http://www.newswire.ca/news-releases...649433153.html

TORONTO, Oct. 4, 2017 /CNW/ - Less Emissions Inc., Canada's highest quality offset provider, and Air Canada are announcing a new partnership to offer the highest quality carbon offsets to individuals and organizations looking to reduce the environmental impact of their flights. Through Less, customers can calculate and purchase offsets to help mitigate the greenhouse gas emissions associated with their air travel.

"We're pleased to announce that Air Canada is partnering with Less to provide its customers with an affordable but meaningful way to lower the environmental impact of their trip," said Ron Seftel, CEO, Less Emissions. "For ten years, Less has been providing a simple and effective way to offset the environmental impact from air travel."

To access the program, Air Canada customers will receive a link to Less Emissions at the bottom of their travel confirmation receipt. After inputting the origin and destination of their flight into the calculator, customers can select one of two options to lessen their flight's environmental impact:

International Gold Standard certified offsets: Derived from international projects meeting the Gold Standard Foundation's sustainable development criteria, as endorsed by leading environmental groups including WWF International. (Learn more)
Canadian VER+ certified offsets: Sourced from projects located in Canada that have achieved certification under the VER+ Standard, a globally recognized standard for voluntary GHG emissions reductions projects. (Learn more)
"We are pleased to respond to the ongoing interests of our customers who value the opportunity to voluntarily reduce the carbon footprint and overall environmental impact of their flight," said Teresa Ehman, Director, Environmental Affairs, Air Canada. "Air Canada recognizes its environmental responsibilities and the importance of understanding and integrating environmental considerations into our business operations."

To reduce its emissions, Air Canada has adopted a four-pillar strategy that includes large investments in building a young, fuel efficient fleet. This has helped the company improve fuel efficiency by 40 per cent between 1990 and 2016. The strategy also includes supporting the development of a local industry for sustainable alternative aviation fuel that have a lower life-cycle carbon footprint than today's jet fuels. One example is Air Canada's participation as an airline partner in Canada's Biojet Supply Chain Initiative (CBSCI), a three-year collaborative project that began in 2015 with 14 stakeholder organizations to introduce biojet into the shared fuel system at a Montreal airport. The CBSCI project is a first in Canada and is aimed at creating a sustainable Canadian supply chain of biojet.