Drinks giant Diageo to offset carbon emissions from flights

DRINKS giant Diageo plan to repay the environmental cost of over 200 flights made this year by employees on business trips.

The move to offset carbon emitted from plane trips by the makers of Guinness has already been recognised by the Department of Environment.

Every time a brewery employee flies on business now, Diageo calculates the environmental cost, donating funds to Third World schemes and forestation projects designed to reduce carbon emissions.

“There has been really positive feedback to this project and it is hoped that it will be rolled out across our many business units and sites around Ireland,” explained Diageo’s head of corporate communications Gráinne Mackin.

The world’s largest alcohol drinks group have already offset around 4.5 tonnes of carbon. It uses UK-based group Climate Care to calculate emission costs for flights. A return flight from Dublin to London emits 130kg of carbon dioxide per passenger.

Climate Care then uses voluntary contributions to fund carbon reducing schemes like buying efficient fuel stoves for families in developing countries, as well as funding reforestation projects.

“It is vital that top brands show leadership on this issue so we look forward to developing a growing relationship with Diageo in the future,” stressed Climate Care’s managing director David Wellington yesterday.

Diageo intend to at least triple the offset of carbon emissions to over 13 tonnes during the year. This would cover at least 100 flights to and another 100 from London’s Heathrow.

Other environment initiatives by the brewery giant include using spent grains for animal feed and peat moss, as well recycling steam from its St James Gate site in Dublin, to heat buildings and water.

The voluntary sign-up by Diageo to offset pollution costs will put pressure on other industry leaders to clean up their acts.

The sticky issue of carbon costs led Ryanair’s Michael O’Leary to defend his budget airline recently when it was branded “irresponsible” by a British minister.

The aviation industry accounts for just under 2% of all harmful emissions, but that figure has nearly doubled since 1990.