Abu Dhabi’s Etihad launches green loyalty programme for corporates

Etihad Airways has launched its dedicated sustainability-focused corporate rewards programme called Corporate Conscious Choices.

It has been designed for organisations seeking to reduce their carbon emissions by way of initiatives such as carbon offsetting, sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) investments and green surcharge fares.

The programme has already been adopted by CWT, one of the largest business travel management companies globally; and Accenture.

These have been designed to proactively support pro-environmental, social and governance (ESG) initiatives and employee behaviour.

The programme provides benefits across four core sustainability pillars: SAF Investment, Green Surcharges, Corporate Conscious Miles and Carbon Offsets.

The programme has been designed as an open platform that can be adapted to the unique needs of individual corporates, so rewards and incentivisation can be tailored against any of the four core pillars of the programme:

SAF Investment: According to the airline, sustainable aviation fuel has the potential to reduce up to 80 per cent of net carbon emissions throughout its full-cycle from production to utilisation. Through Corporate Conscious Choices, corporate partners will have the ability to bulk buy Sustainable Aviation Fuel with Etihad, which will be fully accredited and can be used to offset against the company Scope 3 emission requirement.

Green Surcharges: Corporates can opt to have a Green Surcharge added to each corporate travel flight ticket, which is then invested in offset solutions, such as SAF, mangrove planting, re-forestation or community projects in Africa. The surcharge will pay or partially pay for the emissions created by staff on business travel, and these investments will be fully accredited where possible to provide the corporate with Scope 3 emission reductions.

Corporate Conscious Miles: When business travellers fly on Etihad and earn Etihad Guest Miles, the airline will award the miles to their organisation as well. In addition to this, Corporate Conscious Points can be used to offset corporate travel, everyday activities or purchase sustainable products from the Etihad Guest Reward Shop. Etihad will further reward businesses should their employees make conscious choices as provided within the Etihad Guest programme.

Carbon Offsets: Corporate Conscious Points can be invested in either an Etihad Offset programme or a programme of the corporate’s choice to offset the emissions produced on every Etihad business travel flight. The Etihad solutions will be accredited where possible and provide a contribution to the corporation’s Scope 3 reduction and additionally scope 1 reductions for Etihad.

“Sustainability has been at the top of Etihad’s agenda as the most significant long-term priority of our business for a long time now; but it is more than just a business priority. We have put a lot of focus on what governments and regulators should be doing to battle climate change, but the fact is we need corporates’ help and there is an equal responsibility for corporates to do what they can to reduce their own carbon footprint, while leading by example to help consumers to live more sustainably,” said Tony Douglas, group chief executive officer, Etihad Aviation Group.

Last year, the airline raised $1.2bn in the first sustainability-linked loan (SLL) tied to environmental, social and governance (ESG) targets in global aviation.

Read: Etihad raises $1.2bn in aviation’s first sustainability-linked ESG loan

In December, Etihad Guest introduced Conscious Choices, the airline’s loyalty programme to introduce a series of sustainability-focused initiatives to reward members for making ‘green’ choices.

Read also: UAE’s Etihad launches Conscious Choices, world’s first green loyalty programme

Etihad aims to achieve net zero emissions by 2050, and halve its 2019 emissions by 2035.