Manchester Airport Group is offering a carbon offset scheme for those flying through its airports. Passengers at Manchester, London Stansted and East Midlands airports can now offset carbon emissions from flights they take to any destination, with Carbon Click.
The offsets can go to a number of different projects in both the UK and abroad including funding the development of “Woodland Creation in the Lake District” on Lowther Estate, Cumbria, which promotes biodiversity and reduces carbon and the risk of flooding and “Promoting Improved Cooking Practices”, which makes and distributes efficient charcoal cookstoves. Use of the stoves reduces the amount of carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere and will and improve the health of communities in Nigeria.
Carbon Click’s offset tool allows passengers to calculate the emissions from their flight and purchase carbon credits to compensate for them. Every purchase can be linked directly to the climate projects. Examples given are a return flight to Amsterdam from Manchester Airport which can be offset for £2.14 per passenger and a return flight to Dubai for £11.54 per passenger.
Carbon Click says that buying one carbon offset credit removes the equivalent of one tonne of CO2 from the atmosphere. Therefore, one passenger’s return flight to Amsterdam would require 0.145 of a carbon credit, which will remove approximately 145kg of CO2 from the atmosphere, while a flight to Dubai would need the equivalent of 0.836 carbon credits to be offset, removing approximately 836kg of CO2.
Today’s announcement came as MAG published its latest annual CSR Report MAG 2021 CSR Report detailing itswork over the last 12 months in tackling climate change and supporting communities. In the report, MAG reaffirms its commitment to becoming a Net Zero Carbon business by 2038. The report also documents other achievements including reaching 58 per cent of energy used by the Group coming from renewable sources, 93 per cent of waste diverted from landfill, delivering more than 23,000 hours of volunteering work by MAG colleagues over the last 12 months, and making available more than £253,000 from its Community Trust Funds to support communities throughout the pandemic.
The CarbonClick offsetting scheme is available at all of MAG’s airports – Manchester, London Stansted and East Midlands – and can be accessed via each airport’s website, or through QR codes displayed around terminal buildings.
CarbonClick at Manchester Airport
CarbonClick at London Stansted Airport
CarbonClick at East Midlands Airport
Neil Robinson, MAG CSR and Airspace Change Director, said: “By offsetting emissions from their flights, passengers can make a real difference to worthwhile projects which support a sustainable future. “Our partnership with Carbon Click makes carbon offsetting easy and accessible regardless of which airline you are travelling with or your final destination.
“High quality carbon offsetting is just one of the tools available to our industry as we work towards a greener future. We are confident this partnership will encourage our passengers to opt in and have a positive impact every time they fly with us.”
In its five-year CSR Strategy published last year, MAG stated its commitment to becoming a Net Zero Carbon business by 2038, and announced a prize of five years free landing fees worth over £1m to the first zero emission aircraft based at MAG airport.
Further information on the projects:
Woodland Creation in the Lake District
The project on Lowther Estate will create a new (predominantly coniferous) mixed woodland, which will help local wildlife by linking existing blocks of estate forestry, creating a woodland corridor that joins the southern part of the property with important pasture woodlands. The project is expected to sequester 41,664 tonnes of carbon over the 100-year project period.
Over 61 hectares of woodland will be created, with 122,383 trees being planted. The tree species are: Sitka Spruce, Douglas Fir, Scots Pine, Oak, Birch, Rowan, Lime, Hazel, Hawthorn, Apple, Aspen, Alder and Cherry.
In addition to sequestering carbon, the project will deliver flood mitigation benefits to the wider catchment (including downstream Carlisle). This project is one of 15 grouped projects that, in total, create over 892.85 hectares of British woodland, resulting in over 267,028 tonnes of carbon being sequestered.
Promoting Improved Cooking Practices in Nigeria
This project manufactures and distributes efficient charcoal cookstoves that reduce carbon emissions and household spending, while improving the health of communities all over Nigeria. Over 71 per cent of Nigeria’s population cook with solid fuel inefficient traditional cookstoves and open fires, resulting in serious indoor air pollution. The project activity involves replacing these inefficient cooking mechanisms with highly efficient Toyola Coalpot, which is 35 per cent more fuel-efficient than traditional methods, due to the ceramic liner that increases combustion efficiency and retains heat for longer.
While these stoves will significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions, they simultaneously provide co-benefits to users and families in the form of relief from high fuel costs, reduced exposure to damaging airborne pollutants, faster cooking (resulting in time-savings), and increased cleanliness and convenience. Finally, they curb deforestation by decreasing demand for charcoal.
