How the program works
Any time you travel you can purchase carbon offset certificates from UNIGLOBE Travel. The monies collected are then invested in sustainable technology projects in Canada as approved by the Environmental Choice Program.

What exactly is the Issue?

Air travel accounts for approximately 2% of all greenhouse gas emissions in Canada, and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change estimates that by 2050, emissions from global air travel will account for 5% of the total human climate change impact.

Air travel causes the release of more than 600 million tonnes of the world's major greenhouse gas CO2 into the atmosphere each year.

With growing public awareness of sustainability both locally and abroad, creating a way for consumers to deal with  the carbon "footprint" of their flights is one option to address growing concerns.

The Opportunity

Canada's only aircraft greening program is the Green Flight Program by Vancouver based UNIGLOBE Travel (Western Canada) Inc.

Launched in early 2006, the program provides an opportunity for companies who travel for business or for leisure travelers taking vacations, to purchase carbon credits in order to offset a portion of the CO2 that is emitted by an aircraft during their flight.

"We wanted  to create a simple, relevant way for people to counter some or all of the impact of their participation in a carbon emitting activity like flying. Buying carbon offset credits, which support non-carbon emitting projects like windfarms, creates an "offsetting" effect in direct proportion to the travelers share of their flights emissions. It's a "1+1=zero" concept"  says company Vice President Hank Oostveen.

With this program, an airline passenger can not only calculate but also purchase the amount of carbon credits they need to offset their portion of CO2 produced by their flight. The process is simple. Credits can be bought online, over the phone or in person at any Uniglobe travel agency in Canada. To buy online, consumers simply use the Uniglobe agency locator at www.uniglobetravel.ca to find the closest agency and click the 'Green my Flight" logo to access the calculator. The calculations are based on three things:

- the mileage of the flight
- flight-related CO2 emission data from Environmental Canada: and

- the average cost of carbon credits purchased by UNIGLOBE Travel's program partner Less Emissions Inc.

How much does it cost?

Our customers can offset as much or as little of their carbon emissions as they like. For instance a return flight from Vancouver to Toronto would cost as little as $22.75 to offset the emissions created from one traveller flying. And the power production this supports is enough to supply the energy needs for 100 homes for a day!

Investment in Sustainable Technologies

Carbon offset credits purchased through UNIGLOBE Travel's Green Flight Program are only invested in Canadian projects that meet the criteria set out by Environment Canada's Environmental Choice Program. Environmentally friendly projects such as wind power, produce a continuous stream of energy with no CO2 production - hence the 'offset" effect.