Hawaiian Airlines guests can now balance out carbon impact

Hawaiian Airlines today announced it is giving guests on any of the carrier’s flights the option to measure and offset the carbon emissions of their travel by supporting projects that help keep forests standing.

The airline is marking the launch of its new program in partnership with Conservation International by matching all guest offsets during April – in recognition of Earth Day later this month – and committing to offsetting all future employee business travel on Hawaiian’s flights.

“Following our pledge last year to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050, we wanted to also give our guests – both visitors to Hawai‘i as well as our island residents – the opportunity to reduce the impact of their individual emissions when traveling with us,” said Alanna James, managing director of sustainability initiatives at Hawaiian Airlines in a press release. “Conservation International offers a simple and meaningful way for our guests to support climate action, and we are delighted to welcome them onboard as partners in minimizing our environmental impact.”

Effective today, Hawaiian’s guests booking travel within the Hawaiian Islands and between Hawai‘i and the continental United States, as well as Japan, South Korea, Australia, Auckland, Tahiti or American Samoa, can enter their origin and destination on a carbon calculator — adding multiple legs and travelers, if necessary — and determine the emissions of their itinerary.

Travelers can then choose to balance out their impact by contributing to forest carbon projects that reduce deforestation, the second leading cause of climate change, according to the airline.

Resulting donations will directly fund projects led by Conservation International that generate high-quality, independently verified carbon credits that protect forests and support local communities.

Airline executives say these carbon credit investments advance the work of dozens of projects like the Chyulu Hills REDD+ project in southeast Kenya, validated by the strict requirements of Verified Carbon Standard and Climate Community and Biodiversity Standards.

Hawaiian has committed to achieving net-zero carbon emissions by 2050 through ongoing fleet investments, more efficient flying, carbon offsets and industry advocacy for air traffic control reform and sustainable aviation fuel development and proliferation.