FAQS

There are many carbon offsetting services out there that encourage you to offset your entire carbon footprint based on at-home energy consumption and lifestyle. We fully support these efforts. We are also keenly aware that the environmental impact of air travel has not risen to the same level of consumer consciousness as other modes of transportation or sources of carbon emissions. We all seem to know the gas mileage of our cars, but we have no idea how fuel efficient the airplanes we travel on are. Air travel is one of the largest contributors of carbon emissions across the world. Sustainable innovation in air travel lags far behind hybrid and election options for travel by car, bus, and train. We aren’t expected to see electric planes for another 20-30 years.

In the future, Jet-Set Offset’s technology could be used to facilitate mileage-based donations from package shipping, car-sharing rides, train trips, and more, but until we all start paying more attention to the environmental impact of air travel, our mission is to change the way we fly.

Jet-Set Offset facilitates mileage-based donations to environmental organizations, not the direct purchase of carbon offsets or carbon credits. We have chosen this approach so that we can support the critical, mission based work of environmental nonprofits across the country. Projects that sell offsets on voluntary and/or mandatory carbon markets, while critical to energy transformation, are often for profit companies.  

To better appreciate our donation-based model, it’s helpful to have a general understanding of the difference between carbon credits, carbon offsets, and renewable energy certificates (RECs).

Carbon credits, also known as carbon allowance, represent the legal right or permit to emit one ton of CO2. In most instances, such permits are issued to companies participating in a mandatory carbon market. If a company emits fewer tons of carbon than predicted, they can sell their carbon credits to other emitters through a regulated market.

A carbon offset also represents one ton of carbon, but it is the result of an actual reduction in greenhouse gas made through a voluntary project such as renewable energy development, methane and carbon capture, reforestation initiatives, etc. An offset project is “a specific activity or set of activities intended to reduce GHG emissions, increase the storage of carbon, or enhance GHG removals from the atmosphere. Carbon offsets can be sold on voluntary markets all over the world, but must pass strict verification processes to enter the market at a certain price per offset. This verification process is lengthy, research intensive, expensive, and can be cost prohibitive to smaller or nonprofit organizations.  

Renewable energy certificates (RECs) are instrumentally different from carbon offsets.  RECs are a financial tool associated with purchased electricity that help organizations and municipalities achieve clean energy goals. RECs are purchased from renewable electricity generators and are measured in megawatt hour. The purpose of RECs is to convey purchase power of renewable electricity, expand consumers’ electricity choices, support renewable electricity development, and bring more renewable electricity into municipal power grids.

Many of Jet-Set Offset’s partnering organizations will use Jet-Set Offset donations for the purchase of carbon offsets and Renewable Energy Certificates.

We estimate that 1 cent per mile is roughly what it costs to offset the carbon footprint of air travel.

There are many factors that go into a precise offset cost including the fuel efficiency of the aircraft, where the passenger is sitting, and the carbon reduction capacity of the project supported. We used EPA tables and the EPA Green House Gas Calculator to calculate the kg of C02 emitted on the average flight and then consulted multiple carbon calculators to learn that the estimated offset cost of one air mile per passenger ranges from .68 cent to just over 1 cent per mile.

If one offset is equivalent to 1 ton of C02, then approximately 1000 miles of air travel would require the purchase of one offset. On the carbon offset market, one offset can range in price from $2 to $40.  At an average $10 and 1000 miles per offset, we derived 0.01 per mile. We ultimately landed on 1 cent per mile based on a series of calculations, keeping simplicity in mind.

You can choose to support any of our nonprofit environmental partners. You can only choose from our list of verified partnering organizations. You can learn more about our partners at https://jetsetoffset.com/partners. You will then be able to select one of these partners at Step 2 of the sign-up process. If there is a 501c3 environmental charity that you would like to support that is not yet on our list of partners, please email me at anna@jetsetoffset.com. We would love to explore your recommendation.

Jet-Set Offset partner organizations must be 501c3 nonprofit organizations with an environmental mission. They must also be focused on combating climate change and have a desire to raise awareness of the environmental impact of air travel, aligned with Jet-Set Offset’s mission. Our partner organizations must be able to clearly and quantifiable express how Jet-Set Offset contributions will advance their mission and have the capacity to report on the impact of Jet-Set Offset donations annually.

We carefully search for, vet, and build a strong relationship with potential partners before moving forward with a partnership service agreement. The partners we have selected to work with have a long history of mission-driven carbon reduction and conservation work. We are actively looking to expand our partnership base across the country.

When you will be charged for your mileage-based donation depends on the donation method you select. If you choose to add a flight directly, you will be charged as soon as you click “confirm donation.” If you choose to automatically donate your fight through email scanning or email forwarding, you will be charged within 24 hours of either receiving a booked flight confirmation email or forwarding your confirmation email to Jet-Set Offset.

Per our Terms of Use, your donation is non-refundable, even if your travel plans change. That said, we are understanding of extenuating circumstances and will absolutely refund charges due to technical error. If you have a question or concern about a charged donation, please reach out as soon as possible via email to anna@jetsetoffset.com. Refunded donations take approximately 3-5 days to process.

Jet-Set Offset operates as fundraising tool for environmental nonprofits. Your donation goes directly to the partnering organization you have chosen. Organizations then pay Jet-Set Offset a 3% service fee to cover the operational costs of the website technology. We charge the service fee to the organization, not to the donor. As our volume grows, we hope to continually assess and adjust our service fee rate so that as much of your donation as possible towards our partners’ work. Jet-Set Offset is committed to ensuring that after our operational costs are covered, no more than 1% of your donation will go towards Jet-Set Offset.

Jet-Set Offset is funded only through the service fee paid to us via our partnering organizations when you sign up and make mileage-based donations.

If you choose automatic as your donation method, we will facilitate a mileage-based donation for every booked flight email confirmation that you receive. If you choose to donate directly or through email forwarding, you can choose which flights you’d like to donate.  But, there is a risk that you will forgot to pass those flights along!

Each donation that you make is 100% tax-deductible. You will receive automatic donation confirmation receipts per flight via email. We will also send you a year-end tax receipt on behalf of our partner organizations every January.

To directly input a flight to donate, first make sure that you have signed-up to create an account. Follow our sign-up process. If you have already signed-up, make sure to log in and then click on “My Profile.” Under your profile you will see a button to “Add a Flight.” On the “Add a Flight” page you will be asked to input the flight details of your trip. We will calculate the miles and donation amount for you before you confirm your donation.

You can change your chosen organization at any time under your profile page by clicking “Change Organization.” Here you will see our full list of partners to choose from. If you change your organization mid-year, you will receive a year-end tax receipt for each organization that you have supported throughout the year.

You can make changes to your profile and donation settings by first going to your profile page and then clicking “Edit Profile and Donation Settings.”

You can track all of your miles donated through Jet-Set Offset on your profile page! There you’ll be able to see total miles and donations made this year, and all time. You can click on “my flights” to see the details of each individual flight.