AirPlus revolutionises carbon offsetting

First ever green business travel payment solution

AirPlus International, the leading business travel payment provider, announced today the launch of an automated carbon offset feature of its lodge card solution, the AirPlus Company Account. A payment industry first, the feature allows all AirPlus clients to automatically pay for the offsetting of all their flights purchased with the AirPlus Company Account. The client simply chooses the carbon offset provider they want to work with and AirPlus transfers their flight data to the provider who will calculate the offset donation, which will then be automatically settled using the AirPlus Company Account.

The solution is extremely easy to implement, as it only requires the client to sign one additional contract that enables AirPlus to automatically transfer their flight data, used to calculate the emissions, to the offset provider. The extensive data that is automatically collected for all flight purchases via the AirPlus Company Account is used by the carbon offset provider to calculate the amount needed to offset the emissions. That amount is then charged to the client via the AirPlus Company Account and the transaction information fed into the online AirPlus MIS, the AirPlus Information Manager.

There are no extra actions needed by the client, making this one of the easiest solutions to offset emissions around. The solution provides total transparency, as clients will be able to report on their business travel emissions almost immediately and can break down emissions any way they want, say for example by department, project or branch office. This is made possible by the additional data collected by AirPlus for every flight transaction.

AirPlus has already set up a number of technical interfaces with carbon offset providers and is ready to connect to any provider their clients choose. The client’s travel agency does not need to get involved, as this is a fully automated process, saving both the client and the TMCs time and effort.

Offsetting is possible on a global scale and across borders. For example a UK client may choose to use a Swiss carbon offset provider and offset their emissions for subsidiaries in any number of countries.

Yael Klein, Managing Director AirPlus International Ltd, said, “This is truly an innovation and a payment industry first. We are very excited about this new product feature. It is the easiest way for our clients to offset their emissions and is extremely straightforward to implement for everyone, from the smallest client to the largest global corporation. They’re free to work with whichever offsetting provider and TMC they choose and this solution will stand the test of time: if clients want to offset their space travel in a few years time that will be just as easy as offsetting flights right now.”

The carbon offset feature of the AirPlus Company Account is already available to AirPlus clients and there are a number of them piloting it with enthusiastic feedback. The product feature has just been awarded the Business Travel Show Innovation Award at the recent Business Travel Show in Düsseldorf.