App helps travellers offset their carbon footprints

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Germany’s national airline, Lufthansa, has launched a new mobile app that helps passengers to offset their individual carbon footprints using Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF). The app, called Compensaid, offers travellers an entirely new approach to offsetting carbon dioxide with SAF in a transparent way.SAF is a carbon-neutral synthetic fuel that is making aviation more climate-friendly. However, it is expensive to purchase and is currently only available in certain countries. Lufthansa allows its passengers to purchase SAF for other flights in order to offset their current reliance on oil-based jet fuels. Alternatively, app users can donate to reforestation projects in South America.“Sustainable Aviation Fuel is a groundbreaking way to produce sustainable kerosene. We are delighted to support Compensaid, an innovative platform that for the first time enables customers to invest in carbon-neutral fuel for their flights," says Lufthansa Group head of fuel management Thorsten Luft.

Compensaid helps travellers track their carbon emissions

Compensaid gives travellers a comprehensive overview of their travel history and associated carbon emissions, not just with Lufthansa, but with all airlines. “Flying benefits our world in many different ways – it connects people, helps bridge cultural divides, intensifies business relations, and enables interactions to take place across long distances,” says Lufthansa Innovation Hub managing director Gleb Tritus.“But flying also has negative climate effects, which need to be counteracted – not least from a digital perspective. With Compensaid, we provide people with a tool that shows them the climate effects of their flights. This impact can be reduced significantly with the help of innovative technologies such as sustainable fuel,” explains Tritus.Compensaid is an innovative tracking tool that works across all airlines around the world. Users receive a detailed evaluation of their entire travel history, including total flight distance, times, destinations, efficiency of the aircraft, fuel consumption and individual carbon emissions.

How travellers can offset their carbon footprints

Passengers using Compensaid have two options for offsetting their carbon dioxide footprints. Firstly, they can replace fossil fuels with SAF on a one-to-one basis. The app calculates the market-based rates between the two fuel types and allows users to purchase the same value of carbon-neutral fuel as their jet fuel consumption. The SAF purchased by app users will be used to fuel Lufthansa flights within a six month period.The second way that app users can offset their carbon footprints is to donate money towards a reforestation project in Nicaragua. The trees planted and grown by the project will produce enough oxygen to offset the carbon dioxide produced by the app users when they fly. This reforestation project has been carefully selected as a partner by the Lufthansa Innovation Hub.The first version of Compensaid was launched in August 2019. Lufthansa Innovation Hub, who created the app, are in the process of expanding the partnership networks for Compensaid, as well as extending the service to other modes of transport. This is the first app of its kind to provide travellers with a quick and transparent way to offset their carbon dioxide emissions.___Averda is a leading waste management provider with over 50 years of experience across three continents. Through growth, transformation and engagement, we strive to find new ways of managing waste while protecting the community and environment. ___By pairing international expertise with local insights, we have secured our position as one of South Africa’s most respected providers of waste management and industrial cleaning services. We also operate in the recycling, pipe inspection, CCTV, infrastructure inspection, hydro-demolition, high-pressure water jetting and catalyst handling industries. ___Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn for the best tips on recycling and the latest industry news. See our Instagram and YouTube channels for more insights into environmental affairs and our work with local communities.