Assessing the involvement of travel companies in carbon-neutralisation campaigns

By Ritesh Gupta

Earlier this year, easyJet became the first airline to outline the environmental requirements that must be met by the next generation of short-haul super-clean aircraft; and unveiled its design of what such an aircraft could look like for operation by 2015.

In a recent interview with EyeforTravel.com's Ritesh Gupta, John Kohlsaat, General Manager Commercial - Germany, Central Europe, Baltic, Denmark, easyJet, spoke about the initiative and much more. Excerpts from an interview:

Travel companies are coming up with carbon-neutralisation campaigns. easyJet has an environmental code, based on three promises - to be environmentally efficient in the air, to be environmentally efficient on the ground and to lead in shaping a greener future for aviation. How do you think easyJet is playing its part as of today? How do you consider this contribution as a corporate social responsibility?

The environment is an increasingly important part of being a good corporate citizen, and if you take a long-term view environmental and economic efficiency actually go hand in hand.

easyJet takes its environmental responsibility very seriously. We have invested billions in the latest technology and have Europe's cleanest fleet with an average age of 2,3 years. We support the inclusion of aviation in the EU's Emission Trading Scheme which would give airlines an incentive to clean up their act, and the creation of a Single European Sky which would reduce CO2 emissions by 12%. But that is not enough: we have proposed to ban the 700 oldest and dirtiest aircraft from Europe's skies and developed our own concept for the aircraft of the future, the easyJet ecoJet.

easyJet earlier this became the first airline to outline the environmental requirements that must be met by the next generation of short-haul super-clean aircraft; and unveiled its design of what such an aircraft could look like for operation by 2015. How would you see this initiative from a cost perspective? How should travel companies view such initiatives - cost versus corporate social responsibility?

The easyJet ecoJet will allow airlines to reduce CO2 emissions by 50% when the next generation of aircraft will be available. It is a classic win-win situation, as the aircraft of the future will be cheaper to operate due to a much better fuel efficiency.

easyJet recently launched a major campaign to encourage the UK's politicians to adopt a more intelligent approach to air travel. Why this campaign has been introduced?

We have long argued that the current structure of Air Passenger duty is in need of reform. A tax that penalises families but excludes private jets, and charges passengers travelling to Marrakech the same as those travelling to Melbourne, is just plain wrong. A structure that taxes a passenger in the newest, cleanest aircraft the same as someone in an old gas-guzzler cannot be allowed to continue. (The airline welcomed a move by the UK chancellor as per which he wanted to move to a system where emissions and not passengers are taxed. But the reform should not be used as an excuse to further increase the burden of tax on passengers – easyJet, for example, already covers its carbon costs more than four times over.)

Customers are being encouraged to make a voluntary donation, too. Which according to you is the best way to communicate the 'Green' message on part of travel companies to consumers?

The best way is to offer every customer to make a contribution, rather than expecting the passenger to look for a possibility to contribute. That's why we have made our carbon offsetting programme part of the booking process. But we also have to communicate to non-customers, as it is not yet understood that different airlines have a different environmental impact. Everyone knows that a Land rover is more polluting than a Hybrid, and what we try to get across is that we are the Hybrid car of the sky.

Companies are even giving customers the option to participate in a carbon offsetting programme. Do you think this is the way to go forward?

For airlines that already operate to the highest level of efficiency and have an environmental strategy in place, carbon offsetting is an important addition to involve the consumer. If an airline flies dirty, half-empty aircraft, offsetting becomes meaningless.

How do you ensure your green campaigns are engaging and interesting?

In a nutshell, we need to keep our campaigns "orange". The environment is an important and serious matter, but you don't reach people if you try to lecture them.

What negative backlash can you expect from deceiving consumers, by marketing an unqualified green product?

Many companies now jump on the bandwagon and there is a risk of a backlash for those who only pay lip service. We invest billions in the latest technology, which is as hard a commitment as it gets for a company. But we are also serious about the other parts of our CSR strategy. Take carbon offsetting. We are the only airline that offers exclusively UN-certified projects and have made it part of the booking process, so we actually encourage our customers to contribute. Other airlines have hidden their offsetting programmes somewhere on the website so that hardly anyone takes part.   

Where do you see this issue headed in the next year or so? How critical is going to be for travel companies going ahead?

We believe that the environment will remain topical and salient in many European markets for years to come. Travel companies must recognise this and keep improving their environmental track record. On the marketing side, we have a good story to tell. Like every economic activity we contribute to greenhouse gas emissions, but we also contribute enormously to international trade and job creation. We need to balance the debate and bring it back to a factual discussion, so that both costs and benefits are taken into account.