In honor of Earth Day, United Continental Holdings, Inc., is providing customers the opportunity to offset their carbon footprint associated with their air travel.
Jimmy Samartzis, managing director of global environment affairs and sustainability for United Airlines stated, "Our Eco-Skies commitment to the environment drives action today, and our redeveloped carbon offset program now enables customers to contribute to emission-reducing projects in communities we serve."
Once a customer has booked a trip with United, they have access to United's carbon offset program website where they can make a contribution to offset greenhouse gas emissions associated with their individual travel. Partnering with Sustainable Travel International (STI), a non-profit organization, United offers customers the choice of three carbon reduction projects in communities it serves.
The first choice is the Forest Conservation in California. The 23,780-acre Garcia River Forest was purchased by The Conservation Fund, a national non-profit dedicated to protecting America's landscapesand waterways and is California's first non-profit working forest.
The second is Renewable Energy in Texas. The Capricorn Ridge Wind Farm is comprised of more than 400 wind turbines which can produce enough clean, renewable electricity to power nearly 220,000 homes annually.
Last but not least, the Forest and Biodiversity Conservation in Belize. The 13,600 acre lowland broadleaf forest, The Boden Creek Ecological Preserve, serves as a critical wildlife corridor that connects diverse inland terrestrial ecosystems with coastal marine ecosystems.
United is pursuing green alternatives via their Eco-Skies program which operated the first U.S. passenger biofuel flight, equipped more than 300 aircrafts to reduce emissions and noise by five percent, and recycled 20 million pounds of cans, paper and plastic items over the last five years.
"Focusing on the environment is inextricably linked to our business and to our future growth as we continue to make progress in priority areas such as fuel-efficiency and commercialization of sustainable biofuels, and we're excited to offer customers a way to contribute as well." Said Samartzis.
For more information on United's environment commitment, visit www.united.com/eco-skies.
