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QANTAS ANNOUNCES NEW CARBON OFFSET PROVIDER

SYDNEY, 30 November 2010: The Qantas Group today announced it had finalised new supplier arrangements for its voluntary carbon offset program under an agreement with Climate Friendly.

Customer contributions to the Qantas and Jetstar offset programs will now help support a carefully selected range of projects to reduce carbon emissions. The carbon offsets created through these projects are sourced by Climate Friendly and all meet the requirements of the Australian Government’s new National Carbon Offset Standard (NCOS).

Qantas Chief Risk Officer, Mr Rob Kella, said the Group’s carbon offset scheme was part of a comprehensive environment strategy.

“We launched our carbon offset program in 2007 to give our customers the choice of flying carbon neutral by offsetting their share of flight emissions,” Mr Kella said.

“Since then all contributions received have gone towards purchasing carbon offsets generated by accredited abatement projects. The program has offset over 770,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions to date.

“Following the introduction of the NCOS, the Qantas Group went to the market for new providers and we are pleased to announce this new partnership. Climate Friendly is an established and respected organisation in the sector and will provide us with fully certified carbon offsets that meet the requirements of the globally- recognised Voluntary Carbon Standard and the NCOS. It is a founding member of the International Carbon
Reduction and Offset Alliance.

“These offsets will come from a number of projects in developing countries selected for their value in terms of sustainability and community benefits, including a wind-farm development in China, ‘run of river’ hydro-power projects in Taiwan and Indonesia and a fuel switching project in Brazil that will help protect the Amazon rainforest.

“Our agreement with Climate Friendly will enable us to align fully with the NCOS. Over time, we will also be monitoring developments in potential certification for Australia-based carbon abatement projects.”

As well as allowing customers to voluntarily offset their portion of carbon emissions from their flight, the Qantas Group also voluntarily pays to offset the emissions from all staff business travel and ground vehicles.

“Qantas is committed to increasing fuel efficiency and reducing its carbon footprint. Our fuel conservation program has saved over one million tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions since 2005, and we are working with government and industry partners on accelerating the commercialisation of sustainable aviation fuels,” Mr Kella said.

The Qantas Group was included in the 2010 Carbon Disclosure Project Leadership Index for Australia and New Zealand. Further information about the offset programs is available at qantas.com and jetstar.com
Issued by Qantas Corporate Communication (Q5047)
Media Enquiries:
Tom Woodward P: + 61 2 9691 4200 E: [email protected]

Tags: green, travel