Abu Dhabi’s Etihad Airways is the first airline globally to encourage greener travel by offering fliers the chance to earn miles for offsetting flights, flying lighter and “being a sustainable traveller, as well as making environmentally friendly choices in their everyday life”, according to a statement from the company.
Etihad aims to achieve net zero emissions by 2050, and the new Conscious Choices benefits scheme from Etihad Guest will support the airline’s green ambitions.
“While Etihad has focused on developing technology and innovative solutions for operational efficiency that will actively reduce the CO2 emissions of flying, we have placed an equal focus on the guest,” Tony Douglas, group chief executive officer, Etihad Aviation Group, said.
In their daily lives, when not flying, Etihad’s 8 million members can earn Tier Miles by offsetting everyday emissions such as driving, with options ranging from one month to one year worth of offsets, as well as emissions such as cooling your home or cooking your dinner for a month up to a year; donating miles to a green cause; and by purchasing sustainable products from the Etihad Guest Reward Shop in partnership with Collinson and CarbonClick. Members can also choose to ‘go green’, by opting for a digital membership card instead of physical.
The global aviation industry produces around 2 percent of all human-induced carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions and is responsible for 12 percent of CO2 emissions from transport sources. The United Nations expects airplane emissions of carbon dioxide, a major greenhouse gas, to triple by 2050.
The industry faces global pressure to reduce and ultimately emissions, but with technology to do expensive or non-existent, airlines are left with hard choices.
But consumers are also increasingly looking for greener ways to travel, with consulting firm McKinsey reporting that travellers are planning to fly less and are willing to pay more for carbon-neutral tickets.
Over the last two years, despite the challenges of Covid-19, Etihad has introduced a number of significant CO2 reduction initiatives under its Greenliner sustainability programme. This includes adopting thousands of mangroves, using sustainable fuels, reducing contrails, flying optimised flight paths, operating more electric vehicles and working with partners who share its vision for cleaner skies.
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