KQ partners with Blueberry Travel in emissions offset initiative, plants 308 trees

Patrick Tanui key account manager at Kenya Airways,Hitesh Mulchandani
Country Manager at Blueberry Travel Kenya during a tree planting exercise at the Kenya Scouts Association Ngong.[Wilberforce Okwiri/ Standard]

Kenya Airways (KQ) and Blueberry Travel have partnered in a new environmental initiative that saw the two firms plant 308 trees at the Kenya Scouts Association grounds in Ngong as part of activities marking World Tree Day on November 21.

The drive, which brings together a national carrier grappling with global decarbonisation demands and one of its long-standing travel partners, is part of broader efforts by aviation players to invest in carbon-offset programmes as pressure mounts on the industry to cut emissions.

Speaking during the exercise, Kenya Airways key account manager Patrick Tanui said the airline is scaling up its sustainability commitments, including reforestation and the gradual adoption of cleaner fuel alternatives.

"Kenya Airways' agenda is to decarbonise, and tree planting is one of the ways we contribute to that goal. This year, we also operated our first inter-African flight using sustainable aviation fuel on the Nairobi-Johannesburg route. Blueberry has been a strong partner in the aviation sector, and our ambition is to grow and make progress in sustainability together," said Tanui.

The global aviation industry contributes about 2-3 per cent of global carbon emissions, and carriers are under increasing pressure from regulators and customers to limit their carbon footprint. As a result, many airlines have invested in tree-planting, renewable energy adoption and research on sustainable fuels as part of long-term net-zero plans.

Blueberry Travel managing director Ravi Manghnani said the firm has made environmental stewardship part of its corporate identity and is committing to long-term reforestation investments.

"We are here to celebrate World Tree Day and contribute to addressing CO2 challenges associated with global warming. This is our third year running a tree-planting programme, and our goal is to take care of a section of forest dedicated to Blueberry," Manghnani said.

He added that the company previously planted trees in Karura Forest and is now expanding its efforts to Ngong, with plans to grow the programme beyond Nairobi.

Environmental experts say private-sector participation is critical in achieving Kenya's national target of planting 15 billion trees by 2032, an initiative the government says is essential in combating drought, rising temperatures and loss of biodiversity.

The involvement of aviation players, they argue, is particularly significant given the industry's rising emissions and the slow pace of transition to low-carbon fuels due to high costs and infrastructure gaps.

Stakeholders at the event urged more firms in the travel and tourism sector to adopt similar initiatives and support national and global climate goals.