FAQS

 
Frequently Asked Questions?
If you’re question is not answered, please go to our contact page and tell us what you need to know.
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Q1. Who is Green Flight?

A1. We are an Australian based company that helps airlines manage their CO2 emissions and enables green behaviour among airline passengers with our CO2 calculator and Offset Programme

Q2. Why should I offset?

A2. Every action we take that generates CO2 increaes the environmental damage of climate change. It's up to us all to take whatever action we can to reduce our own impact. Offsetting your flight is not perfect, but every little helps

Q3. Why should I offset with Green Flight?

A3. We offer you an easy and convenient way to offset all of your flights, and we are transparent in where your money goes.  We always try to make sure that the projects we support do more for the local communities than just greating carbon credits - over the next few months, we will be bringing you news about specific communities and how your offset money is helping those people.

Q4. Will my offset really make a difference?

A4. We believe so. Just like recycling your household garbage, if we all do our bit, the global effects are enormous.

Q5. Are there any accreditation or certifications for companies like Green Flight that sell carbon credits?

A5. Unfortunately, there are no accreditation or certification programs for carbon offsetting companies anywhere in the world, so it is up to the companies offering the service to ensure they have sufficient systems in place to deliver on their promises.
 
There is accreditation (such as CDM, VCS, Gold Standard) on Projects and the carbon credits that are generated and sold by the project developers, and you should only buy offsets from one of these internationall accredited programs.
 
So buying credits from companies (like Green Flight) that only buy credits from appropriately accredited and verified projects is a good (and safe) start.
 
Q6. Which credits does Green Flight buy?
 
A6. We only buy from VCS and CDM projects..
 
Q7. Where does the money go?
 
A7. The money you pay for your offsets goes to pay for the carbon credits we buy from the projects, and to cover our costs of business.
 
Q8. How much goes to the projects?
 
A8. We want you to know where your offset money goes – and we bet you do too!

So we have explained our pricing process below.

If you have any questions about this, please go to our Contact Us page and send us a request for more information.

How We Calculate the Price

We gather data from various Voluntary and CDM Markets such as www.carboncatalog.org and, based on our knowledge of the carbon markets, we calculate our best estimates for the price per tonne over the next 3 months.

Then we calculate an average for the various types of projects that you may wish us to purchase the credits from, and from this we establish an average price per tonne. This lets us set a firm figure for the next 3 months.

For more information on the Projects we support, you can read more here.

After that we include the costs of running the business (see below) and from this we work out the price you pay.

So, at the moment, our best estimate of the carbon credit price we will be paying projects (including associated costs) over the next 3 months is USD$11.20 – in the example as at September 2009, our current price is USD$13.55 per tonne, and this will change (up and down) as we gather more data for the following 3 months.

As you can see, it is very transparent - if you ever visit another offset website, please check and see if they tell you why you would pay the amounts they are asking you to pay.
 

How We Arrive at Your Price Per Tonne

% Cost Breakdown per Tonne

USD$ Cost Breakdown per Tonne

How we get from the Price we pay the Project to your Price

Projected Base Credit Purchase Cost

79.00%

$11.20

$11.20

Credit Registry Costs

1.50%

$0.17

$11.37

Credit Retirement Costs

1.00%

$0.11

$11.48

Credit Card Fees

4.50%

$0.50

$11.98

Carbon & Currency Exchange Hedging Costs

1.00%

$0.11

$12.10

CL Admin Costs

5.00%

$0.56

$12.66

CL Margin

8.00%

$0.90

$13.55

 

 

 

 

Your Price per Tonne

100.00%

 

$13.55

We think you should be aware that Voluntary Carbon Credits are still primarily traded on an "over the counter" basis (as distinct to formal Exchange trading) with direct negotiations between the buyer (ourselves) and either project developers or brokers. As a result, the prices vary between projects and at various times, so it is difficult to give an accurate cost per tonne at any particular date.

 
Q9. So how can I believe what you say about your carbon credits?
 
A9. To cater for that lack of company accreditation by regulators, and because we wanted to ensure that our business was reputable and our systems were best of breed, we have the following actions and procedures in place:
 
1.       All of our processes are currently being reviewed by Bureau Veritas www.bureauveritas.com (report on the website when complete in about 1 week) to verify that we have a robust and transparent set of systems in place to ensure that:
    1. The methodology for calculating CO2 is accurate & meets international requirements - read more  
                                                               i.      NB: Our data set and calculation provider is RDC Aviation, who are also having their methodology reviewed for approval by AEA Group, on behalf of the UK Department of Energy and Climate Change (this to ensure compliance with UK DEFRA rules for calculating CO2 emissions) - this repot will also be on the website – due this week
    1. That our Project selection procedures ensures that we only buy accredited and independently verified credits (either Verified Emission Reduction Units – VERs or Certified Emission Reduction Units – CERs) -  for more see bottom of the Carbon Offsets page
    2. That we register and retire the carbon credits only on recognized public Registries (such as Voluntary Carbon Standard (VCS) Registries or national Greenhouse Gas Registries, depending on the credit type. This ensures that all credit tonnes can only be used as an offset once – see our Terms & Conditions for detail ht
    3. That our retail price setting methodology is based on reasonable costs and margins - see Calculating Offsets  
  1. Audits - Our processes and activities will be audited on a regular basis to ensure that the payment flow from offset purchases reflects credit purchases and retirements - Bureau Veritas will be performing these audits and we will provide airline clients with those audit reports for transparency.  

If you're ready to offset your flights now, go to the Flight CO2 Calculator page from here