Atlanta, US (TAN): United States-based carrier Delta Air Lines, along with its joint venture partners Air France, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, and British airline Virgin Atlantic will carbon-offset all flights to and from Chicago until August 10.
The airline and its partners will offset over 1,800 metric tons of emissions from over 15,000 customer flight segments for the 2019 GBTA convention, the annual gathering of business travel professionals from all over the world.
Delta’s Senior Vice President – Global Sales, Bob Somers said sustainability is crucial for everyone in the Delta, Air France, KLM and Virgin Atlantic group and the ones they do business with on a regular basis.
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“These offsets are symbolic of our continued commitment to sustainability and our long-term target of reducing our carbon emissions by 50 percent by 2050. I’m also pleased to share that Delta, Air France, KLM and Virgin Atlantic have committed to increase the ease of purchasing carbon-offsets for all our customers who book their travel on Delta.com, AirFrance.us, KLM.com and VirginAtlantic.com,” he added.
The group will make purchases that sponsor The International Small Group and Tree Planting program (TIST). TIST is an afforestation programme currently in practice in India, Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania, which enables farmers to plant trees, quantify the carbon dioxide captured by them, and sell greenhouse gas credits against the certified quantity in the global carbon market. Delta’s efforts to uphold sustainability also includes piloting a programme to build in carbon-offset for corporate travel agreements.
“Delta’s ambition is to be the leader in corporate sustainability. We’ve learned so much from working with our customers as well as Air France, KLM and Virgin Atlantic as we look to expand and solidify what a broad sustainability program for our corporate accounts can be. We appreciate the passion and leadership of these customers and partners as we work with them to make these programs meaningful for them and for others going forward,” Somers said.
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Delta’s Manager – Climate Strategy, Stephanie Zhu, who also joined the GBTA’s Sustainability and Responsibility Committee, said: “This opportunity to serve on GBTA’s sustainability board means that Delta will continue to have a voice in a larger endeavor across the travel sector as we all move toward long-term sustainability goals. I look forward to sharing best practices, insights and driving innovations through GBTA’s commitment to this critical issue.”
Delta operated its first carbon-neutral flight using biofuel and carbon-offset last month, the carrier said. The airline also aims to achieve carbon-neutral growth and cut down on carbon emissions by 50% by 2050.
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