Friends of Conservation

Reducing CO₂ Emissions

Support our community and carbon reduction programmes and help compensate for the environmental impacts of your flight:

It is generally acknowledged that human activities are contributing to global warming and the changes in climate that result. Carbon Dioxide (CO₂) and other greenhouse gases trap solar heat and increase the surface temperature of the earth. All activities involving the use of fossil fuels produce CO₂ emissions, but the impact can be somewhat reduced by adopting various energy saving measures, as well as choosing to travel responsibly.

Recognising the many benefits that travel brings, Friends of Conservation offers travellers the opportunity to mitigate some of the environmental impacts of flying by supporting community and conservation initiatives. These include our own alternative energy and forestry programmes in Kenya; as well as projects managed by partners involved in wildlife and habitat acquisition, conservation and renewable energy activities in Asia, South Africa and South & Central America. In addition to reducing levels of atmospheric carbon, these programmes also provide a number of social, economic, educational and environmental benefits for local communities.

Calculating CO₂ Emissions – a simpler approach

There are many different types of carbon calculators available and whilst some give specific calculations for each destination, there are a number of variables which are not always accounted for. This could include the type of aircraft used; the number of passengers (in business/economy), the route taken or the number of intermediate stops. We have decided to adopt a simpler ‘Carbon Zoning’ approach - see below - which enables travellers to make a donation, based on guidelines from Defra (UK Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs), relating to the approximate amount of CO₂ generated on an average flight to a particular region.

To make a donation, please select the Donate button from one of the colour-coded Zones below:

Zone 1 (green) - all of Europe, Middle East (i.e. Egypt, Jordan) and North Africa (Libya, Morocco, Tunisia).	£3.00
Zone 2 (yellow) - Asia (including India and Mongolia) / North America (except West Coast USA ie. Los Angeles and San Francisco) / West and East Africa.	£12.00
Zone 3 (orange) - Southern Africa, West Coast USA (LA and San Francisco), Central / South America (not Argentina or Chile) / Rest of Asia (i.e China, Japan, Malaysia, etc)	£15.00
Zone 4 (red) - Chile and Argentina, Oceania (Australia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, etc).	£23.00

All of your donation will go to support the project(s) you have specified. Please note that if you are a UK tax-payer, FOC as a registered charity, will be able to reclaim ‘Gift Aid’, currently 28% of the total donation, making your gift go further.

You can make a donation by cheque or if you prefer, contact the office to make a credit card donation over the telephone. If you would like to make a donation by post, please consider downloading our Gift Aid form and enclosing this with your cheque.

Thank you very much for your support.

The above bands are based on the distance travelled from the UK *

* The suggested amounts are in line with Defra's current guidelines for the cost per tonne of carbon and are based on the approximate levels of CO₂ emitted on an average flight. We are very grateful to TICOS, the Tourism Industry Carbon Offsetting Service, for providing this information.

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Reducing CO₂ Emissions