Together we can help the earth. The world can't turn the clock back - we can't suddenly decide to stay at home and mothball all cars and planes, that's not how things work - but we can contribute to making good, and with FlyGreen.ca you can have the best of both worlds: you continue to travel but you 'mop up' as you go. It's a first in Canada, but when we created FlyGreen.ca we knew it was a neat idea. We hope you agree with us and, from today, carbon offset all your trips with FlyGreen.ca!
 
Obviously, we want to 'sell'  the idea to you because we think it is not only a good one, but absolutely necessary. However, we didn't want you to pay more - on the contrary. So we worked out a system which allows you to book at the same low rates and conditions as booking direct. And, while  you enjoy these advantages (and we promise you, there are no hidden extras anywhere!) we partially offset your carbon footprint on your behalf.
 
Whatever you are interested in, whether Westjet or Air Canada, your preferred Package Holidays and/or Car Rentals, you book with the providers through the FlyGreen.ca website, or you go to Hume Travel for your Cruise trips and what we call 'Sustainable Tours' - and all those bookings are partially offset. 

Naturally, FlyGreen.ca is a travel agency and not a carbon offsetter. For that we have partnered with Offsetters Climate Neutral Society (www.offsetters.ca), a well-known, not-for-profit organisation established by a team of climate-change experts at the University of British Columbia. They invest in projects that prevent greenhouse gases from being emitted into the atmosphere through simple, energy-efficient and sustainable projects of renewable energy that would not have taken place without their involvement.

Offsetting carbon emission is often still a bit of a mystery, and people ask themselves how it works. Well, it's basically quite simple: when an individual or an organisation emits a given amount of greenhouse gas (GHG) but invests in measures that will eliminate the equivalent volume of GHG from the atmosphere (or prevent other emissions from taking place at all), that investment is a carbon offset.  

And with every project, more and more emerging energy-saving systems will become feasible, and by regularly offsetting even a part of what you contribute to the increase of GHG emissions, you not only offset your own emissions but also promote the mainstream adoption of alternative energy systems that do not rely on fossil fuels.

If we want to stabilise the earth's climate, we need to reduce GHG emissions by over 70%. The Offsetters' projects not only deliver GHG reductions of 70% or more but are economically attractive in the long run and, once established, will be able to sustain themselves.
 
A report on the climate impact of aviation by the Environmental Change Institute at Oxford University (Aviation Emissions and Offsets) - uses four factors when they calculate how much CO2 a flight emits:

• The fuel consumption rate of the aircraft used
• The seats occupied and the amount (weight) of freight on board
• The overall impact of GHG emissions in the stratosphere
• The distance flown

It is important to note that not all carbon-offset initiatives are 'created equal'. Right now, voluntary carbon offsets are still an unregulated market and many projects promoted as "offsets" today are not high-quality offset projects. A high-quality carbon-offset project has to conform to five rules:

1. It has to be "additional" - in other words, making projects happen that would otherwise not take place 
2. It must meet (or exceeds) Canadian standards
3. It has to be easily verified by a third party
4. It has to provide lasting environmental benefit
5. It has to be socially beneficial
   

So, you see, something can be done, and we want to be among those who do it. With your help we can make a real difference. As we said at the beginning, we won't stop travelling, so let's do it with the knowledge that we are contributing to balancing out the effects.