Dozens of major companies now have access to a first-of-its-kind platform making it easier to support high-integrity sustainable aviation fuels, possibly accelerating the timeline toward cleaner air transport and travel — a move that would ultimately benefit community health.
Amazon, Deloitte, Disney, and Netflix are among the powerhouse companies that are members of the Sustainable Aviation Buyers Alliance, which drives investment in sustainable aviation fuels, or SAFs, to support airlines and other customers in achieving their eco-friendly goals.
On May 28, SABA announced its secure platform, SAFc Connect, had gone live. It expects its members to have an immediate demand for around $30 million in SAF certificates, which would allow them to support sellers even if they don't directly use the fuel themselves.
In short, this concept allows buyers to estimate the environmental impact of their aviation-related activities and use the certificates as an offset to any associated pollution.
Established in 2021, SABA is run by the Environmental Defense Fund, the Rocky Mountain Institute, and the Center for Green Market Activation (GMA). It has already aggregated demand for $400-plus million in SAF certificates from corporate buyers.
Andre de Fontaine, a managing director at GMA, told Trellis that SAFc Connect could be a game-changer because it could drastically slash the time members typically need to vet SAFs, which are made from renewable materials like cooking oil and cover crops.
According to the U.S. Department of Energy, SAFs could slash heat-trapping pollution from aviation by as much as 94% compared to traditional jet fuel, which also spews pollutants that degrade air quality and are associated with thousands of premature deaths each year.
Not all SAFs are the same, though — hence the need for a platform like SAFc Connect that helps buyers quickly compare fuel prices and attributes rather than going through the lengthy process of reaching out to SAF suppliers to submit proposals.
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Lower energy bills 💰 "Those are fairly time-consuming efforts," De Fontaine told Trellis. "They take somewhere between 18 and 24 months to run."
As one of SABA's members, Amazon hasn't gone without criticism for some of its less-than-eco-friendly practices. For one, its data centers generate more pollution than many countries, and employees have raised concerns that its commitment to AI undermines its climate goals.
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However, the retail giant has also made positive moves, reducing its reliance on plastic packaging and adding thousands of zero-tailpipe-pollution electric vehicles to its delivery fleet.
Now, SAFc Connect could help supercharge Amazon's goal of reaching net zero across the company by 2040, including through the development of more efficient air cargo solutions.
"To meet the decarbonization goals for the aviation sector, we need to encourage both near and long-term investment into SAF," GMA CEO Kim Carnahan said in the press release. "With SAFc Connect, participants have a continuous SAF procurement opportunity that progresses climate goals now, while strengthening the foundations of the SAF market for future growth."
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