sustainable aviation + you
Otherwise known as SAF, sustainable aviation fuel can cut an awe-inspiring 80% of the emissions of typical jet fuel.
Better yet, it is commonly derived from common household waste bi-products such as cooking oil, food scraps, paper, textiles, and packaging that would otherwise go to landfill or incineration.
A round trip flight between London and San Francisco has a carbon footprint per economy ticket of over 2.5 metric tons of CO2e. With the aviation industry expected to increase by 44% to 16 million flights per year by 2050, it is essential that we ask our beloved airlines to reduce aviation’s carbon emissions and SAF is our best solution to doing so, currently.
Yes, at the current moment SAF is more costly than typical jet fuel, mostly due to the fact that supply chain and manufacturing of this fuel is still in infancy and being scaled. The fact is, ANY aircraft certified for using the current specification of jet fuel can use SAF - it’s just a matter of doing the extra work of innovating and investing.
biofuels are leftovers
The transition to biofuels is relatively simple but scaling it is complex. Thankfully, there has been a recent injection of funding (to the tune of $50m plus) to U.S. based LanzaJet by Breakthrough Energy, amongst others.
Common cooking oil from your neighborhood restaurant or fryer can be donated and configured into SAF/Biofuels for just such a purpose. Food waste can also be transformed to biofuels. In most large urban areas, there are people that will pick up your used cooking oil for free, which is something that every restaurant with such access should consider doing. Some markets even pay a rebate or premium for used oil or food scraps.
The complex part is in the fact that biofuel needs these materials to be made. Most governments haven’t provided the proper funding nor is there much education around this subject, when considering the general public. Again, it’s a scenario in which we can’t fix what we don’t know is a problem. Biofuel needs material to be made, and right now, there are probably millions of restaurants the world over, scrapping their used oil due to the fact that they didn’t know any better.
call (government) to action
On an individual level, some airlines are providing passengers and corporate customers with the option to fund the use of SAF in order to reduce or offset emissions associated with your ticket. Google also is calculating flight emissions on Google Flights.
The aviation industry has committed to net zero by 2050. Ultimately, in order for this technology to be supported by lasting change, there needs to be real commitment from governments the world over to create the right policies to accelerate the growth and scalability of SAF. Increased production needs long-term policy certainty as well as a focus on the research, development and commercialization of scalable production technologies.
Next time you book a flight, do a quick search of who is using SAF for your route - and think about spending a bit more on the ticket if it means that the airline you book is investing in our future, too.
With Purpose Net Zero, we are hoping to fund the scale of SAF, as well, creating a circular solution to event emissions management.
