Etihad Guest, the loyalty program of Etihad Airways, has introduced a series of sustainability-focused initiatives to reward members for making ‘green’ choices and providing options to reduce their own carbon footprint.
Conscious Choices, the new range of sustainable initiatives offered by the Etihad Guest program, has been created to support Etihad’s sustainability ambition to achieve net zero emissions by 2050, and halve 2019 emissions by 2035. Travelers wishing to fly and spend more consciously and sustainably can now earn Tier Miles, and other rewards, for making sustainable choices.
Empowering members to travel with a lighter carbon footprint, the initiative rewards travelers with Tier Miles and additional benefits for carrying less baggage on board and offsetting their flights’ carbon emissions using Etihad Guest Miles, a statement from the airline said.
In their daily lives, when not flying, members can earn Tier Miles by offsetting everyday emissions such as driving, with options ranging from one month to one year worth of offsets, as well as emissions such as cooling the home or cooking dinner for a month up to a year; donating miles to a green cause; and by purchasing sustainable products from the ‘Reward Shop’ in partnership with Collinson and CarbonClick.
Members can also choose to ‘go green’, by opting for a digital membership card instead of physical. Rewarding members with Tier Miles helps them to maintain their existing tier or upgrade to the new tier to unlock more benefits.
Members’ sustainable behaviors are already being captured so they can be rewarded for offsetting their flights with Miles and purchasing sustainable products in the Reward Shop, while the full program and benefits will go live in January 2022.
Group CEO Tony Douglas said: “Etihad’s commitment to sustainability sits at the core of our business, and we’re pleased to welcome our eight million members to jump on board this journey to sustainability. Empowering our members to offset their personal travel or shopping in a sustainable way, and be rewarded for it, gives the Etihad sustainability program even more weight.
“While Etihad has focused on developing technology and innovative solutions for operational efficiency that will actively reduce the CO2 emissions of flying, we have placed an equal focus on the guest. To that end we have been developing our sustainable loyalty program for the last year, listening to member feedback and taking into account their priorities and expectations for travel.
“Through this we have refined a program that will provide members with the ability and incentive to travel more sustainably, while further reinforcing our position as a planet-conscious travel and lifestyle brand.”
Over the last two years, Etihad has introduced a number of CO2 reduction initiatives under its Greenliner sustainability program. This includes adopting thousands of mangroves, using sustainable fuels, reducing contrails, flying optimized flight paths, operating more electric vehicles and working with partners who share its vision for cleaner skies.
At the recent Dubai Airshow, the airline expanded its strategic sustainability program to unite industry leaders including Boeing, Airbus, GE and Rolls-Royce in a comprehensive, cross-organizational aviation sustainability initiative.
