FlyNeutral FAQs

General

How much environmental damage does flying cause?

The Nobel Prize winning 'Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change' (known also as the IPCC) indicates that aviation contributes around 3% of carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions.

Why do we refer to carbon - is carbon the only greenhouse gas?

No, there are seven main greenhouse gases:

carbon dioxide (CO₂), mainly from fossil fuel use
methane (CH₄), mainly from animals and waste
nitrous oxide (N₂O), mainly from agriculture
hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), mainly from refrigerants
sulphur hexafluoride (SF₆), mainly from the electricity industry
perfluorocarbons (PFCs), mainly from aluminium production
nitrogen trifluoride (NF₃), mainly from production of silicon wafers, liquid crystal displays and silicon-based solar cells.

Usually, all greenhouse gases are expressed as carbon dioxide equivalents (CO₂-e) which is a metric measure used to compare the emissions from various greenhouse gases on the basis of their 'global-warming potential' by converting amounts of other gases to the equivalent amount of carbon dioxide with the same global warming potential. For example, the global-warming potential for methane is 25 and for nitrous oxide is 298. This means that emissions of 1 million metric tonnes of methane and nitrous oxide respectively is equivalent to emissions of 25 and 298 million metric tonnes of carbon dioxide.

This is why carbon offsetting is typically transacted in 'carbon', or CO₂-e.

What is carbon offsetting?

It is important to reduce greenhouse gas emissions as much as practicable first. Ways to reduce greenhouse gas emissions include selecting renewable energy options, improving energy efficiency at home and work, avoiding unnecessary journeys using motorised transport, cycling to work, recycling and conserving energy by turning off lights, turning down the heating or up for air conditioning.

However, we all have a carbon impact in today's world. Even after reducing emissions as much as practicable, it isn't currently possible to reduce our carbon footprint to zero. A way of negating the carbon emissions that cannot be reduced is to pay for emissions reductions made through environmentally beneficial projects.

Carbon emissions can be removed from the atmosphere by landowners who invest in permanent forestry projects. Carbon emissions can also be reduced by creating low-carbon sustainable energy solutions for communities. This concept is known as carbon offsetting and the emission reductions generated from these projects are measured and transacted as carbon credits.

Anyone can purchase carbon credits and use them to offset, or balance, their own carbon emissions.

In simple terms, offsetting one tonne of carbon means there will be one less tonne of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere than there would otherwise have been.

What are carbon credits and how do they work?

Carbon credits are used to deliver your carbon offset. A carbon credit represents one tonne of carbon (or equivalent greenhouse gas) emissions reduced.

Carbon credits are issued to projects in New Zealand and overseas which can demonstrate that they have been verified to reduce or remove carbon emissions. For example, if a project has been verified to reduce emissions by 10 tonnes, then it is eligible to receive 10 carbon credits.

When you offset your carbon, you purchase and retire the equivalent amount of carbon credits, supporting projects which reduce or remove carbon emissions.

When the carbon credit is retired (or "cancelled" in some registeries) it is removed from circulation in that registry and cannot be used again by another buyer.

Where do carbon credits come from?

Carbon credits are issued from projects that remove or reduce greenhouse gas emissions from entering the atmosphere or remove or absorb greenhouse gas emissions once they exist in the atmosphere. Wind farms, for example, create renewable energy and reduce the need for conventional sources such as burning coal for energy. Other offset projects that generate carbon credits include permanent forestry projects and low-carbon sustainable energy projects.

How is carbon offsetting transacted?

Carbon offsetting is typically transacted in metric tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO₂-e). Purchasing one carbon credit means there will be one less tonne of carbon dioxide (or an equivalent greenhouse gas) in the atmosphere than there otherwise would have been. Once a carbon credit is purchased it then needs to be retired permanently to remove it from circulation, effecting the 'offset'.

How does carbon offsetting work in the context of aviation?

Air New Zealand passengers and business customers can offset the carbon emissions generated by their flights. The emissions for each flight are divided amongst the passenger seats on that flight. Each passenger can therefore pay to offset the emissions caused by their share of the flight's emissions. Passengers can offset their emissions by supporting carbon reduction projects that generate carbon credits.

Calculating emissions

How are my emissions calculated?

Emissions from Air New Zealand travel are calculated under FlyNeutral taking into account:

The distance travelled on your journey;
The class of travel you flew (whether Economy, Premium Economy or Business Premier); and
'emissions conversion factors' for greenhouse gas company reporting for air travel released in 2017 by the United Kingdom Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (which is the source recommend by the New Zealand government for voluntary greenhouse gas reporting).

Offsetting emissions under FlyNeutral

What projects do the carbon credits come from in the FlyNeutral programme?

When you offset with Air New Zealand you are purchasing carbon credits from and supporting emission reduction projects in New Zealand and in our destination network. These projects have been selected by Air New Zealand and ClimateCare. All of the projects are certified according to the highest standard national and international carbon accreditation programmes, such as the Gold Standard.

What are low-carbon sustainable energy projects?

Sustainable energy is energy supply that can meet the growing demand of today's people without compromising the demand of the people that might require it in future. It involves looking at multiple aspects of sustainability environmental, social and economic.

Sustainable low-carbon energy includes renewable energy generation which comes from sources that are naturally replenished soon after being used. Sunlight, wind and water are all examples of sustainable energy.

Sustainable low-carbon energy projects also include energy efficiency projects that use energy efficiently thereby reducing the need to produce more energy in the near term. Energy efficiency can refer to any project that applies new technologies, processes or practices to achieve the same outcome while using less energy. Biogas and fuel-efficient cook stoves are examples of energy efficiency projects.

Who says that the project reduces carbon emissions?

Carbon credits are issued from emission reduction projects that either:

comply with the New Zealand Government's Permanent Forest Sink Initiative (for New Zealand forestry projects selected): or
are validated and verified by an approved third-party verifier as meeting globally leading carbon market industry standards such as the Gold Standard to meet the following, crucial criteria: A real project, with measurable and permanent emissions reductions, additional to a business-as-usual scenario and independently verified by a third party approved by that standard. Some standards including the Gold Standard and the CDM Standard also promote sustainable development in their emission reduction projects.

How is a carbon credit created?

Following compliance with the PFSI (or for the international projects, the relevant carbon standard as evidenced by third party validation and verification), carbon credits are issued on an approved registry (see below for more information about registries) with a serial number into the account of the developer of the emission reduction project.

Where can I find out more about the projects in FlyNeutral?

For more information about the emission reduction projects in FlyNeutral, click here.

What is the PFSI or the Permanent Forest Sink Initiative?

The Permanent Forest Sink Initiative is a programme operated by the New Zealand government which rewards landowners for permanently preserving forests that will absorb carbon dioxide from the earth’s atmosphere. More information on the PFSI is available on the Ministry for Primary Industries' website.

Who sources and manages the New Zealand native forestry projects?

All New Zealand native forest restoration projects supplying carbon credits to Air New Zealand for the FlyNeutral programme are managed and sourced by Permanent Forests NZ Ltd.

Who is ClimateCare?

ClimateCare has over 20 years' experience in international carbon markets and carbon reduction programme management. ClimateCare manages a number of the world's largest carbon offset programmes on behalf of its government and corporate partners.

What is the Gold Standard?

The Gold Standard is a best practice methodology and a high-quality carbon credit label for the carbon market which promotes sustainable development in its emission reduction projects.

How much are the carbon credits in FlyNeutral?

Air New Zealand publishes the current price for the carbon credits available under the FlyNeutral programme. The price is a blended portfolio price that represents an averaged cost of the credits in the portfolio as determined by Air New Zealand and as outlined further on the Climatecare website.

All of your contribution, net of tax, funds the purchase of carbon offsets under FlyNeutral. Air New Zealand does not take any fees to cover the operation of FlyNeutral. All funds go directly towards the supply of the carbon credits.

What does Air New Zealand do with the money paid by customers to offset their carbon emissions?

All funds received by customers, net of tax, funds the purchase of carbon credits under FlyNeutral. Air New Zealand does not take any fees to cover the operation of FlyNeutral. All funds go directly towards the supply of the carbon credits.

Does Air New Zealand make a margin on the carbon credits purchased under FlyNeutral?

No. All funds received by customers, net of tax, go directly towards the supply of the carbon credits under FlyNeutral.

Retirement / cancellation at registry

How do I know that the carbon credits I purchase under FlyNeutral actually offset my emissions?

We have an audit trail of all carbon credits purchased under FlyNeutral and this will be audited every year.

ClimateCare holds the carbon credits needed for FlyNeutral in a registry account that ClimateCare operates for Air New Zealand. Once customers buy the carbon credits for offsetting under FlyNeutral, ClimateCare holds those, and then retires or cancels them on a quarterly basis.

In future, full public visibility of the registries where these carbon credits reside (and are retired or cancelled for offsetting) will be available on this page so that customers can view the serial numbers of the carbon credits and see that they are retired or cancelled.

How and why is a carbon credit retired or cancelled?

Once customers buy the carbon credits for offsetting under FlyNeutral, ClimateCare secures them, and on a quarterly basis, retires or cancels them. Retirement or cancellation removes the carbon credit from circulation, effecting the 'offset'.

Which registries is FlyNeutral using?

FlyNeutral uses the New Zealand Emissions Trading Registry for its New Zealand projects and the IHS Markit Environmental Registry (or where required the CDM Registry) for its international projects.

What is the IHS Markit Environmental Registry?

The IHS Markit Environmental Registry is the largest, global voluntary registry for carbon, water and biodiversity credits, measured by volume, number of environmental standards on the registry and number of customers. It provides full tracking from issuance to transfer to retirement or cancellation for more than 250 million credits.

When will the carbon credits under FlyNeutral be retired or cancelled?

Best industry practice requires that carbon credits purchased for carbon offsetting be retired or cancelled within 12 months of the period being offset. To help support customers with this, retirements / cancellations of credits will occur on a batch basis every quarter.

Relationship of FlyNeutral with the Emissions Trading Scheme

Is FlyNeutral part of the New Zealand Emissions Trading Scheme?

No. Under the New Zealand Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) Air New Zealand has an obligation to report the number of greenhouse gas emissions generated from its fuel usage on domestic flights and provide to the government a number of emission reduction units to match that number of emissions.

Air New Zealand fully complies with its obligations under the New Zealand Emissions Trading Scheme, managing all compliance requirements at our own cost, not via a separate charge to customers. This operates separately to FlyNeutral.

When I offset, am I paying for Air New Zealand's emissions under the New Zealand Emissions Trading Scheme?

No. FlyNeutral operates separately to the New Zealand Emissions Trading Scheme. Funds received from customers for offsetting under FlyNeutral do not go towards our compliance costs associated with the New Zealand Emissions Trading Scheme. We comply with our obligations under that scheme and manage all compliance requirements at our cost.

Why does Air New Zealand offer the option for customers to offset their flights when Air New Zealand already fully complies with the NZ Emissions Trading Scheme?

The goal of an emissions trading scheme, is to price emissions which in turn encourages emissions reductions by organisations and individuals. Part of an emissions trading policy involves creating 'permits to emit' and distributing these to certain organisations to help them manage the impact of a price of carbon in their business (reducing the number of permits over time creating scarcity and therefore raising the price of them to incentivise more behavioural change). Like most regulatory emissions trading schemes around the world, the New Zealand Emissions Trading Scheme does this. Many units issued under an emissions trading scheme (other than for carbon removals such as for permanent and new forestry projects), do not equate to an "offset" as they often do not represent carbon permanently removed from the atmosphere or reduced.

Distinct from this, the voluntary carbon market is a mechanism to help individuals and organisations mitigate or reduce their carbon impact on the environment by encouraging and enabling them to purchase carbon credits ("offsets") from certified emissions reductions projects that permanently avoid or remove carbon from the atmosphere. Unless the carbon credits being purchased for offsetting have been certified as removing carbon from the atmosphere on a permanent basis, they cannot be used for offsetting.