For companies that operate internationally, and/or have branches and clients across South Africa, flying is often the biggest polluter. It can easily account for 25-50% of a company's total carbon footprint, especially for companies in the service sector. Below are three steps a company can take to lower its climate impact and at the same time achieve positive social impact.
The best way for a business to reduce its carbon footprint from flying is simply to fly less or avoid flying altogether. For many companies this is already policy; more as a cost-saving measure than a climate goal. For example, by introducing a more stringent travel policy, many of the businesses we work with have been able to reduce their number of flights by 25-40%, mostly due to replacing non-essential travel with video-conferencing and making smarter travel choices (see step 2). However, due to the vast distances between major South African cities and the distance South Africa is from the rest of the world, flying is often the only viable option.
It is a little known fact that the difference in carbon emissions between the most and least efficient airline operating within South African is as high as 80%. If a company flight has to be taken, then the most efficient airline and flight connection should be chosen wherever possible. It is now even possible to make use of certain dedicated flight analysis software that can provide detailed insight into companies' flying profile by analysing flights based on factors such as aircraft type, occupancy and route flown. Flights can then be chosen based not only on costs, but also on carbon emissions - similar to energy rankings for appliances.
The last crucial step is to offset carbon emissions. This is done by purchasing carbon credits from offset projects elsewhere that either sequester or reduce carbon. The beauty about carbon offsetting is that it is an effective way for a company to link its CSI mandate with its climate strategy.
South Africa faces two big challenges: addressing the socio-economic disparities of the past and combating climate change. Carbon offsetting, when applied correctly, can address both. The important term here is 'applied correctly': offsets need to generate genuine emission reductions that are verifiable, traceable and permanent. If you purchase carbon offsets generated by the Gold Standard (GS), the Verified Carbon Standard (VCS) or the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) you can be sure that your carbon offsets are genuine.
Most carbon offset projects under these three schemes have a myriad of sustainable development benefits besides the carbon reductions they generate. These 'co-benefits' include improved health, poverty alleviation, access to affordable clean energy, skills development, job creation, and improvement in air and water quality, to name but a few.
Offsetting can easily be done quarterly based on a company's annual carbon footprint or automatically at the time of booking via an increasing number of business travel agents. And it doesn't cost the earth: offsetting a domestic flight costs no more than a cup of coffee at the airport, and in turn achieves a lot.
