Insurance company
AXA Deutschland is to become the first corporate client to use a new carbon
offsetting scheme announced by Lufthansa on Wednesday.
The Compensaid Corporate
Program allows corporate clients of the group's airlines to contribute towards their use of sustainable
aviation fuels (SAFs), the sponsorship of certified climate protection projects
or a combination of both.
The carbon offsetting schemes include the promotion of photovoltaic systems, the use of
efficient stoves that require less firewood, or the replacement of diesel
generators with systems that produce electricity from biomass. Companies in the
programme can choose the project that suits them best.
AXA Deutschland has
committed to the scheme for an initial three years and will start with 15 per cent
SAFs and 85 per cent climate protection projects. This means the insurer's flights are completely carbon neutral.
“Sustainability in
general and combating climate change are essential aspects of our AXA strategy.
Our dedicated sustainability team and the AXA Innovation Campus are always on
the lookout for innovative concepts and Lufthansa’s Compensaid offer came
exactly at the right time for us,” said Sirka Laudon, the insurer’s head of people
experience and responsible for AXA Germany’s sustainability project.
“The future offsetting of carbon emissions
generated by our flights is another definitive step towards reducing our carbon
footprint and another string to our bow in our determination to achieve
carbon-neutral business travel,” she said.
"Offsetting is
part of our strategy to cut our CO2 emissions in half by 2030 and achieve a
neutral carbon footprint by 2050. We are delighted that with AXA Deutschland we
have gained a partner that shares our vision of sustainable mobility," said
Christina Foerster, Lufthansa board member for customer, IT & corporate responsibility.
Compensaid
was originally launched by the Lufthansa
Innovation Hub in 2019 for individual travellers directly in the booking
process but has now been extended to companies for the first time.
United Airlines this week launched a corporate alliance to promote the use of SAFs.