B/CA Show News - NBAA 2007 Day 1 - (Page 106) CARBON OFFSETS N B A A 2 0 07 NetJets Launches Climate Program NetJets, which does more business flying than anyone (its airplanes average about 1,100 hours per year and the fleet stands this month at 704), has launched a Comprehensive Climate Initiative “to address the environmental impact of the company’s flights and other operations and strengthen its response to climate change and other environmental challenges.” More than a carbon offset program, NetJets’ CCI encompasses research into new fuels, ways to improve operations to immediately reduce the use of today’s fuels, and support for such initiatives as recycling at FBOs and installation of solar panels on schools. The program has the support of California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, a NetJets flyer who started buying carbon offsets through the fractional operator earlier this year. Environmental impact has been a growing issue in aviation, especially business aviation, which is always subject to accusations of excess privilege and hypocrisy. The issue loomed large at the EBACE meeting in Switzerland this past spring, and The Wall Street Journal told readers last month, “There are now 10,000 private jets swarming American skies, all burning more than 15 times as much fuel per passenger as commercial planes.” That’s 100 gallons per hour yielding a ton of carbon dioxide, the Journal said, compared with just six gallons of fuel producing six hundredths of a ton of CO2 for a 777 passenger. It’s widely recognized that carbon emission from other forms of transport dwarf aviation emissions, of which business aviation itself accounts for a fraction. But aviation is growing faster than other modes, business aviation is growing faster still, and environmentalists say that airplane exhaust is especially harmful because emissions take place high in the atmosphere. “We at NetJets, as individuals and as a company, are very concerned about the issue of climate change,” said NetJets chairman and CEO Richard Santulli. “We are committed to being responsible stewards of our environment and setting the bar for the private aviation industry. This is only the beginning of a longterm effort that will fully integrate environmental concerns into our everyday business model.” NetJets has been formulating its climate strategy since early last year, forming environmental advisory boards and has retained Connecticut’s Esty Environmental Partners, a corporate environmental strategist. The initiative, which NetJets says will be expanded in the coming months, includes offsetting carbon emissions from NetJets’ flights and reducing the NetJets’ carbon footprint worldwide. It also includes a substantial investment in leadingedge technology research with the goal of creating an ultra-low emissions jet fuel. NetJets U.S. has established a goal of improving its energy efficiency, cutting waste, and reducing carbon emissions from its internal operations by 10% over the next two years. NetJets has established Director of Environmental Management positions, reporting to the office of the chairman, in the U.S. and Europe. NetJets is investing in cuttingedge research to identify more California Gov. Schwarzenegger with Tony Blair at 10 Downing Street this past June. Schwarzenegger was in London to discuss a California-UK global warming pact. When the governor flies NetJets, he buys carbon offsets. Governor Schwarzenegger’s Credits When Arnold Schwarzenegger flies NetJets (he uses a variety of aircraft, depending on mission, “very intelligently,” according to NetJets chief Richard Santulli), he buys a corresponding number of carbon offsets—the money supporting the van Eck Forest Project on the California coast north of Eureka. “Owned by the Fred M. van Eck Forest Foundation, the 2,200-acre van Eck Forest in Humboldt County is a working redwood forest conserved and managed by the Pacific Forest Trust to increase carbon stores, restore biodiversity and old growth qualities, and provide habitat for endangered species. Therefore, in addition to helping cool the climate, the van Eck Forest Project helps protect wildlife habitat, safeguard clean water and sustain rural communities and jobs for the benefit of all Californians,” the Trust said. “It is important that we continue to focus on innovative ways to reduce our society’s carbon footprint,” Schwarzenegger said. The Governor will pay the Fred M. van Eck Forest Foundation “from his own personal funds to acquire the van Eck Forest Project offsets,” according to the Trust. The Pacific Forest Trust is based at the Presidio, which is the former army base in San Francisco. www.pacificforest.org 106 September 25, 2007 www.aviationweek.com/shownews http://www.pacificforest.org http://www.aviationweek.com/shownews
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