MOVING PAST CARBON NEUTRAL
We know that a huge part of our success is because of the beauty of the West Coast experience we offer – an experience that we want to protect and support for generations to come. It’s why we are so strongly committed to being an industry leader on sustainable initiatives.
OUR SUSTAINABILITY JOURNEY
Since 2007, Harbour Air has pioneered sustainable aviation.
From 2007 – 2024, Harbour Air worked with Ostrom Climate to quantify and offset our corporate GHG emissions. On behalf of our passengers, Harbour Air purchased high-quality carbon offsets to offset emissions associated with its fuel consumption as well as corporate footprint (offices, terminals, employee commute, electricity, other fuels, etc.). Harbour Air thanks our passengers and Ostrom Climate for this partnership and helping us to achieve and maintain our goal of being “Carbon Neutral”.
While concurrently maintaining our Carbon Neutrality, Harbour Air has also invested over $5M to date in our pioneering e-plane program, which represents the development of the world’s first commercially available electric propulsion platform for air passengers. We made history on December 10, 2019, when we flew the world’s first fully electric commercial aircraft out of Richmond, BC. Our innovative e-plane program aims to allow Harbour Air to convert our fleet to sustainable propulsion and facilitate 3rd-party carrier conversions.
As of March 2024, Harbour Air has begun the next phase of our sustainability journey by fast-tracking our development of the e-plane program. Rather than continuing to offset operational aviation fuel-related emissions, Harbour Air will inset these funds to accelerate the e-plane program. This means a portion of the total charges of every Harbour Air scheduled flight, scenic tour and charter flight, representative of an estimate of the travelers’ carbon footprint, will go directly to the research and development associated with the e-plane program.
While we have switched to an insetting approach for emission associated with operational aviation fuel, we proudly remain committed to investing in premium carbon offsets to offset emissions associated with our corporate footprint. These offsets encompass emissions stemming from our facilities, other fuels, electricity usage, and employee commuting. As 2024 marks a transition period, we will estimate our carbon footprint emissions based on the 2023 value.
We extend our gratitude to our passengers for choosing to fly with us and for their contribution to advancing the accessibility of electric flight as a practical and sustainable option for travelers.
INSETTING TO MOVE BEYOND CARBON NEUTRAL
Since 2007, Harbour Air has proudly reached carbon neutrality by investing in high quality voluntary carbon offsets on behalf of our customers. We thank our travelers and Ostrom Climate for helping us to achieve and maintain this goal. Now, we are entering a new chapter in our environmental commitment by INSETTING TO MOVE BEYOND CARBON NEUTRAL.
WHAT IS “INSETTING”?
While offsetting has long been a widely used method for organizations to mitigate their environmental impact by investing in third-party carbon projects, the notion of “insetting” is less commonplace. According to the International Insetting Platform, “Insetting represents the actions taken by an organization to fight climate change within its own value chain in a manner which generates multiple positive sustainable impacts.” As per the World Economic Forum, “…carbon ‘insetting’ focuses on doing more, good rather than doing less bad within one’s value chain.”
At Harbour Air, we are Insetting by taking “actions or investments within our own operations, production or value chain for long-term, sustainable mitigation or avoidance of emissions.”
As is typical for airlines, the single largest source of emissions at Harbour Air is the combustion of jet fuel and aviation gas to power aircraft engines. Beginning in 2024, Harbour Air is doubling down on reducing the environmental impact of air travel by insetting, rather than offsetting, for the long-term avoidance of this emissions source*. Specifically, we are insetting by focusing investment efforts on our innovative e-plane program.
* We recognize that although there currently is no “official” definition of insetting, many interpretations currently include only Scope 3 emissions to qualify as insetting. We are focusing on “insetting” for our largest source of Scope 1 emissions – jet fuel and aviation gas.
INVESTING IN THE E-PLANE INTITIAVE: A STRATEGIC APPROACH TO COMBATTING GHG EMISSIONS
We are steadfast in our belief that the e-plane initiative presents Harbour Air with a prime opportunity to make a significant positive impact on the environment. Electrifying air transportation isn’t merely a choice; it’s imperative, and Harbour Air is spearheading the movement. It represents our most promising investment avenue for addressing greenhouse gas emissions associated with traditional fuel consumption. Currently, viable alternatives for carriers to tackle or reduce such emissions are limited and pose significant technical and financial challenges for large-scale implementation. Thus, historically, offsetting these emissions through carbon credits has been a prudent choice.
With the e-plane program, Harbour Air is leading the charge in advancing the essential technologies, expertise, and operational capacity for electric aviation. Just as the electrification of ground transportation is recognized as pivotal in achieving our national and societal climate goals, electric aviation marks a significant leap forward. We view our laser focus on the e-plane program as the critical next step in our sustainability journey because it aims to bring technology to market that allows not only Harbour Air but also other operators to feasibly and viably avoid emissions associated with the combustion of fuel in commercial aviation.
Much like Tesla revolutionized the realm of passenger vehicles, Harbour Air’s e-plane initiative aims to make electric flight technically feasible, economically viable, and drastically reduce emissions linked to air travel. This underscores the critical nature of our investment in the e-plane program. It’s not just about electrifying Harbour Air’s own fleet; it’s about supporting other operators in electrifying theirs as well. With our inaugural commercial flight scheduled for 2026, Harbour Air’s e-plane initiative stands at the forefront of global aviation innovation.
PROJECT GREEN YVR
Harbour Air is proud to be one of the founding members of Project Green YVR. The project is a Vancouver Airport Authority initiative that helps Sea Island businesses reduce their waste, water and energy use to limit their impact on the environment and save money through a variety of Project Green YVR Programs.