On 14 August, the International Airlines Group (IAG), a global conglomerate that features British Airways and Iberia, announced a big purchase of Sustainable Aviation Fuels (SAF) in collaboration with American software giant Microsoft. The acquisition will enable each firms to proceed achieving their sustainability goals.
The deal involves the acquisition of 14,700 tonnes of SAF and can permit Microsoft to proceed reducing its Scope 3 carbon emissions, those from air freight and business travel. Ultimately, the corporate has set a goal of becoming fully carbon-neutral by 2030.
Photo: Airbus
The SAF will probably be produced from used cooking oil by Phillips 66’s Humber refinery in northern England, a nation wanting to develop a producing sector for sustainable fuels. IAG has indicated that the 14,700 tonnes of SAF should give you the chance to fuel over 300 787 Dreamliner flights between London Heathrow International Airport (LHR) and Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA), where Microsoft’s world headquarters are situated.
A win for Microsoft
The announcement comes as a robust win for the American tech firm, as it would give you the chance to proceed moving towards carbon-neutral status. Julia Fidler, environmental sustainability fuel and materials decarbonization lead at Microsoft, issued the next statement regarding the announcement:
“Reducing emissions from aviation through decarbonization efforts reminiscent of this, whilst recognizing the societal and economic advantages of flying requires increased commitment from all stakeholders.”
Photo: Boeing
Here, Microsoft has clearly identified the importance of SAF and decarbonization in business aviation and has taken strong strides to handle the difficulty. When speaking more on the corporate’s own goals, Fidler had the next to say:
“This agreement represents a brand new milestone in SAF purchasing that can allow Microsoft to handle emissions from each our business travel and freight for our cloud supply chain, while helping to fund future SAF development and scale the market as a complete.”
A win for IAG
The announcement also comes as a victory for IAG’s sustainability efforts. In a press release regarding the acquisition Jonathon Counsell, head of sustainability on the airline conglomerate, said the next:
“The event of SAF is critical for the long-term decarbonization of our industry. Strong business partnerships like this may help stimulate the worldwide investment needed to construct and sustain a commercially viable SAF market. We’re pleased to see high profile organizations like Microsoft leading the best way.”
Here, Counsell accurately indicates that corporate partnerships will probably be critical for the success of IAG’s SAF efforts. This joint purchase will not be the primary announced by IAG this summer, with a partnership between IAG’s cargo division and logistics firm Kuehne+Nagel announced just last month.
Photo: Department of Energy
With SAF being the critical technology that might help the aviation industry make significant strides towards carbon neutrality, it’s unsurprising to see IAG place such a robust effort on its expanded use. Ultimately, SAF can reduce carbon emissions by over 80% in comparison with traditional jet fuel. With nearly 60,000 employees and operating a fleet of 558 aircraft, the group’s sustainability efforts could ultimately have an incredible impact on the aviation industry as a complete.