Spiritus Removes Starbucks CEO’s Jet Emissions, Proposes 10,000 Pumpkin Spice Lattes in Return

September 05, 2024 at 12:00 PM EDT

Spiritus to Remove 100 Tons of CO₂ From September Flights, Tackling the Carbon Emissions of Niccol’s Private Jet

From Taylor Swift’s Jet to Starbucks’ PSL, Carbon Removal is the Responsible Climate Solution

Spiritus, the leading climate tech company developing market-accessible carbon removal solutions using Direct Air Capture (DAC), is stepping up to remove the carbon emissions generated by Starbucks CEO Brian Niccol’s private jet travel. Following its commitment to remove Taylor Swift’s jet emissions from Tokyo to the Super Bowl, Spiritus is now offering to remove 100 tons of CO₂from Niccol’s flights during September in exchange for Pumpkin Spice Lattes (PSLs), Starbucks’ iconic fall beverage. The value of this carbon removal effort is estimated at $50,000, which would buy approximately 10,000 PSLs.

Spiritus’ innovative passive sorbent technology is designed to mimic the natural process of human lungs, efficiently capturing carbon dioxide (CO₂) from the atmosphere. This technology aims to reduce DAC costs to below $100 per ton — a significant reduction compared to the current industry rates of $600-$1,000 per ton. Just as lungs capture oxygen from the air we breathe, Spiritus’ advanced materials selectively capture CO₂, allowing the system to “breathe in” polluted air and “exhale” cleaner air.

This makes it feasible for Spiritus to offer cost-effective carbon removal solutions to everyone, from organizations just beginning to address their carbon footprints, all the way up to the significant emissions from high-profile sources like private jets.

“We get it, Brian — flying by private jet beats sitting in bumper-to-bumper traffic. But when your preferred commuting style leads to serious CO₂emissions, Spiritus is here to help,” said Charles Cadieu, CEO of Spiritus. “That’s why we’re going to remove your private flight emissions from the air for September. We appreciate you getting the PSL out ahead of schedule, and we can’t wait to enjoy them. We hope you’ll take us up on our offer to pay for your jet’s carbon removal in pumpkin spice lattes. Obviously, we love the PSL.”

By tying the removal of 100 tons of CO₂to the CEO's jet emissions, Spiritus is demonstrating that DAC tech can be used to reverse the impact of "hard-to-abate" emissions. Sometimes emissions are unavoidable because of cost and complexity. In those situations, carbon removal using DAC plays an important role in keeping our skies pollution-free and eliminating the impact of global warming.

“The only thing that should be heating up this fall is your latte, not the planet,” continued Cadieu. “As we all enjoy our PSLs this fall, let’s challenge corporations to take responsibility for their CO₂emissions and take action with carbon removal.”

Carbon: The New Trash We Can All Address

This initiative underscores a simple message about CO₂: Carbon emissions should be handled the same way we handle trash. While we can and should take steps to reduce waste, when we do create waste, we should take responsibility for cleaning it up. Spiritus’ Direct Air Capture technology makes it possible to capture and sequester carbon efficiently, helping to clean and dispose of emissions in the same way we responsibly clean up and dispose of waste in our everyday lives.

“Our mission at Spiritus is to make carbon removal affordable and accessible,” added Cadieu. “By connecting high-profile carbon footprints, like those of Taylor Swift and Brian Niccol, with Spiritus’ carbon removal, we’re showing how emissions can be managed responsibly.”

About Spiritus

Spiritus is a climate tech company at the forefront of Direct Air Capture (DAC) technology. With a dedication to innovation and sustainable stewardship of our environment, Spiritus has crafted a unique solution that achieves rapid sorption and desorption rates at a fraction of the sorbent cost versus state-of-the-art sorbents under passive DAC conditions. The company's approach combines the Spiritus Sorbent and the Spiritus Carbon Orchard, offering a scalable and modular system for low-cost DAC and sequestration (DAC+S). Spiritus is committed to making carbon removal an accessible and practical tool in the global fight against climate change. For more information, visit Spiritus.com.