I offset all of the pollution I generated from flying. Here’s how and why.#
Offsetting my flight carbon emissions is my first step in reaching Personal Net Zero.
Why#
My flight emissions are currently far and away the biggest source of my emissions. I typically fly more than five round trips per year and spew out roughly two metric tons of carbon dioxide, which is a lot more than the average American, who falls in the top fifth percentile of global emitters.
My personal transportation emissions are way higher than the average American’s. Source: CarbonFootPrince.com
Flying accounts for the brunt of my personal transportation emissions. Source: CarbonFootPrince.com
Transportation accounts for the brunt of my annual emissions. Source: Wren.co calculator.
Flying spews out tremendous amounts of CO2 and threatens to undermine carbon reductions in other sectors, like electrifying passenger vehicles. Although electric planes are in our future, I won’t hold out for their commercial viability and overhaul of the aviation industry.
How#
I wish there was a way to see every flight I have taken on one central dashboard that I could just request my flight carbon data from. But the airline industry’s customer-facing tech is still in the early 2000s, so I went back to basics with a spreadsheet. In this live spreadsheet, you can track how much carbon I’ve emitted by flying and how much carbon I’ve offset.
Daniel Kawalsky Flight Carbon Offset Tracker
docs.google.com
Wait, how?#
Data: Let’s say I was gathering my flights from 2018. I typed this into my email search bar:
flight after:2017/12/1 before:2019/1/1and BOOM! I had everything I needed. I asked my parents about a list of flights I knew they booked for me when I was a kid.
Calculation: I made this Google Sheets template:
Template of Flight Carbon Offset Tracker
docs.google.com
which aggregates each of the flight entries from each year into one sheet. I calculated my emissions for each flight using this tool:
ICAO Carbon Emissions Calculator
www.icao.int
Then in the spreadsheet, I track my offset purchases in the “Offsets Overview” sheet, which gives me color-coded feedback on which years’ emissions I have and haven’t offset.
Compensation: When I set out to offset my lifecycle carbon emissions, I determined that Carbonfund.org is the best service for me to purchase through. I’m going to continue with them.
Thoughts#
Q: How can the aviation industry emit less greenhouse gas?
A: The fastest ways aviation could cut emissions
Q: Is there a quick way to accurately measure my personal transportation carbon footprint?
A: Read Calculate your Transportation Emissions from your Location History
Q: Is there an easier way to gather all of my flight data?
A: AwardWallet is an awesome tool for tracking rewards, like airline miles, hotel points, credit card points, and more. You can even import all of your flight data from your email into AwardWallet, if you’re cool with that.
