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Carbon Offsets

ibeckerman
Explorer C

Folks, we have been Southwest flyers for many years. We appreciated the route selections, the fares, and the basic fact that all of your staff have been nice to us and others on the flight. With a good sense of humor and grace.

 

We do believe it is becoming more and more important that your company address the climate crisis, in particular, in offering the ability to purchase carbon offsets for flights at reservation.  This issues is becoming more central to us and might soon trump all other reasons we have flown on your airline.  I would hate to see the day when we limit our airline selection to only those that offer carbon offsets as part of their service, but that day may be coming soon.

3 REPLIES 3

Re: Carbon Offsets

jksobonya
Aviator A

According to an article published today in the Chicago Tribune, the only airlines that are offering any sort of carbon offset program in the United States are JetBlue and United. Many of them are "planting trees." I am all for environmental preservation and awareness, but personally, planting trees in particular isn't going to have any true effect on carbon emissions for another 20-30 years until the tree is fully grown. I wouldn't base my flight plans on whether or not an airline offered this service. 

 

Also: according to the article, planes account for about 2.5% of global carbon dioxide production. i don't have any other stats handy, but I am willing to bet the farm that cars produce more on a global scale. Are you going to give up driving as well? Or do you already drive an eco-friendly electric car?

 

https://www.chicagotribune.com/business/transportation/ct-biz-airline-flight-carbon-offsets-20200214...

 

--Jessica

Re: Carbon Offsets

ksbrg
Employee
Employee

This post from @NicoleAshley a few months ago addressed a similar question:

 


@NicoleAshley wrote:

Thank you for the feedback! We're committed to being a good corporate citizen and are always looking for ways to improve our environmental footprint. Through our fleet modernization program and other fuel savings initiatives, we have improved our carbon intensity 32.8% since 2005 (RTMs/gal).  One initiative that we have chosen not to participate in at this time is offering our Customers the ability to purchase carbon offsets from a third-party via our web site. We feel it is the responsibility of Southwest, not our Customers, to reduce our impact on the environment. If our Customers want to make a positive difference for our planet, we encourage them to make a difference in their communities and the environment by volunteering their time and supporting one of the charitable organizations or community projects we sponsor. To learn more about what we’re doing as a Company, check out southwestonereport.com/planet


The One Report has some really great info (and is fun to scroll through). Here's a clickable link to the "Planet" section: http://southwestonereport.com/planet/

Re: Carbon Offsets

ibeckerman
Explorer C

As a matter of fact, we do own an electric car.  Carbon offsets don't have to be spent only on trees, but on any wide variety of initiatives that can reduce CO2 emissions, including initiatives that prevent the mass cutting of forests, such as in the Amazon.

 

Unfortunately, nothing from Southwest is all that encouraging as answer to the question of offering offsets.