Yesterday, the Iberia Group launched its «CO2labora» emissions compensation programme. Now, the company’s passengers can support two certified environmental projects through an optional financial contribution. Passengers can choose which sections of their itinerary they wish to include in the offset.
Through a calculator available on the Iberia Group’s official website, customers can access information on the emissions of their trip. Then, the tool estimates the amount of money to contribute to either of the two certified projects that the company supports, in Guatemala and Peru.
One of the programmes is located in Izabal, on the Caribbean coast of Guatemala. It is a forest conservation initiative and promotes the creation of new nature reserves. The other one is in the Peruvian Amazon. «CO2labora» will provide funds to support the work of seven indigenous communities protecting almost 120.000 hectares of forest around the Ucayali River.
As the company explained, the carbon footprint calculation is based on the average number of flights operated on a given route. It takes four variables into account: the type of aircraft, the weather, the efficiency of operations and the cabin chosen for travel.
It is important to note that not all models in the Iberia Group fleet offer the same performance in terms of fuel consumption per kilometre and per passenger. As a result, the environmental impact of each flight will depend on the aircraft model used.
In this regard, Iberia noted that its Airbus A350s, used on intercontinental routes, consume between 30% and 35% less fuel than older generation twin-aisle aircraft, such as the Airbus A330s that are also part of its fleet. The same is true for short and medium-haul services thanks to the addition of Airbus A320neo aircraft, which reduce fuel consumption by 15% to 20% compared to older aircraft in the fleet.
Iberia and Iberia Express customers can select the option to offset their carbon footprint at the time of booking confirmation or after completing their journey, through the Sustainability section of the official website.
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