Welcome aboard! While you stow your baggage
and take your seats, let’s take a look at
Harbour Air’s 2013 - 2014 Greenhouse Gas Report.
Harbour Air’s GHG Report has been produced by Offsetters
November 2015
Preparing for Flight
While we taxi across the water,
please ensure your seat belts are
fastened and we will run through
some background information
about this report.
Harbour Air has worked with
Offsetters since 2007 to understand
and reduce the airline’s impact on
the climate. Offsetters measures
Harbour Air’s greenhouse gas
emissions (GHGs) associated with
their offices, terminals, operations
and, of course, their flights. To
calculate the emissions in each of
these areas, we examined the
company’s fuel records, employee
commuting habits, and all data
surrounding electricity, business
travel and paper use.
Similar to safety standards in
aviation, we have standards we
follow while calculating GHG
inventories. Harbour Air’s GHG
inventory has been completed
according to the guidelines of the
Greenhouse Gas Protocol: A
Corporate Accounting and
Reporting Standard, published by
the World Resources Institute and
the World Business Council for
Sustainable Development. All
GHG emissions are measured in
tonnes of carbon dioxide
equivalent (tCO2e).
Now that we have cruised through
the formalities, we can prepare
ourselves for takeoff. During
flight we will look at some of the
numbers associated with GHGs,
key insights and learnings. Finally,
we will land the plane smoothly
through some reduction targets
for the upcoming year. We hope
you enjoy the journey, while
learning more about Harbour Air’s
GHGs. Sit back, relax and let us
take it from here.
12000.0
Gaining Altitude - By The Numbers
10000.0
8000.0
tCO2e
Total Footprint
6000.0
Scope 2
12000.0
4000.0
12000.0
10000.0
2014 Total
GHG Emissions
10,775 tCO2e
2000.0
tCO2e tCO2e
10000.0
8000.0
0.0
8000.0
6000.0
Jet Fuel
2011
2012
2013
2014
6000.0
4000.0
4000.0
2000.0
0.0
2000.0
Jet Fuel
AVGas
2011
0.0
2012
2013
2014
2011
8519.3
9593.1
Jet
Fuel
8665.7
2147.3
2056.1
AVGas
1719.2
8867.5
8519.3
2012
2013
2014
9593.1
8665.7
8867.5
1257.4
2147.3
2056.1
1719.2
1257.4
8519.3
9593.1
8665.7
8867.5
Employee
Commuting
527.6
572.8
Employee
280.9
Commuting
293.0
527.6
572.8
280.9
293.0
AVGas
Scope
2147.3
2056.1
1719.2
1257.4
Employee
Commuting
1 527.6
572.8
280.9
293.0
Gasoline
Natural Gas
Other
183.5
265.8
Gasoline
25.8
203.5
226.2
Natural
221.9Gas
114.2
116.9
Other
62.5
183.5
265.8
25.8
62.5
177.5
203.5
226.2
221.9
177.5
114.2
116.9
Number:
Natural Gas Scope
Other 1 emissions
totalled 10,421 tCO2e. Scope 2
183.5
203.5
114.2
were 12 226.2
tCO2e and
Scope 3
265.8
116.9
totalled 221.9
342 tCO2e.
25.8
Key
Gasoline
62.5
177.5
Key Insight: The total emissions
were down 2% from 2013,
aviation and jet fuel are the two
main sources of emissions.
Key Message: Without alternative
fuel options, Harbour Air will have
to focus on reducing non-aviation
emissions.
Employee Commuting
Emissions per route
Key Insight: Victoria to Whistler has
the highest emissions per passenger.
Bike
Key Number: Counts for 3% of Total Emissions.
Transit
Carpool
Vancouver to Whistler
39.8 kgCO2e
N
Earl
’s Cove
(Seasonal)
Com ox
Victoria to Whistler
81.9 kgCO2e
Vancouver to Comox
57.7 kgCO2e
Sechelt to Vancouver
21.8 kgCO2e
Sechelt
S tr
a it
o ftoG Sechelt
Nanaimo
e o rg
i
14.8 kgCO2e a
Vancouver
Pitt
Meadows
SouthVancouver
(YVR)
N anaim o
Nanaimo to Vancouver
26.5 kgCO2e
O
C
Ganges, Salt Spring Island
U
V
E
Victoria to Pitt Meadows
42.9 kgCO2e
Maple Bay
R
IS
L
Pender Island
AN
D
Vancouver to Victoria
41.3 kgCO2e
Ha
Ju
O
an
LY
M
de
PI
C
Fu
ca
S tr
a it
PE
N I
N S
U LA
Victoria
a it
S tr
*Per Passenger Flight
ro
Drive
(Seasonal)
N
Taxi
Key Message: Incentizing employees to use
other modes of transportation will help decrease
emissions.
W histler
A
Carpool
Key Message: Since Vancouver to
Victoria is the heaviest route, any
efficiencies made to this route will
have the greatest impact on the
overall footprint. Attention to
passenger load on flights to Whistler
will also help.
(Seasonal)
V
Key Insight: Driving accounts for 76% of
Taxi
employee’s
daily commute, while biking/walking
Drive
Transit (emissions free commuting), count for 10%.
Bike
Chatterbox Falls
Key Numbers: The Vancouver to
Victoria route represents 5,930
tC02e per year.
Where do the offsets go?
Harbour Air currently has a portfolio of four projects. The money from
offsets goes directly to these projects to enable emission reductions
that otherwise would not have happened.
For some in-flight entertainment, we wanted to
provide you with some equivalencies to understand
what all these numbers really mean.
Great Bear Forest Carbon Project, British Columbia
The Great Bear Rainforest is home to the largest intact coastal
temperate rainforest in the world. This is an Improved Forest
Management project, which generates emission reductions
by protecting forest areas that were previously designated,
sanctioned or approved for commercial logging. Without offset
funds, the protected areas would not have been established
and harvest levels would not have been reduced.
Efficient Wood Cook Stoves Project, Uganda
More than 95% of Ugandans rely on fuel wood for cooking,
typically charcoal or wood. Carbon offset funds enabled the
dissemination of efficient wood burning cook stoves to
institutions and families in and around Kampala who could not
afford it previously. These new stoves use a technology that
increases combustion efficiency and retains heat while raising
the cooking pot to the hottest point above the flame.
Sunselect Produce Project, Bristish Columbia
Carbon offset funds enabled the greenhouse operator to
switch from a natural gas boiler to a biomass boiler to meet
the heating needs of an existing commercial greenhouse
producing fruits and vegetables. Use of the biomass boiler and
heat trapping curtains for most of the facility’s heat
requirements reducesannual operating emissions by 7,500
tCO2e relative to the natural gas baseline.
Lower Zambezi REDD+, Zambia
Funding from carbon credits allows local communities and
forest management professionals to conserve a highly
threatened wildlife corridor which separates Zambia’s national
capital and the Lower Zambezi National Park. In addition
to protecting wildlife habitat and creating sustainable
livelihoods, prevent the release of CO2e from deforestation.
& Haida Gwaii. These projects cover
Sit back, relax, and enjoy the flight while
we tell you how Harbour Air is doing.
We can see how well Harbour Air is doing by
the many awards they have received, including
the 2015 YVR Airport Authority Clear Skies
Award. Harbour Air has been measuring
emissions since 2007, but their base year
(a reference point in the past with which
current emissions can be compared) is 2011.
While most airlines now provide their passengers
the opportunity to voluntarily offset their
emissions, it’s not often straightforward. Harbour
Air is the only airline that we’re aware of that
proactively builds emissions reductions into the
ticket cost. By adding the offset fee as a line
item on their receipts, Harbour Air reminds
customers of their climate impact and
proactively takes responsibility on their behalf.
Take a moment to look out the window on your
right, over here we can see what is going on in the
aviation industry.
Under the Cancun Climate Agreements Canada, at the time of
writing, has committed to a national GHG reduction target of 17
percent below 2005 levels by 2020. To achieve this target,
the Government of Canada will address GHG emissions on a
sector-by-sector basis. The aviation industry and the
Government of Canada have been working together since 2005
to address domestic and international sectoral GHG emissions.
Canada’s Action Plan on GHG from the aviation industry
outlines an aspirational goal to improve fuel efficiency from a
2005 baseline by an average annual rate of at least 2
percent per year until 2020. To achieve this goal, the Action
Plan identifies three key measures for this industry that are
expected to have the greatest environmental impact:
1.
2.
3.
Fleet Renewals and Upgrades
More Efficient Air Operations
Improved Capabilities in Air Traffic Management
As we prepare for landing, it is time to think about
where Harbour Air can reduce emissions.
Harbour Air manages its fleet renewals, guides flight operations,
and optimizes air traffic as a function of doing good business.
Efforts on these fronts serve to make the business more efficient,
which then correlates directly with emissions.
While the design of the de Havilland
seaplane frames that Harbour Air employs
dates back decades, our understanding
is that the current manufacturer is not
expected to re-design a body type that
would be more fuel efficient. New engine
upgrades would increase fuel efficiency,
which includes piston technology. As of
2015, Harbour Air has also been recycling
the waste fuel from all their aircraft.
Harbour Air is continually optimizing load factor while
reducing taxiing distance and flight routing, but ultimate control
of these latter functions is in the hands of air traffic control.
There are strict limitations around Harbour Air’s ability to reduce
emissions in the principle area of fuel burn. It is recommended that
they maintain their current scope while we weigh the options to
widen their non-aviation sources, including waste and recycling.
Once a new scope is agreed upon and baselines determined we will
be able to outline more precise metrics, including areas for
reductions.
Offsetters recommends that Harbour Air set a reduction target
that, at minimum, matches the two per cent per year efficiency
goal stated in Canada’s Action Plan.
Thank you for flying
carbon neutral
Harbour Air’s GHG Footprint has been produced by Offsetters
November 2015