It will be the first UK airline to offset carbon on all its flights within the UK, with emissions totalling around 400,000 tonnes of C02 a year.
The national carrier operates up to 75 flights a day between London and 10 UK cities, including Manchester, Leeds, Newcastle, Isle of Man, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Aberdeen, Belfast City, Inverness and Jersey.
Carbon emissions on international flights will be capped through the United Nations’ carbon offsetting scheme, and those travelling further afield can also reduce their impact on the environment by using BA’s carbon offsetting tool.
The airline’s parent company International Airlines Group (IAG) has also committed to achieving zero carbon emissions by 2050, making it the first airline group in the world to make such a promise.
IAG says it will achieve its emissions’ goal through numerous environmental initiatives, including investing more than US$400m in the development of sustainable aviation fuels over the next 20 years.
BA’s Chair Alex Cruz, says: “British Airways is determined to play its part in reducing aviation’s CO2 emissions. To solve such a multi-faceted issue requires a multi-faceted response and this initiative further demonstrates our commitment to a sustainable future.
“It also follows our announcement to partner with renewable fuels company, Velocys, to build a facility which converts household and commercial waste into renewable sustainable jet fuel to power our fleet.”
BA’s carbon offsetting tool can be accessed at: pureleapfrog.org/ba/carbon_zero. BA estimates a customer will pay £1 to offset a return economy flight from London to Madrid, while from London to New York in business class will cost around £15.
