Ampol Limited, an independent Australian company and the nation’s leader in transport fuels, is piloting a carbon neutral petrol and diesel option, an Australian first, aimed at offsetting the greenhouse gas emissions caused by the production, distribution, and consumption of fuel.

Initially being piloted to Ampol’s business customers, a carbon neutral option will be offered where emissions associated with Ampol’s fuel or diesel product will be offset through the purchase of a portfolio of carbon credits. These credits will be generated through projects handpicked by Ampol, including nine Australian projects that are proven to deliver social and environmental benefits to regional farmers and local communities.

The carbon neutral option has been certified by Climate Active, an Australian government-backed program aimed at empowering climate action through product certification.

The introduction of Ampol’s carbon neutral fuel option is aimed at providing customers a transparent and flexible carbon neutral offering that can help them achieve their decarbonisation goals, said Brent Merrick, executive general manager, Commercial, Ampol.

“Carbon mitigation forms a key part of our Future Energy and Decarbonisation Strategy,” said Merrick. “While we continue our important work to explore new lower emissions transport solutions for our customers, our carbon neutral fuel option provides an interim solution for customers who are looking to offset emissions from their consumption of fuel and help support important environment and community projects in Australia and overseas.

“Importantly, Ampol has conducted a comprehensive due diligence process, with the support of GreenCollar, to invest in high-value environment and community projects that adhere to stringent standards of social and environmental performance, public transparency and legal accountability. Many of the projects are Australian-based, including native forest protection projects near Cobar and Brewarrina, New South Wales, and customers will be provided optionality to choose from two project portfolios to match their sustainability objectives.”

Merrick added that the pilot project will enable Ampol “to test, learn and evaluate the offering before exploring a broader roll out to our customers. I look forward to incorporating the learnings from this pilot to expand our carbon mitigation initiatives, while continuing to progress investment in new fuel technologies to meet our customers’ needs well into the future.”

Customers that participate in the pilot program will be offered two carbon neutral portfolios to choose from — one that features 100% Australian projects, and the other featuring 30% Australian projects. The pilot program offers a flexible opt-in model, with customers being provided choices to apply portions of their volume to meet sustainability targets.

Ampol’s small transport fleet will be participating in the program. McMillan Shakespeare Group, a leading provider of salary packaging, novated leasing and asset management services, and One Rail Australia, a leading Australian rail freight service provider, have also signed up to the program.

A wide range of Ampol’s business customers will be targeted to participate  in the pilot program, including mining, road transport, rail, government and energy customers.

The carbon neutral fuel pilot program will run for approximately three months, with an evaluation process to be executed before exploring a roll out to Ampol’s broader customer base.