Price on carbon for air travel FAQs

ASU’s air travel is responsible for about 25,000 metric tons of emissions each year. To offset the equivalent of these emissions, a price on carbon is added to all round-trip ASU-sponsored air travel. Purchased offsets will support the ASU Carbon Project, the program for mitigating ASU’s difficulty to reduce emissions while supporting the community, education and research.

How is the price on carbon administered?

Travelers will book and manage their travel and expense reports as usual. On a periodic basis, Financial Services will post a journal to the department’s cost center and work tag combination. The price on carbon will be assessed per round-trip flight. A flight with multiple segments will be treated as one round-trip flight. For flights charged to a grant, the price on carbon is charged to the responsible department. The price on carbon has been assessed on expense reports submitted since July 1, 2018.

How will the funds be used?

The funds will be used to fund the ASU Carbon Project, which mitigates carbon emissions through local and community-based initiatives that support the ASU Charter. Each year ASU will acquire offsets equivalent to ASU’s air travel emissions. 

What is the price on carbon?

The price on carbon is $20 for a round-trip flight for both domestic and international flights. Flights with multiple stops are assessed at the same price. Although international and multi-stop flights have a significantly larger carbon footprint, a single price is a way to introduce this concept and streamline the administration of the fee to ensure 100% of the funds raised are used to mitigate carbon.

Who manages the program and funds?

University Sustainability Practices manages the ASU Carbon Project and price on carbon for air travel.