Low Carbon Australia: Virgin Australia certified Carbon Neutral

Virgin Australia's carbon neutral certification has again received Australian Government approval through the National Carbon Offset Standard (NCOS).

The Carbon Neutral initiative is a voluntary certification scheme which allows Australian businesses to measure, reduce and offset greenhouse gas emissions associated with business operations or products. This Government initiative is delivered by Low Carbon Australia which acts as an independent accreditation body.

In 2007 Virgin Australia was the first airline in the world to receive Government endorsement to offer a low carbon scheme by giving its clients the opportunity to offset the carbon emissions of each flight taken.

As part of its corporate sustainability strategy Virgin Australia offers Guests the opportunity to offset their carbon emissions related to each flight they take with all of its airlines, including Virgin Australia, V Australia, Pacific Blue and Polynesian Blue.

A Guest can offset the carbon emissions from their flight in two ways, by selecting the carbon offset option that appears during the online booking process or at any time by selecting the carbon offset button on the company's home page.

http://www.virginaustralia.com/carbonoffset/

"Virgin Australia has led the way in providing the opportunity for its clients to fly carbon neutral by offsetting their own share of flight emissions." says Meg McDonald, CEO of Low Carbon Australia.

As the flying public's understanding of climate change as evolved, Virgin has continued to give its clients a simple way to offset individual flights," she said.

Virgin Australia Group Executive of Corporate Advisory Merren McArthur said: "At Virgin Australia, we take our commitment to minimising the environmental impact of our operations very seriously and we have a comprehensive strategy in place to ensure the sustainable operation of our business".

"Offering our Guests the opportunity to offset the carbon emissions related to their flights is an important part of this strategy.

"We are very pleased to receive Australian Government approval through the National Carbon Offset Standard (NCOS) as it means our Guests can continue to have confidence that their flights are offset with genuine carbon abatement", Ms McArthur said.

The offsets used by Virgin Australia are generated from projects that are accredited under the Voluntary Carbon Standard (VCS) and are NCOS CN compliant. Projects currently include a renewable energy (biogas) project in Thailand and a fuel-wood saving project in Cambodia.

The Carbon Neutral Program is administered by Low Carbon Australia on behalf of the Australian Government Department of Climate Change and Energy Efficiency.

The Carbon Neutral Program commenced on 1 July 2010 as a successor scheme to the Australian Government's Greenhouse Friendly™ initiative.

*Virgin Australia group of airlines (incorporating Virgin Australia, V Australia, Pacific Blue and Polynesian Blue)