The leading global chauffeur service Blacklane tapped Cooper Parry, the UK-based accounting firm, to certify its carbon offset methods from all rides taken in 2021. Cooper Parry thoroughly reviewed emissions in a detailed process, thereby showcasing that Blacklane continues to prioritize transparency and will continue to lead the transportation industry in sustainability efforts.
Cooper Parry interviewed the Blacklane team to understand the governance and review process for data management and collection of the rides, including how the information is captured at site level and how this feeds up to business level. Additionally, the Cooper Parry team analyzed and tested the key structures, systems, proceses, procedures and controls related to the collation, validation and reporting of the sustainability performance data. Lasty, the Cooper Parry team performed recalculations in order to corroborate the tonnes of carbon dioxide emitted, carbon credits purchased and the carbon credits retired.Blacklane was originally founded in 2011 to help reduce waste of resources by avoiding empty rides and better utilizing existing capacities within the industry. In 2017, the premium chauffeur service went one step further by offsetting carbon emissions for all rides and in 2021 successfully offset all remaining carbon emissions from 2017 back to Blacklane’s founding.
Blacklane now integrates sustainability into daily operations by filling ‘empty leg’-journeys for chauffeurs, thereby offering them a reliable income and working with organizations like The Climate Pledge, Leaders for Climate Action, and the Solar Impulse Foundation. In fact, Blacklane has pledged to become net zero by 2030 and its limousines are being transitioned to electric vehicles (EVs), including a premium, electric-only Mercedes-Benz EQS fleet thatrecently launched in Dubai. Furthering their holistic commitment, Blacklane also introduced new city-to-city services offering 58 routes between major cities and regions in Europe, the U.S. and the UAE, thereby reducing the need for short-haul flights. These rides can be shared between up to four individuals, which consequently reduces the impact on the climate (and the wallet).
Dr. Jens Wohltorf, Founder and CEO of Blacklane: “Blacklane has been committed to leading the transportation industry into a sustainable future since our foundation. Although getting a third party assurance for our carbon offsetting program is not yet a standard or required in the industry, we felt it was necessary to show our customers and partners that we are taking all possible steps to transform ground transportation. All our efforts, including the development of new services such as our city-to-city program, are geared towards contributing to the larger good.’’
