A BASINGSTOKE firm has found itself in the spotlight following a row between Elton John and the national press over Prince Harry and Meghan’s air travel.
The royal couple have been criticised in recent days for taking four private jet flights to Ibiza and the south of France where they stayed at the Rocket Man hitmaker's mansion.
The Sun newspaper described the behaviour as ‘hypocritical’ following pledges Prince Harry and Meghan have made about the pressing dangers of climate change.
Elton came to the pair’s defence, revealing he not only provided the jet for the couple but also paid a ‘carbon offsetting firm’ to make the trip ‘emissions free’.
And the Tiny Dancer singer revealed he did so with the aid of the Basingstoke business Carbon Footprint.
The company, set up in 2005, has quietly been luring celebrities and businesses who feel guilty about their air travel consumption.
Run by a husband and wife couple John and Wendy Buckley, the Basing View-based business offers concerned persons the opportunity to ‘offset’ their personal carbon emissions in exchange for a small fee.
This then goes towards environmentally-friendly projects such as planting trees and investing in wind farms.
Earlier this month, Mr Buckley told Bloomberg their Hampshire firm was so busy he had seen demand “quadruple” this year alone.
“We’re now getting a higher level of interest than we’ve ever had before,” he told the business news service. “It’ll put money back into the system which will create more projects.”
Defending Prince Harry and Meghan yesterday, Elton revealed he paid money to the Basingstoke-firm to cover their travel. He said: ‘We ensured their flight was carbon neutral, by making the appropriate contribution to Carbon Footprint.’
When The Gazette calculated the cost on Carbon Footprint's website, the price of a return flight from London to South of France would be £4 for two people.
Carbon offsetting is viewed by its supporters as a quick and easy way to repair the damage caused by aircraft travel.
However critics are less impressed. Friends of The Earth have branded the rapidly growing trend as a 'con' while Greenpeace called it 'dodgy'.
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