Aito signs up to carbon offsetting initiative

Aito members will be able to purchase verified carbon credits for customers at the point of sale as part of a new effort to offset carbon emissions.

Specialist firm Fenix Carbon has become recommended partner for the independent agents and operators organisation.

It runs a marketplace that connects buyers of carbon offsets of all sizes directly to high quality projects across the globe. 

Fenix Carbon will provide training, webinars and consultation for Aito members. 

Two members, Fleewinter and Casa Cantabricas, have already incorporated carbon offsets into their travel packages. 

Fleewinter’s specialist staff calculate the impact of each holiday using a predetermined formula, and balance out the emissions by buying carbon credits.

Projects supported via the Aito collaboration include a forest protection scheme in Zimbabwe and a hydro-electric power station in Turkey. 

Offsets can be bought at a fixed price to guard against currency fluctuations. 

A real-time digital dashboard also provides clients with relevant documents needed to back their carbon neutrality claims, including proof of certification.

Fenix Carbon founder and chief executive Thomas Herry said: “We’re thrilled to have been chosen by Aito to support them, and their members, on their carbon offsetting journey. 

“The travel industry has a crucial role to play not only in tackling climate change, but doing so with integrity and transparency. That is what our proposition can offer, as we become the platform that helps create a million new carbon projects.”

Fleewinter founder and director Alisdair Luxmoore added: “Travel is a force for good to encourage understanding and communication across geographies and cultures, but the tourism industry recognises it has a responsibility to reduce carbon wherever possible — and, where difficult to do this directly, to compensate through carbon offsetting. 

“Fenix Carbon has developed a cost-effective, simple way to make this a reality, with integrity and control, and without them I doubt we’d have our current programme up and running.”