Can You Trust Airline Offsets? Ranking 6 Major Airlines

The aviation industry has embraced carbon offsetting in recent years. Many airlines even offer flight emissions calculators so customers can offset their travel footprint right at checkout. Unfortunately, while airline offsets can help ease flygskam (Swedish for "flight guilt"), some are pretty ineffective. 

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A 2021 investigation by the Guardian, for instance, found forest protection schemes used by major airlines do not provide emissions reductions consistent with their predictions. In other words, some airlines get the green credentials and leave our emissions in the air. So how do you know which airlines to trust?

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Evaluation of major US airline offset programs

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We reviewed carbon offset programs from the six largest US airlines, using the same criteria we use to analyze projects in Commons’ Carbon Portfolio. Here’s everything you need to know. 

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American Airlines

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• Trust Ranking: Medium
• Overview: American Airlines partners with nonprofit Cool Effect to offer consumer flight offsets. Carbon offset credit purchases via American support three projects: forest management in Mexico; peat swamp restoration in Indonesia; and clean cookstoves in Honduras. 
• ‍Our Take: When it comes to airline carbon offset programs, transparency is key, and American outperforms the competition. American makes it easy to review their partner and the projects they support, access historical reports and verification details, and find information about exactly where your offset dollars go. ‍
• One area of caution: American prices carbon at around $12/ton, which is lower than several other airline programs.

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United Airlines

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• Trust Ranking: Low
• Overview: United Airlines offers flight offsets through a partnership with Conservation International. Carbon offset credits purchased via United support two projects: anti-deforestation efforts in Alto Mayo, Peru, and habitat conservation in Chyulu Hills, Kenya. 
• ‍Our Take: The UA program is a good example of the pitfalls of carbon offsetting. It supports two long-standing projects, offered through a reputable partner rooted in social and environmental justice. Yet, it’s not easy to find historical documentation or information about how Carbon International evaluates and monitors projects. This is notable, as the Alto Mayo project has received come under criticism regarding the validity of its reduction claims, as well as equity issues within the local community.

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Jet Blue

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• Trust Rating: Medium-Low
• Overview: Jet Blue partners with Carbon Fund to offset fuel emissions for all domestic flights. Passengers on international flights (or those who want to purchase additional carbon credits) can offset via Jet Blue's consumer offset program. These purchases support three types of projects: renewable energy; energy efficiency; and forestry.‍
• Our Take: At face value, Jet Blue’s offset program checks all the right boxes. However, Carbon Fund appears to lead heavily on third-party certifications and provides limited project documentation and information about its internal review processes.

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Alaska Airlines 

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• Trust Rating: Medium-Low
• Overview: Alaska Airlines partners with Good Traveler to offer carbon offsets. Offset purchases support a portfolio of 10 verified forestry projects, including improved forest management and avoided forest conversion. ‍
• Our Take: Alaska’s consumer offset program provides carbon credits that adequately reflect the cost of carbon, and Good Traveler makes it easy to find historical documentation for all projects. However, we’re left wanting when it comes to information about its internal due diligence processes.

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Southwest Airlines 

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• Trust Rating: Medium-Low
• ‍Overview: Southwest Airlines partners with CHOOOSE to offer carbon offsets. The Southwest program supports three projects: coastal conservation in Guatemala, forest management in Alaska, USA; and wind power in Costa Rica. 
• Our Take: While Southwest’s offset program is a start, it fails to adequately assure each project has been reviewed with due diligence. While all projects are certified by a major carbon standard, CHOOOSE provides very little information on how it verifies project claims. Instead, the consumer must wade through project documentation in third-party databases. Moreover, carbon pricing is lower than average among other major airlines (~$7/ton). 

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Delta Airlines

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• Trust Rating: N/A
• ‍Overview: As part of an effort to prioritize decarbonization over offsetting, Delta Airlines has discontinued its consumer offset program. In 2020, Delta pledged $1 billion over ten years to achieve net zero emissions. This included a $30 million investment to offset a large portion of its 2020 emissions. According to Delta, it plans to invest the majority of the remaining $1 billion in climate solutions like sustainable aviation fuel (SAV) and aircraft efficiency – with a smaller spend on offsetting. ‍
• Our Take: Delta’s focus on decarbonization is commendable, and could help reduce future emissions throughout the entire aviation industry. On the other hand, offsetting will still play a role in Delta’s net zero strategy, and there is limited information about which projects it has and will support and how it verifies offset claims.

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Which airlines are most sustainable?

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Jet fuel exhaust makes up the vast majority of emissions in the aviation industry. Other operational improvements matter, but reducing flight emissions should be airlines' highest priority. The most sustainable airlines are working to improve aircraft efficiency, as well as investing in sustainable aviation fuel development and other technology to cut their in-air footprint. 

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CDP (Carbon Disclosure Project) gives companies scores based on evaluations of their disclosure and environmental performance. In 2021, American Airlines gets the highest score of the major airlines. United Airlines' score went down, but they're still ranked second with a B. JetBlue and Alaska Airlines showed some improvement from a D to a C.

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With Commons, buy carbon offsets for flights with confidence

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Analyzing carbon offsets on your own can be daunting. At Commons, we know firsthand the meticulous research it takes to do it right. As carbon offset skeptics, we call up developers, pore over reports, and cross-check verifiers for every offset provider we evaluate to ensure your dollars go to a worthwhile cause.

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Commons’ Carbon Portfolio supports the highest-integrity carbon reduction and removal projects on the market. There’s no silver bullet for climate change, and our portfolio invests in the mix of climate solutions we need to get our world to net zero emissions by 2050.