Challenge:

In 2007, Cathay Pacific and its subsidiary Dragonair became the first airlines in Asia to provide customers with an option to lower their carbon footprint, by offering a carbon offset product through its FLY greener programme. Two years after its launch, Cathay Pacific and Dragonair wanted to revamp the programme and saw value in improving front-line staff’s understanding of the issue of climate change as well as producing clear and consistent messaging to potential customers.

Solution

For Cathay Pacific’s staff members, RESET Carbon provided internal communications materials, outlining the business motivations and scientific reasons for carbon offsets, along with the basic principles of offsetting. This helped staff to grasp the concepts and align their mindset clearly with Cathay Pacific’s sustainability commitments and performance. A full Q & A section was also prepared to answer the main questions that Cathay Pacific staff are likely to be asked by customers related to the issue of carbon offsets in the context of the airline’s environmental performance.

For external use, RESET Carbon produced flyers to explain the  FLY greener programme to passengers and businesses, making sure that those issues were communicated professionally and genuinely reflecting the challenges faced by the aviation industry.

Value Delivered

• Improved capacity of customer-facing staff to explain and engage customers on voluntary carbon offsets
• Better alignment of internal values by improving understanding of key climate change issues
• Improved messaging to engage passengers on voluntary carbon offsets of flights emissions
• Raised awareness of staff and passengers