commentators often arguing that they direct attention away from tackling climate change at source, there are ways in which carbon offsets, particularly carbon offsets for air travel, can be used responsibly.
Where offsets are used together with sustainable aviation fuels, for instance, or with flight path optimisation, whether powered by AI or spearheaded by operations managers, it's possible to ensure that emissions are reduced as well as offset.
But as well as incorporating offsets into a more general, integrated climate strategy, aviators should also take steps to ensure that their offsets offer genuine remediation.
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Steps to Ensure the Legitimacy of Carbon Offsets for Air Travel
To ensure that carbon offsets are legitimate - i.e., that they abate the same amount of CO₂ that has been emitted – several steps should be taken first.
Additionality
All effective carbon offset projects, such as cookstove initiatives, reforestation, or methane capture, should provide additionality. This is where emissions reduced or removed from the atmosphere can be directly traced to the project in question.
For example, in the case of reforestation, a carbon offset must prove that the reforestation would not have occurred without the project’s implementation.
Permanence
Another important feature of a carbon offset project to look out for is permanence. This is where a climate-based project, such as afforestation or reforestation, is carried out with long-term carbon storage in mind. Project managers, to ensure permanence, should execute continual monitoring and maintenance of the project’s outcome.
This can be done either by training the local community in stewardship, or by financing protocols to support the oversight of the project’s permanence long term.
Verification
Verification is another crucial step in ensuring the accountability of carbon offsets. It should be conducted by independent third-party verifiers that are accredited under recognised standards, such as Verra, Gold Standard, or The Clean Development Mechanism (CDM).
By using third-party verification services like these, airlines not only benefit from carbon offsets assessed and approved by independent verifiers but also from carbon credits that can then be issued to support the ongoing fulfillment of offsets.
To see our carbon reduction strategies in action - validated under recognised standards such as Verra, the Climate, Community & Biodiversity (CCB) Standards, and PEFC - watch our Finca Amakella forest restoration video below.
Meeting Regulatory Requirements - Carbon Offset Air Travel with CORSIA
A final step to bear in mind is the status of offsets with evolving aviation regulations. CORSIA – short for Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation – is an international mandate that regulates carbon offsets within the aviation industry.
Although participation in CORSIA’s offsetting phase is currently voluntary for some countries, including the UK, in 2027, this will change. After this, it will become mandatory for all ICAO member states to purchase Eligible Emissions Units (EEUs) and to offset their carbon footprint to avoid potential sanctions, such as financial penalties.
Given the high demand and limited supply for EEUs, operators should hedge for compliance early in Phase 1 to mitigate the risks associated with market volatility. Talk to one of our carbon compliance specialists today to discuss the best way to manage your exposure.
Integrating Airline Carbon Offsets with Direct Emissions Reductions
As outlined in the previous section, to implement a fully joined-up climate strategy, it is necessary to complement carbon offset air travel with emission reductions at source.
One of the most effective ways airlines can reduce their emissions is through Sustainable Aviation Fuels (SAF) and SAF Credits. Based on renewable biomass, such as corn and forestry residue, SAF Credits reduce emissions through a lower life-cycle carbon footprint (often by up to 80%) and a cleaner combustion process.
To ensure full compliance, airlines also have the option of buying CORSIA Eligible Fuels (CEFs). These are fuels that have been certified by ICAO-approved Sustainability Certification Schemes (SCS), thereby guaranteeing accordance with environmental standards.
CFP Energy: Leading the Way on Airline Carbon Offset Measures
From SAF and SAF Credits to voluntary carbon projects and Eligible Emissions Units (EEUs), at CFP Energy, we provide a range of solutions to meet your offset obligations.
To see how we can guide you through the changing regulatory environment taking place in aviation, including UK ETS and the EU ETS, talk to one of our carbon specialists today.
