Story ID: 
Embraer goes green with ECO
By: Gregory Polek
Caption: Embraer (Booth No.
Word Count: 218
Embraer (Booth No. 7441) announced Monday a plan to offer its executive jet customers a carbon offset module for the Embraer Executive Care (EEC) maintenance program. Dubbed ECO, or Embraer Carbon Offset, the program charges the customer the going rate ($6 per ton at the moment) for carbon credits from what Embraer director of strategies and technologies for the environment Graciliano Campos characterized as “certified, reliable projects, carefully analyzed and selected” for their credibility. Campos stressed that Embraer will not profit in any way from the initiative, the first such “tip-to-tail” program offered by an OEM, according to the company. Under the plan, Embraer will give preference to credits generated by forest-recovery projects in Brazil. The customer, however, gets final say about where the offsets go.ECO represents the latest in a series of environmental projects and initiatives Embraer has sponsored over the years. The company participates in projects dedicated to solid waste recycling, water and energy consumption reduction, boiler and heater retrofitting with natural gas instead of fuel oil to reduce emissions, reforestation and other programs. Embraer’s solid recycling rate reached nearly 85 percent last year, compared with 67.5 percent in 2003. Its water consumption has fallen each year since 2002, as has its energy consumption per capita since 2003. Its switch from fuel oil to natural gas has cut emissions by 20 percent.