Pay It Forward:
Buying Sustainable Aviation Fuel
Aviation has a growing problem. If sustainable aviation fuel is the answer, how does travel
management play a role in bringing it to the market?
Even taking into account the decimation of air travel by Covid, Airbus is forecasting that passenger traffic will continue to increase by 3.9 percent per year between now and 2040. If nothing is done to reduce the carbon emissions of aviation fuel, the airline industry looks like a blocker to achieving pledges cemented in the Paris Agreement to limit warming caused by greenhouse gas emissions to less than 1.5 degrees Celsius. The airline industry is taking this on, but how does travel management fit into the picture?
Is There a Solution?
The road transport sector has embraced electric vehicles but the size and weight of batteries effectively rules them out for aviation except in very limited cases.
“We can’t switch to something like electric planes,” said Jaclynn Kidd, manager of CWT Solutions Group. “It is not feasible for long haul. If you can find a solution within the existing infrastructure, that is the way to go.”
Liquid hydrogen looks promising but not in the near-term. For now, the answer could lie in sustainable aviation fuels or SAFs, an umbrella term encompassing fuels that are renewable or derived from waste and which meet certain sustainability criteria.
SAFs are drop-in fuels meaning they can be used in place of fossil-fuel based jet fuel or blended with it and can use the aviation’s sector existing infrastructure. Changing the world’s airline fleet and the infrastructure that supports it—to use liquid hydrogen for instance—might take 30 years.
Even taking into account the decimation of air travel by Covid, Airbus is forecasting that passenger traffic will continue to increase by 3.9 percent per year between now and 2040. If nothing is done to reduce the carbon emissions of aviation fuel, the airline industry looks like a blocker to achieving pledges cemented in the Paris Agreement to limit warming caused by greenhouse gas emissions to less than 1.5 degrees Celsius. The airline industry is taking this on, but how does travel management fit into the picture?
Is There a Solution?
The road transport sector has embraced electric vehicles but the size and weight of batteries effectively rules them out for aviation except in very limited cases.
“We can’t switch to something like electric planes,” said Jaclynn Kidd, manager of CWT Solutions Group. “It is not feasible for long haul. If you can find a solution within the existing infrastructure, that is the way to go.”
Liquid hydrogen looks promising but not in the near-term. For now, the answer could lie in sustainable aviation fuels or SAFs, an umbrella term encompassing fuels that are renewable or derived from waste and which meet certain sustainability criteria.
SAFs are drop-in fuels meaning they can be used in place of fossil-fuel based jet fuel or blended with it and can use the aviation’s sector existing infrastructure. Changing the world’s airline fleet and the infrastructure that supports it—to use liquid hydrogen for instance—might take 30 years.
SAF: Benefits & Challenges
Do SAFs have lower carbon emissions than traditional aviation fuels? No…
Wait, what?
“There is this idea that you fly using SAF, and the exhaust emissions are lower,” said John Harvey of the consultancy flySAF. “They are not. They are the same.”
The carbon benefit of SAFs only becomes apparent when you look at the full lifecycle. SAF production is what delivers up to an 80 percent reduction in carbon emissions, depending on which method is used, which crop is used and the supply chain to the airport.
SAFs also have the benefit that they will not run out, unlike fossil-based fuels.
Jonathan Wood, Neste’s vice president EMEA for renewable aviation said, “The nature of SAF as an emissions-reduction solution is different from carbon offsets that typically take a long time to realize the promised emission reduction (e.g. growing a tree). SAFs reduce carbon emissions in aviation itself. This gives businesses the opportunity to clean up their own value chains, instead of compensating their emissions in another sector.”
That’s not to say that SAFs do not have their problems. One of the major concerns is that production methods based on biomass may push out other uses of land, such as food production in poor countries. Using crops also drives up water usage.
This has led to the use of non-food crops such as jatropha and castor bean, using waste biomass from existing agricultural and forestry production as well as more innovative ideas such as algae or the euphemistically vague municipal solid waste.
SAF’s biggest challenge, however, is cost. Sustainable jet fuels cost anywhere between two and eight times traditional jet fuels, and this is unlikely to fall soon. The high cost of SAF also compares unfavourably to the relatively low cost of carbon offsetting —a credit for a metric ton of carbon through the EU’s Emissions trading scheme currently costs around 80 euro; in the U.S. it is even less.
SAF: Benefits & Challenges
Do SAFs have lower carbon emissions than traditional aviation fuels? No…
Wait, what?
“There is this idea that you fly using SAF, and the exhaust emissions are lower,” said John Harvey of the consultancy flySAF. “They are not. They are the same.”
The carbon benefit of SAFs only becomes apparent when you look at the full lifecycle. SAF production is what delivers up to an 80 percent reduction in carbon emissions, depending on which method is used, which crop is used and the supply chain to the airport.
SAFs also have the benefit that they will not run out, unlike fossil-based fuels.
Jonathan Wood, Neste’s vice president EMEA for renewable aviation said, “The nature of SAF as an emissions-reduction solution is different from carbon offsets that typically take a long time to realize the promised emission reduction (e.g. growing a tree). SAFs reduce carbon emissions in aviation itself. This gives businesses the opportunity to clean up their own value chains, instead of compensating their emissions in another sector.”
That’s not to say that SAFs do not have their problems. One of the major concerns is that production methods based on biomass may push out other uses of land, such as food production in poor countries. Using crops also drives up water usage.
This has led to the use of non-food crops such as jatropha and castor bean, using waste biomass from existing agricultural and forestry production as well as more innovative ideas such as algae or the euphemistically vague municipal solid waste.
SAF’s biggest challenge, however, is cost. Sustainable jet fuels cost anywhere between two and eight times traditional jet fuels, and this is unlikely to fall soon. The high cost of SAF also compares unfavourably to the relatively low cost of carbon offsetting —a credit for a metric ton of carbon through the EU’s Emissions trading scheme currently costs around 80 euro; in the U.S. it is even less.
Who Is using SAF?
A number of the world’s largest airlines as well as a number of corporates have made commitments to use SAFs.
Dutch airline KLM was one of the first movers, establishing its Corporate BioFuel Programme in 2012, allowing companies to pay a surcharge that covers the difference in price between SAF and traditional jet fuel. These surcharges were then used to purchase SAF for its commercial partners.
However, KLM’s claims were recently challenged in a lawsuit from environmental charity ClientEarth. The suit argues that “Contributing to the cost of sustainable aviation fuels (currently, biofuel) …does not reduce the climate impact of flying. It’s a donation to KLM’s business, not an offer for the customer to buy additional, new biofuels.”
Who Is using SAF?
A number of the world’s largest airlines as well as a number of corporates have made commitments to use SAFs.
Dutch airline KLM was one of the first movers, establishing its Corporate BioFuel Programme in 2012, allowing companies to pay a surcharge that covers the difference in price between SAF and traditional jet fuel. These surcharges were then used to purchase SAF for its commercial partners.
However, KLM’s claims were recently challenged in a lawsuit from environmental charity ClientEarth. The suit argues that “Contributing to the cost of sustainable aviation fuels (currently, biofuel) …does not reduce the climate impact of flying. It’s a donation to KLM’s business, not an offer for the customer to buy additional, new biofuels.”
“There is this idea that you fly using SAF, and the exhaust emissions are lower—they are not. They are the same.”
— FLYSAF’s John Harvey
However, SAF production will have to be ramped up significantly and quickly to decarbonize aviation.
Commercial airlines currently consume 300 million metric tons of jet fuel a year compared to global SAF production of around 300,000 metric tons. As such, supply is just 0.1 percent of the potential fuel demand. Neste, the world’s leading supplier, currently produces 100,000 metric tons of SAFs per annum but plans to ramp up production to 1.3 million metric tons by the end of 2023.
There are a number of ways to make SAFs:
- Converting carbon monoxide and hydrogen into liquid hydrocarbon fuel using metal catalysts and high pressures (Fischer-Tropf)
- Breaking down waste vegetable oils and animal fats (HEFA)
- Fermenting crops such as sugar beet or wheat to produce alcohol which is then processed into hydrocarbons (Alcohol-to-Jet)
- Generating hydrogen using renewable electricity and combining it with carbon dioxide captured from industrial processes or directly from the air (Power-to-Liquid)
However, SAF production will have to be ramped up significantly and quickly to decarbonize aviation.
Commercial airlines currently consume 300 million metric tons of jet fuel a year compared to global SAF production of around 300,000 metric tons. As such, supply is just 0.1 percent of the potential fuel demand. Neste, the world’s leading supplier, currently produces 100,000 metric tons of SAFs per annum but plans to ramp up production to 1.3 million metric tons by the end of 2023.
There are a number of ways to make SAFs:
- Converting carbon monoxide and hydrogen into liquid hydrocarbon fuel using metal catalysts and high pressures (Fischer-Tropf)
- Breaking down waste vegetable oils and animal fats (HEFA)
- Fermenting crops such as sugar beet or wheat to produce alcohol which is then processed into hydrocarbons (Alcohol-to-Jet)
- Generating hydrogen using renewable electricity and combining it with carbon dioxide captured from industrial processes or directly from the air (Power-to-Liquid)
SAF Pilot in Progress
Organization: The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
Travel Buyer: Deputy Director Global Travel Pam Massey
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is one organization that has been looking at how to purchase SAFs and has set a goal to reach carbon neutrality in global office operations, events, commute, and travel by 2030.
The foundation’s Pam Massey spoke to BTN about how the organization is vetting the potential for SAF usage.
“As a social impact organization, business travel makes up a sizable portion of our footprint: about two-thirds in 2019. Today, we are focused on traveling less, traveling smarter, and purchasing SAF to reduce our footprint.
“We’re excited about SAF because it is a unique opportunity to immediately reduce emissions and help scale an important industry innovation. It’s also very early days in this space, so we are eager to talk and learn from others.
“We have engaged with a handful of airlines that make up nearly 50 percent of our historical volume, and we are asking them a lot of questions. We haven’t entered into any contractual agreements, but we are looking at them and understanding that every airline has its own SAF agreement, accounting system and approach,” said Massey.
She added, “The goal of our pilot, once approved by our executive sponsor [the CFO], is to model the SAF purchase from end to end. We are a data-driven organization and by connecting with others, engaging in SAF agreements and documenting our learnings we can model this and then make a case for a longer-term commitment to support our 2030 strategy.”
Virtue pointed to ‘new tech players’ like Thrust Carbon and Unlocked Data that are helping travel managers measure and consolidate data for more thorough sustainability reporting. Some are partnering with TMCs and other suppliers to create integrations and programs that will move such practices from the margins solidly into the mainstream.
She said RFPs are becoming increasingly discerning regarding sustainability metrics and clients are “actively looking” at how they come back differently.
Accelerating the Trend
In companies where sustainability is a top-down initiative, travel managers can feel empowered to drive positive change. This was the case for S&P Global’s director of global travel and meetings, Ann Dery, who said the company’s net zero initiative challenged her to create a plan to reach its science-based targets.
“[Sustainability] adds a whole other level of strategy and complexity to the travel program because we don’t want to slash and burn and not let anyone travel—that’s not realistic,” she said. Dery conducted a deep dive into S&P’s 2019 data to better understand how travel behavior was driving the company’s carbon footprint, and the changes that needed to be made.
This resulted in an updated business class policy and adding a new rail section to the program as an alternative to short-duration flights.
Dery told BTN she is currently working on more comprehensive reporting on S&P’s carbon footprint at an enterprise level, business division level, and traveler level. She’s also pushing to introduce carbon budgets by 2024.
“Once we get all the reporting going, this will be a real eye-opener not only for our rank-and-file travelers but also our leadership,” she said.
The trend may not be an entirely organic development, said Corporate Travel Management head of ESG and sustainability, John Nicholls. He believes the acceleration of climate policy, including legislation to tighten emissions disclosure standards, is pushing businesses to ‘improve and validate’ their Scope 3 greenhouse gas emissions, which include business travel “With further mandated improvements to sustainability reporting, there will be an increase in demand for reporting validations,” he said.
Virtue pointed to ‘new tech players’ like Thrust Carbon and Unlocked Data that are helping travel managers measure and consolidate data for more thorough sustainability reporting. Some are partnering with TMCs and other suppliers to create integrations and programs that will move such practices from the margins solidly into the mainstream.
She said RFPs are becoming increasingly discerning regarding sustainability metrics and clients are “actively looking” at how they come back differently.
Accelerating the Trend
In companies where sustainability is a top-down initiative, travel managers can feel empowered to drive positive change. This was the case for S&P Global’s director of global travel and meetings, Ann Dery, who said the company’s net zero initiative challenged her to create a plan to reach its science-based targets.
“[Sustainability] adds a whole other level of strategy and complexity to the travel program because we don’t want to slash and burn and not let anyone travel—that’s not realistic,” she said. Dery conducted a deep dive into S&P’s 2019 data to better understand how travel behavior was driving the company’s carbon footprint, and the changes that needed to be made.
This resulted in an updated business class policy and adding a new rail section to the program as an alternative to short-duration flights.
Dery told BTN she is currently working on more comprehensive reporting on S&P’s carbon footprint at an enterprise level, business division level, and traveler level. She’s also pushing to introduce carbon budgets by 2024.
“Once we get all the reporting going, this will be a real eye-opener not only for our rank-and-file travelers but also our leadership,” she said.
The trend may not be an entirely organic development, said Corporate Travel Management head of ESG and sustainability, John Nicholls. He believes the acceleration of climate policy, including legislation to tighten emissions disclosure standards, is pushing businesses to ‘improve and validate’ their Scope 3 greenhouse gas emissions, which include business travel “With further mandated improvements to sustainability reporting, there will be an increase in demand for reporting validations,” he said.
Investment Required
“Companies know sustainability is important, yet many struggle to find the staff and time necessary to push things forward,” said Kathy Jackson, vice president and executive chair of sustainability at BCD Travel, especially when it’s not a top-down mandate.
“Another challenge is that for many companies, budget still ranks higher than sustainability, meaning people aren’t (yet) making decisions based solely on environmental concerns. Not all companies are comfortable with travel that’s greener but more expensive,” she said.
That’s the case for FLSmidth group category manager Meret Minnet. She said her KPIs are still driven by cost savings.
Based in Copenhagen, the company has signed on to science-based targets to reduce GHG emissions and created a MissionZero initiative to enable customers to move towards zero emissions by 2030. Business travel accounts for 0.1 percent of the company’s carbon emissions and is therefore not currently an area of concern.
Nevertheless, carbon-conscious travelers are requesting more sustainable options, so Minnet is working to integrate features like emissions calculators and carbon budgets into her Egencia booking tool.
And for markets with less awareness, she is working with Thrust Carbon to create sustainable hotel and flight packages that illustrate carbon metrics in a more relatable, user-friendly manner.
“The sustainability team [does not] have resources for travel, so I’m working behind the scenes to be ready because if we want to achieve net zero by 2030 we’ll need to go the extra mile at the end,” she said. Until then, Minnet’s sourcing priorities are price and convenience, especially since routing options post pandemic remain limited.
All the TMCs BTN spoke to said there is a sliding scale of maturity among clients, largely influenced by geography and cultural differences. Travelers in Europe are the most environmentally conscious and therefore sustainable travel policies there are more advanced (also due to regulation such as the EU’s emissions trading scheme). Travel managers in North America are playing catch up.
“There needs to be more education,” S&P’s Dery insisted. “A lot of buyers don’t understand what a sustainable travel program looks like and what it actually means. We’re still getting our sea legs when it comes to sustainability.”
That said, GBTA’s Millot believes the race to net zero is ‘in motion’ and points to the Science Based Targets initiative, where around 100 of the 3,000-plus corporations who’ve made commitments have unveiled targets specific to business travel. And according to the organization’s recent survey, 67 percent of travel buyers believe the industry should commit to a collective climate target.
Ultimately, traveling sustainably is everyone’s business.
Investment Required
“Companies know sustainability is important, yet many struggle to find the staff and time necessary to push things forward,” said Kathy Jackson, vice president and executive chair of sustainability at BCD Travel, especially when it’s not a top-down mandate.
“Another challenge is that for many companies, budget still ranks higher than sustainability, meaning people aren’t (yet) making decisions based solely on environmental concerns. Not all companies are comfortable with travel that’s greener but more expensive,” she said.
That’s the case for FLSmidth group category manager Meret Minnet. She said her KPIs are still driven by cost savings.
Based in Copenhagen, the company has signed on to science-based targets to reduce GHG emissions and created a MissionZero initiative to enable customers to move towards zero emissions by 2030. Business travel accounts for 0.1 percent of the company’s carbon emissions and is therefore not currently an area of concern.
Nevertheless, carbon-conscious travelers are requesting more sustainable options, so Minnet is working to integrate features like emissions calculators and carbon budgets into her Egencia booking tool.
And for markets with less awareness, she is working with Thrust Carbon to create sustainable hotel and flight packages that illustrate carbon metrics in a more relatable, user-friendly manner.
“The sustainability team [does not] have resources for travel, so I’m working behind the scenes to be ready because if we want to achieve net zero by 2030 we’ll need to go the extra mile at the end,” she said. Until then, Minnet’s sourcing priorities are price and convenience, especially since routing options post pandemic remain limited.
All the TMCs BTN spoke to said there is a sliding scale of maturity among clients, largely influenced by geography and cultural differences. Travelers in Europe are the most environmentally conscious and therefore sustainable travel policies there are more advanced (also due to regulation such as the EU’s emissions trading scheme). Travel managers in North America are playing catch up.
“There needs to be more education,” S&P’s Dery insisted. “A lot of buyers don’t understand what a sustainable travel program looks like and what it actually means. We’re still getting our sea legs when it comes to sustainability.”
That said, GBTA’s Millot believes the race to net zero is ‘in motion’ and points to the Science Based Targets initiative, where around 100 of the 3,000-plus corporations who’ve made commitments have unveiled targets specific to business travel. And according to the organization’s recent survey, 67 percent of travel buyers believe the industry should commit to a collective climate target.
Ultimately, traveling sustainably is everyone’s business.
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