Carbon neutrality has come from every corner of the business – over the past few weeks, from fast-paced restaurant chain Sweetgreen to safety-centric networking IT company Polo Alto Networks to online craft retailer ATC’s Net Commitment. -Zero carbon emissions plan. As companies look for ways to reduce their fuel costs, they are turning to carbon-offset programs as a stopgap measure until the grid is dormant; they apply technology to reduce their energy costs or both.
This push towards corporate sustainability is creating all sorts of weird bedfellows and start-up opportunities, focusing on creating large startups with new corporate offset programs and channels to reach the market in offsets. The latest example of a company raising the angle of sustainability to keep corporate firms closer to their business is the agreement between Delta and Deloitte, which offsets the accounting and consulting firm’s remittance of its corporate travel emissions to Delta for renewable jet fuel.
Clearly, a better policy for Deloitte is to significantly delay non-essential travel and focus on working as far away as possible to reduce flight requirements. But in some cases business travel is not inevitable and most people want to return to pre-epidemic, which will significantly increase air travel for at least one percent of the population – at least in the United States and other countries. As noted by the BBC, air travel accounts for about 5 per cent of emissions to contribute to global climate change, but only a small percentage of the world uses air transport. According to an analysis by the International Council on Clean Transport, only 3 percent of the world’s population flies regularly. In addition, if everyone in the world flew, aircraft emissions would top CO2 emissions across the United States.
The Sustainable Aviation Fuel Dealer Agreement, which will offset a portion of the carbon emissions associated with Deloitte’s business travel, is a small step toward greening the airline industry, but the question is whether it is an important first step or an attempt to greenwash useless travel. A counseling industry practice prides itself on this national percentage.
