INFLITE First CarboNZero Certified Aviation Tourism Company

Kiwi aviation tourism company, INFLITE has become the first nationwide New Zealand aviation tourism operator to become officially certified CarboNZero as part of its operational commitment across the company to mitigate its carbon footprint.

The announcement comes 24 hours after the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment issued its report on NZ’s tourism industry that identifies “the risk of carbon emissions affecting travel choices”.

INFLITE CEO Adam Joyce says, “As an operator, we’re also deeply concerned about climate change so chose to commit to going CarboNZero. Our businesses take guests into spectacular parts of our country, often inaccessible without the use of aircraft - so it’s our responsibility to minimise our impact as much as possible to ensure that our sensitive environments are protected for future generations to come.”

“It’ll always be a balance of both environmental and commercial outcomes which we’re ever mindful of as we have the privilege of flying visitors into some of New Zealand’s most treasured national parks. This is an opportunity for us to have a continuing conservation conversation with all our clients and team at large.”

The new certification also means that INFLITE’s four skydiving locations in Abel Tasman, Franz Josef, Fox Glacier and Lake Pukaki are the first CarboNZero dropzones in the world.

As part of the process, INFLITE had to measure emissions across all their locations nationwide and put in place mitigation strategies to reduce and offset emissions. The first step was acknowledging that their flights and experiences have a considerable impact on carbon emission through the use of aviation fuels. The company has absolute emission reduction targets set for the 2020/2021 year.

This certification aligns with INFLITE becoming an early adopter of the Tourism Sustainability Commitment, which led to the group creating a sustainability plan and partnering with the Motutapu Restoration Trust to plant a tree for every hour of flight. INFLITE have sustainability partnerships with the Abel Tasman Tree Collective, Kea Conversation Trust, Department of Conservation and Alps 2 Ocean Cycle Trail.

Continues Joyce “One of our core values is centred on sustainability. This accreditation plan has enabled us to raise the bar of excellence honouring those. Now our team across all of our bases are able to take pride in the working for a company that is committed in its care for the environment.”

INFLITE is proudly Qualmark Gold, NZ tourism’s benchmark of quality. This year it was finalist in the NZ Tourism Awards for Best Sustainable Business, finalist in the 100% Pure Experience Awards, and recently won the Canterbury Champion Business Award in the Service Delivery category.

Since 2015 it has grown from being a start-up into 10 brands spread across 8 locations currently.

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