The Jet Set offset

JetSetGo is India’s largest private aviation company, providing a personalised aviation service for those that seek on demand point to point air connectivity. Recently, the company announced that it would make all its flight operations carbon neutral by 2024, making it the first aviation company in India, and one of the first in the world, to commit to achieving this in such a short time. This ambitious programme would be implemented in partnership with Auroville Consulting.

But why has JetSetGo taken up this initiative? What does it involve? And why is it partnering with Auroville Consulting?

The problem

Fossil fuels are heavily implicated in climate change, and flights use a lot of these fuels. According to figures from German nonprofit Atmosfair, flying from London to New York and back generates about 986 kg of carbon dioxide (CO2) per passenger. This is more than the average person in 56 countries emits in an entire year. 

While carbon dioxide emissions from burning aviation fuel represent only about 2% of global CO2 emissions at present, they are increasing rapidly: carbon emissions from the airline industry grew by 75 per cent from 1990 to 2012, and the Indian Ministry of Civil Aviation confirmed a 63.5% increase in CO2 emissions by Indian airlines between 2012-19. Moreover, because aircraft emissions – which also include sulphur aerosols and water contrails (water vapour is also a greenhouse gas) – are released high up, they have a very potent impact as they stay in the atmosphere for many years. 

Sudheer Perla, the co-founder of JetSetGo, admits that when the company was established in 2014, climate change “was the last thing” on his mind. “We were just trying to become profitable.” What changed his mind was when one of his engineers told him that one of their private jets had a carbon footprint similar to that of a large commercial airliner. “And because we only fly two or three people at a time, it meant that our carbon impact was disproportionately high.” 

Sudheer already knew Martin Scherfler from Auroville Consulting, so when he heard they were developing a Green-house gas (GHG) consulting practice, he thought this would be the right opportunity for JetSetGo to do something tangible about its carbon emissions.

The plan

The aviation industry has limited technology options at present to go completely ‘green’. Nevertheless, there are a few options for reducing carbon emissions at source.  This includes using biofuels or optimising flight routes (recent studies show that altering the altitude and path of certain flights can markedly reduce contrails). However, apart from optimising routes, there are problems with the other options. Biofuels are much more expensive than regular aviation fuel, and electric planes are still only prototypes that are under various stages of development, and hence not market ready for broader adoption. 

This means that employing carbon offsets is the most accessible option today for the aviation industry to reduce its carbon footprint. Carbon offsets allow a carbon emitter to compensate for their carbon emissions by financing carbon sequestration activities elsewhere.  

JetSetGo’s plan is to inform their customers of the carbon emissions their flight will involve and ask them to finance an offset option. Any shortfall will be made up by the company itself. Auroville Consulting will provide ways to calculate the emissions and channel the funds to an offsetting activity.

Challenges

Carbon offsetting is a very interesting concept which is growing in popularity. However, it raises some questions. Firstly, in this particular case will JetSetGo’s customers ‘go’ for it? Sudheer is fairly optimistic. He points out that, unlike commercial aviation, private flying customers are less price sensitive. So they are unlikely to baulk at paying a little more if the value proposition and the right emotional connect can be established in a transparent manner and through building trust. In fact, when the company floated the idea with some of its regular customers they all seemed open to consider paying for offsets, as long as credibility can be established that the offsetting activity will achieve the desired impact.   

A larger question concerns the principle and practice of offsetting carbon emissions. Some people suggest that offsets can encourage emission complacency in the emitter, particularly if they can easily afford to do it, and point out that it is always best to lower emissions at source. This is a challenge in the aviation industry. But since most of JetSetGo’s customers are travelling on business, if they are really concerned about the environment, why don’t they travel less and utilise ‘Zoom’ meetings more?    

Sudheer has observed two trends in the Covid era. One is that, indeed, some people are travelling less and ‘Zooming’ more. However, this hasn’t affected high-end travel. In fact, the company has witnessed exponential growth over the last twelve months, as more and more people want to travel not only speedily, with no unforeseen travel disruptions, but also safely, away from crowds.  And he admits that while most of their loyal customers are flying more, concerns about the environment are probably not at the top of their agenda, simply because he feels the option to do something about it without compromising business priorities does not exist.  

Is this also true for the JetSetGo management?  Is this offsetting initiative merely a form of ‘greenwashing’, paying lip service to environmental values in order to assuage guilt about carbon emissions and attract more business? Sudheer laughs. “We are interested in something with more substance than greenwashing.  In fact, there is no need for us to do greenwashing because the service we offer will always attract customers, and if that was the intention, we could find simpler and quicker alternatives than the kind of engagement we envisage with Auroville Consulting.”

He admits, however, that for many years he wrestled with an internal conflict “between the need to make profits and the wish to be environmentally and socially responsible”. However, he is increasingly coming to realize that these two considerations need not be mutually exclusive; “than, in fact by bringing them together you can create more abundance”. 

But what about this seductive term “carbon-neutral”?  What, exactly, is being measured in terms of emissions? For JetSetGo, is it just the flights that are being measured, or does it also include the ground activities, the transport of staff to and from work, and even the CO2 generated in the construction of the aircraft? Sudheer says that initially they will only assess carbon emissions from fuel use, as he thinks these are by far the major source of their emissions, but he is willing to consider including other sources of carbon emissions, as well as other harmful non-CO2 emissions, in the future. 

Do offsets work?

Finally, there are fundamental questions about the effectiveness of offsetting. Ideally, offsetting would sequester, or lock up, one kilo of GHG for every kilo emitted by the emitter.  In practice, however, it is sometimes extremely difficult to accurately calculate how much GHG is being sequestered and for how long. Currently the most popular offsetting option is forestation.  However, trees take at least ten years before they begin to sequester significant amounts of carbon, they need to be long-lived, and when they die the carbon should remain a part of the forest ecosystem. All this implies long-term management and supervision.

Badly designed offsetting programmes can result in marginalised communities suffering, and even environmental devastation, without significant reductions in GHG emissions. 

In fact, studies of the world’s two largest offset programmes – the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) and Joint Implementation (JI), both administered by the United Nations under the Kyoto Protocol – suggest that up to 60-70% of their offset credits may not represent valid GHG reductions.

Martin admits there has been bad publicity regarding GHG offsetting, but says that standards have improved a lot. 

What, then, are the offsetting options that Auroville Consulting is considering for JetSetGo? Martin mentions they are only just beginning to screen these, and while they might investigate biogas and waste management options in the future, the one they are looking at now is reforestation with an NGO that works with smallholding farmers in Africa and Tamil Nadu. “The farmers would be paid in advance to plant certain trees on the boundaries of their properties, and later they would get the carbon credits. In this way, we are targeting a population that is vulnerable, while addressing other factors like soil erosion, soil fertility and prosperity.”

Hita, who also works with Auroville Consulting on this scheme, adds that all such offsetting projects would be certified by a third party for transparency “in terms of how much carbon is actually being stored in the forest. This would be monitored on an annual basis so we know that those trees are there. There would also be regular inspection visits.” 

Sudheer adds that he is happy to partner with Auroville Consulting on an initiative like this because he knows they have no other agenda than to make sure the job is well done: and he is already working with Auroville Consulting on another project related to one of his other interests. In fact, Sudheer’s connection with Auroville seems strong, for he values the creativity and engagement with real world issues he finds here. 

The future 

What are their hopes for reducing carbon and other GHG emissions in the future?

Regarding the global situation, Sudheer notes that while environmental consciousness is becoming a bigger part of every business, “I think we are missing the boat in terms of international climate agreements. Nations are doing too little, too slowly,  and we remain fixated on geoengineering ourselves out of this mess rather than going to the root of the crisis. This is a crisis predicated on limitless growth within finite resources, and promoting values like competition and consumption over connection and community.”

Hita agrees that “it is a little too late to start correcting things, but at least we have to do something now that we are aware of how our past and present actions are affecting the climate.  Currently, the bottom line almost everywhere is still profit. If environmental issues are not included, either through a carbon tax or through a change in consciousness, it is going to be difficult to make profound changes happen.”

Martin points out that changing deep cultural paradigms, like those which have engendered the present situation, takes many years. However, his experience with the growth of solar energy in India which, fifteen years ago, nobody would have predicted, has made him optimistic about the future. And things are moving: currently, 27 countries have implemented some form of carbon tax, with greater or lesser effectiveness. The World Bank also reports there are 64 carbon pricing initiatives currently in force across the globe, with three more scheduled for implementation. Together, these initiatives have been estimated to cover 21.5% of GHG emissions in 2021.

Martin acknowledges, however, that building awareness and reducing emissions remains an uphill struggle.  Some years ago, Auroville Consulting developed a programme which would allow companies and individuals to assess their carbon footprint. They trialled it with a few small companies in Chennai and in Auroville, but while the initial response was enthusiastic, the eventual uptake was disappointing.  Martin surmises that while Auroville Consulting offered to train their accountants so that the data would be entered in the right format, these companies felt the extra work involved was not worth the effort. 

And while Auroville Consulting regularly channels funds from its workshops to the Auroville Forest Group for planting trees, and also offsets its annual emissions in collaboration with the Auroville forest group, many of our foresters are still skeptical about the practice of carbon offsetting, “perhaps because they suspect it involves greenwashing,” suggests Martin. “However, we will continue our conversation with them.”  (Another offsetting option Auroville Consulting might consider, if the carbon sequestration can be quantified,  is the environmental reclamation work Botanical Gardens is doing for Ramco Cements in old quarries and spoil heaps.) 

Martin mentions that Indian aviation companies that run international flights are already meant to account for their GHG emissions and are required to have carbon neutral growth from 2020.  Progress has been very slow, even non-existent, in this area. Can JetSetGo show the way and set the trend?

Sudheer sincerely hopes so, and his enthusiasm and commitment are infectious. He also sees the potential benefits of this initiative reaching beyond aviation. “Since our customers are  running multinational companies, engaging them in this offsetting programme could open up new doors for them to work with people like Auroville Consulting on how they can reduce emissions in other areas of their businesses.”