Virgin Atlantic's green strategy under siege

Virgin Atlantic's green credentials have come under siege after the airline's latest planet-saving concept stood accused by environmentalists of "missing the point".

Virgin boss Richard Branson has made several attempts to position the airline as an industry beacon, last November revealing he was looking into running his planes on plant waste.

His latest idea is to offset some of the company's CO2 emissions by planting trees.

But the programme will only compensate for its upper-class limousine services, sparking accusations of double standards.

"For them to focus on the car ride to the airport rather than the air journey itself is somewhat missing the point," Steve Hounsham of the environmental pressure group Transport 2000, told the Guardian.

"It's double standards - perhaps an example of what we'd call a greenwash."

According to the Guardian, 59 million trees would need to be planted to offset Virgin Atlantic's entire annual flight operations, compared to only a few hundred for its limousine services.

The airline responded by arguing that its new carbon-neutral programme was part of a wider environmental strategy.

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