Network of industry leaders launch first-of-its-kind guide to accelerate uptake of sustainable aviation fuel

• Innovative one-stop pocket guide encourages wider SAF usage amongst sector and business community

• Guide explains benefits of SAF, details how it can be purchased for corporate travel

• Publication complements the call for private sector businesses to commit to 30% SAF usage by 2030, helping to stimulate demand and drive down cost

The Sustainable Markets Initiative (SMI) has launched a Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) pocket guide to build further understanding among the business community and encourage greater SAF uptake in corporate travel.

This pocket guide and toolkit offers important guidance for business’ on how to incorporate SAF into their travel agenda and where they can purchase SAF from. The pocket guide has been highlighted at COP27 on the SMI Aviation panel.

SMI member, Aviation lead and Heathrow Airport CEO, John Holland-Kaye said: “Aviation is a major contributor to global economic prosperity: unlocking trade, investment, and understanding between cultures.  But growth can’t come at any price, and we need to fly without fossil fuel carbon. Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) is the answer, but we urgently need to scale up production and drive down costs. That’s where the SMI’s network of global businesses can effect real change. By using the newly developed pocket guide and committing to 30% SAF usage by 2030, businesses can send a demand signal that will lead to billions of dollars investment in SAF production and protect the benefits of aviation in a world without fossil fuels.”

SAF is a critical, but currently, underutilised tool that can unlock aviation’s goal of net zero emissions by 2050. A proven technology that reduces carbon emissions by a current average up to 70%, and with the potential to grow to 100%, SAF can be used in existing aircraft without the need for technical modifications. With future advancements in aircraft technology like electric or hydrogen-powered flight still some years away from commercial implementation, SAF is the pathway that can lead to material reductions in aviation’s carbon emissions today.

Current high costs and limited production volumes have meant it remains in short supply, with few able to access it at commercially viable rates. Ultimately governments need to develop the mandates and price incentives that will really scale SAF. This new SAF pocket guide demonstrates to businesses how to lead the charge and implement SAF into their corporate net zero goals by committing to regular use of the sustainable aviation fuel.

The publication of the guide comes as the SMI, in collaboration with the World Economic Forum Clean Skies for Tomorrow, launches its new target for businesses to commit to 30% SAF usage in corporate travel by 2030. It is hoped that as global demand grows through use in business travel, the price of SAF will in turn decrease, ensuring the fuel and its carbon-cutting credentials becomes accessible to the wider travel market.

Read the full guide here.