TAP Portugal's UP lays claim to the world's first carbon neutral in-flight magazine
The September cover of UP
Fri 10 Sept 2010 – From this month’s issue, TAP Portugal’s in-flight magazine UP will be carbon neutral, claims the airline. As a result of a partnership with E.Value, UP has become the airline industry’s first in-flight magazine and the first monthly publication in Portugal to offset the greenhouse gas emissions linked to its production and printing. TAP does not disclose whether this includes the emissions from the manufacture of the paper it is printed on but the airline estimates that every copy emits, on average, about 200 grams of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e). When Emirates announced two years ago that it was scrapping its own in-flight magazine to save weight, fuel and emissions, many airlines were expected to follow suit but the importance of revenues from advertising sales has ensured the survival of the glossy in-flight read.
To offset UP’s emissions, an equivalent quantity of carbon credits will be used, selected from a portfolio of CarbonZero projects based in developing countries, in particular Brazil and Mozambique.
“A year ago, TAP became a world pioneer when it launched its Carbon Emissions Offset Programme in partnership with the International Air Transport Association. This initiative was welcomed across the board, proved popular with our passengers and meant international recognition for TAP with the 2010 Planet Earth award, given by UNESCO and the International Union of Geological Sciences,” writes TAP CEO Fernando Pinto in the September issue.
“As a continuation of the company’s sustainability policy, our in-flight magazine now also reflects that strategy, where good environmental practice and responsibility to society and the environment are a daily priority and reality.”
As well as being available online, UP launched its version for the iPad in August, becoming the first Portuguese publication in this format. It has also been the subject of praise in the pages of prestigious international magazines. The British magazine Monocle considered it “an essential read” and the Hong Kong magazine MING called it one of the best in-flight magazines in the world, says Pinto.
