Pratt & Whitney Canada, a business unit of Pratt & Whitney, today announced the expansion of its year-old carbon offset service to include operators of the company’s helicopter engines enrolled in the Eagle Service™ Plan (ESP™) and Fleet Management Program (FMP^TM) pay-per-hour maintenance programs.

“Across all of the diverse missions served by our helicopter customers – from search and rescue to corporate passenger transport – we are seeing growing demand for products and services that promote sustainability in airborne operations,” said Scott McElvaine, vice president, Customer Programs for Pratt & Whitney Canada. “Our carbon offset service provides a fully transparent and cost-effective solution to address this demand, so that operators easily compensate for their carbon emissions footprint.”

Pratt & Whitney Canada’s carbon offset service automatically aligns operators’ flight hours with offset purchases, in collaboration with South Pole, a globally recognized carbon offset provider. Carbon offsets that are purchased are invested in accredited schemes for reducing CO₂ emissions, such as initiatives focused on renewable energy or forest conservation.

The service was introduced in December 2020 for business aviation operators enrolled in the ESP^TM program. Along with continually advancing engine efficiency and increasing the use of sustainable aviation fuels (SAFs), carbon offsetting plays an important role in reducing aviation’s environmental footprint. Pratt & Whitney is committed to making aviation more sustainable and supports customers’ ambitions to achieve net zero CO₂ emissions by 2050.

“With the growing interest in SAFs as one route to reducing aviation’s consumption of fossil-based fuels, operators may also use carbon offsets to reduce our impact on the environment,” said McElvaine. “While SAFs offer significant CO₂ emissions reduction, carbon offsets can compensate for the remaining emissions, to help achieve carbon neutrality.”

As with all its engines, Pratt & Whitney Canada’s helicopter engines are certified to operate with blends of up to 50% SAF with standard Jet A kerosene. Pratt & Whitney Canada is working towards validating its engines to operate with 100% SAF and continues to collaborate closely with the Commercial Aviation Alternative Fuels Initiative (CAAFI) and ASTM International towards that goal.