Sustainable fuels are produced using renewable or recycled waste carbon meaning that British Airways displaces a litre of conventional jet fuel for every litre of SAF that it consumes. SAF has been shown to provide significant reductions in overall CO2 lifecycle emissions compared to fossil fuels, and for waste-derived fuels these can be more than 90%. Furthermore, SAF contains fewer impurities (such as sulphur), so it has lower air quality impacts than conventional jet fuel. Most of the SAF in production at the moment are based on waste oils and fats. British Airways is working on new supply chains using municipal waste that it hopes will be commercially available within the next 2 years.

The CO2 emissions associated with the SAF you purchase will be allocated only to you and this will be audited for British Airways by an independent assurance company.

Similar to green electricity tariffs, there isn’t a special SAF infrastructure that sends SAF to particular flights. Instead, the SAF will be procured and ‘dropped-in’ i.e. mixed into the existing fuel infrastructure. This is because the SAF is blended with conventional fuel before it reaches an aircraft. To maximise efficiency, SAF is put into the fuel infrastructure system at strategic locations rather than at multiple locations. Nevertheless, this purchase-based approach to attribution of SAF means that the SAF you buy can be attributed to you. SAF can be purchased for a flight either in advance, during or after the flight you intend to make carbon neutral. British Airways will ensure that the SAF is sourced and consumed no later than 12 months after a customer has made a SAF purchase.

We ensure that the SAF supplied has been through a detailed sustainability assessment using recognised sustainability certification systems. These assessment systems are independently verified and ensure that the fuel has genuinely been derived from waste-based sources. The certification process also ensures that the whole life cycle greenhouse gas emissions are accurately calculated and that systems are in place to minimise the impact of producing the fuel.

SAF is not presently produced in large volumes and many technologies are still under development, so the production costs are much higher than for conventional jet fuel. British Airways and its parent International Airlines Group are investing $865m over the next 20 years to help development of this important industry. By selecting to purchase SAF, you are helping to accelerate the development of this new sustainable avenue for aviation as well as being one of the first in the world to have made their flight carbon neutral using SAF.

Reaching net zero greenhouse gas emissions requires investment in and scaling of solutions that remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and from the carbon cycle on a long-term basis. Carbon removals refer to projects and technologies that do just this. Carbon removal methods are diverse, and leverage both natural and technology-based processes. Examples include (but are not limited to):

(1) Afforestation and reforestation – Growing trees in locations that were not previously forested or growing trees where they used to grow but have since been depleted.

(2) Improved forest management – Adjusting management practices to increase the carbon stored in forests relative to their baseline.

(3) Biomass storage through biochar – Converting biomass into biochar without oxygen (pyrolysis) modifies the carbon structures such that they are no longer readily broken down (i.e., they're more durable), thus removing carbon from the carbon cycle for potentially hundreds of years.

(4) Biomass Energy with Carbon Capture and Storage (BECCS) – Capturing carbon released during the combustion of biomass and sequestering it.

(5) Direct Air Capture (DAC) – Leveraging technology to remove carbon from the air for storage underground or for use (utilisation) in a variety of products.

(6) CO2 Mineralization – Leveraging processes that bind carbon with minerals such that they are removed from the atmosphere and stored in carbonate rock.

While carbon offsets are delivered by projects that remove, avoid, or reduce emissions, "carbon removals" strictly refer to projects that remove carbon. Put differently, when you purchase carbon removals, you are supporting projects (e.g., nature-based solutions or technologies) that withdraw carbon from the atmosphere or remove it from the carbon cycle, and then store the carbon for the medium to long-term. When you support traditional carbon offsetting projects by purchasing Verified Emission Reduction (VER) units, you may be supporting a project that removes carbon, or it may reduce carbon, or it may avoid carbon.

Today, nature-based solutions that remove carbon are often verified by the same certification standards that verify other carbon offsets, and so if you are focused on removals, you need to independently confirm that they are removing carbon as opposed to reducing or avoiding it. Other forms of carbon removals are often verified by different certification standards (like Puro.Earth).

The following types of carbon credit projects presently exist:

1. Renewable Energy – Including hydro, wind, and photovoltaic solar power, solar hot water and biomass power and heat production.

2. Energy Efficiency – these projects are fundamentally about using LESS energy (e.g. LED lighting or installing more efficient cooking stoves).

3. Forestry – Forestry projects can involve either afforestation (the establishment of a new forest or reforestation (rebuilding existing forests.) REDD+ (a UN standard) projects stand for Reducing Emissions from Reforestation and Forest Degradation.

4. Transport – These projects may involve switching transportation to less carbon intensive means or introducing new technologies to improve vehicle fuel efficiency.

5. Agriculture – By changing agricultural process techniques to methods which are more environmentally friendly, significant reductions in carbon emission can be achieved.

6. Water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) – Projects which improve access to water, water treatment, improved sanitation and hygiene which contribute to climate change mitigation/adaptation can provide offsets.

7. Methane Capture – There are two types of methane projects. The first type captures and burns (flares) methane, converting it to less potent carbon dioxide and water. Alternatively, projects can capture methane and use it to produce hot water or electricity.

8. Waste management and handling – These include projects that reduce the emissions from waste or water management such as composting, biogas etc.

Key criteria that determine the quality of a credit include:

• Real – The offsets are tangible and measurable

• Additionality – The emissions reduction would not have occurred in the absence of the project.

• Permanence – The project delivers the claimed emissions reductions in a sustained manner over time.

• No Leakage – The emissions reduction achieved with the project does not lead to an increase in emissions elsewhere.

• Retired permanently – Following the sale of the carbon credit, it is permanently removed from the market mechanism, ensuring that the offsets there is no double counting or double selling.

• Verifiability – A robust audit trail demonstrating the project’s goals and its delivery against those goals.

The price of a carbon credit depends on many factors, including supply and demand in the market and the quality, type, size, and geographical location of the project and the credit age (vintage) – but most importantly, the value that credit creates.

The availability of credits will change depending on supply and demand factors as well.

The International Carbon Reduction and Offset Alliance is a non-profit organisation made up of the leading carbon reduction and offset providers in the voluntary carbon market.
We adhere to the International Carbon Reduction and Offsetting Alliance’s (ICROA) Code of Best Practice.

ICROA is working with leading academic institutions to understand the drivers of the voluntary market, and to research and demonstrate the additional non-carbon benefits of voluntary offsetting. For example, a recent study by Gold Standard finds that for every carbon credit issued from a clean cook stove project, £219 in economic value is created. For domestic biogas projects, the average value created is £380 per credit.

Cost per tonne and cost per mile may vary depending on:

The project you select – projects vary in price, as described above.

Emissions factors – see FAQ about emission factors.

The carbon credits we are offering vary in price from approximately £8.00-£11.00 per tonne.

Each project has a different price depending on technology, location, carbon standard etc.

Once you have completed the carbon credit purchase, no refund can be made if you change your mind or in case of cancellation, rebooking or cancellation of the flight that you have offset.

We combine the data that you enter with data from the airline to calculate your emissions. If your flight is within Europe, we adjust the emissions calculation to reflect the emissions already reduced by British Airways’ participation in regulatory systems including the UK and EU Emissions Trading Systems so that we aren’t double counting these emissions.

Our calculator uses average historical British Airways data from the most recent full year. If your flight is within Europe, we adjust the emissions calculation to reflect the emissions already reduced by British Airways’ participation in regulatory systems including the UK and EU Emissions Trading Systems so that we aren’t double counting these emissions.

Other calculators may use factors that are specific to a particular airline, or standard government factors. Other reasons for differences include the extent to which data is split by cabin class and whether non-CO2 effects are included. Given that the relative scale of non-CO2 impact is uncertain and subject to ongoing research, we are using a radiative forcing index of 1. This will be reviewed when further information becomes available.

This is up to you. Offsets are based on the number of passengers using a seat on the aircraft. If your child is old enough to sit on their own in a seat, then you can offset for them. If they are a baby in arms, then no offset is needed.

CHOOOSE and British Airways are working towards enabling you to offset during your booking process as soon as possible. We have chosen to offer customers the opportunity to offset now rather than wait for changes to booking systems..

The data in the calculator is updated regularly based on:

• Annual emissions factor data provided by British Airways.
• Changes to emissions regimes.

Aircraft engines burn fuel in order to transport passengers from one place to another. This process creates CO2 and other emissions.

These total emissions are divided among passengers, taking into account the fact that passengers in business and first class have larger seat room and increased luggage allowances.

The factors that determine the emissions for a journey are:

•Arrival and departure point – this determines distance and fuel consumption.

•Number of passengers.

•Travel class.

•Carbon emission factor – this determines the CO2 equivalent per kilometre.

The UK and EU Emissions Trading Systems (ETS) work by setting a limit (or cap) on the amount of CO2 emissions that are allowed from obligated industries e.g. power generation, aviation, fuels and chemicals production. Companies are required to reduce their emissions or buy emission reduction credits from other companies in the system that have reduced their emissions and thereby have allowances to sell. CO2 allowance units equal to the cap are distributed by governments to airlines either freely or through auctions. Airlines that emit CO2 above their cap must buy emission reduction units from other companies that have reduced their emissions below their cap and thereby have allowance units to sell.

British Airways calculates its individual ETS cap and which of its emissions are already accounted for through the ETS. ETS CO2 allowance units purchased by British Airways above its individual cap are treated as emissions reductions achieved through emissions trading. To make your flight carbon neutral, for flights regulated by emissions trading, we subtract the CO2 allowance units above British Airways’ individual emissions cap that the airline has paid for through the ETS to leave the remaining residual CO2 emissions that need to be offset.

In addition to greenhouse gas emissions including CO2, aircraft also cause non-CO2 climate effects such as condensation trails. Research into these effects and the appropriate metrics to characterise them continues. Radiative forcing is a metric or measurement basis that aims to combine the CO2 and non-CO2 climate effects. Given that the relative scale of impact is uncertain and subject to ongoing research, we are using a radiative forcing index of 1. This will be reviewed when further information becomes available.