Reducing Carbon Footprint in Air Freight

I look at the first transatlantic flight using 100% sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) in a way similar to the US’s Moonshot project. My team was tasked with testing and evaluating the flight's non-CO2 emissions from the SAF – just one aspect of the project. But what we were all trying to do – the academics, OEMs, airlines and the government – was demonstrate that SAF is a feasible fuel that worked. Our ‘SAFshot’, as I call it, was a success. I was on Flight100 when it took off in November 2023. It used 100% SAF on both Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 engines (Boeing 787). The flight travelled safely from London to New York. We reduced the emissions for that journey by 95 tonnes CO2e (equivalent to 64% CO2 reduction) compared to traditional jet fuel. The technology works. So why are we not using SAF in all our flights? The resources aren’t there. Yes, there is a clear political will to decarbonise the aviation industry. The UK, EU, US and many other countries have set ambitious targets and SAF mandates. But for us to meet these, a significant amount of research and innovation will be needed – to produce the amount of SAF required and at an affordable cost. At an international level, the aviation industry may need 490 million tonnes of aviation fuel a year by 2030. To meet the current UK mandate targets, 10% of UK aviation fuel consumption – 12 million tonnes per year, which translates to 1.2 million tonnes of SAF – will need to be changed to SAF by 2030. At the moment, we are at approximately 0.11 million tonnes, so there's a substantial gap to bridge in the next five years. One major bottleneck is the high cost of SAF. We need a breakthrough technology to make SAF more affordable and improve feedstock availability and quality, ensuring its unlimited use as a future fuel. Currently, biomass and waste-based feedstocks are utilised for SAF production. We are now exploring next-generation technologies that leverage green hydrogen and CO2 capture from the air, powered by nuclear Small Modular Reactors or renewable energy sources. This approach promises an unlimited supply chain feedstock, marking a significant breakthrough. Consequently, major aviation stakeholders are concentrating on these advanced production pathways. In Sheffield, when we applied for funding for our Energy Innovation Centre in 2018, we took a risk. We looked to the future, saw the importance of decarbonisation and considered the impact on the aviation sector. Taking this risk means our capabilities and facilities are maybe five to 10 years ahead of our competitors, which is why so many companies have chosen us as their main partner to deliver. We are showing how we can provide the missing piece of the puzzle – cost reduction and availability. Our next ‘SAFshot’ should focus on exceeding the SAF mandate targets – ‘mandate plus’ – to decarbonise the sector quicker. We have taken our first, not-so-small step – it’s now time to take a giant leap forward for the future of our planet.

How FedEx Is Modernizing Its Fleet? FedEx Express is undergoing a significant fleet overhaul, replacing older aircraft like the MD-11s and Boeing 757s with modern, fuel-efficient planes such as the Boeing 767-300F to improve operations and lower its carbon footprint. This modernization aligns with FedEx's goal of achieving carbon-neutral operations by 2040 and includes a larger focus on sustainable aviation fuel, electric vehicles, and operational efficiencies to reduce emissions and costs.  Key aspects of the fleet overhaul • Modern aircraft: The Boeing 767-300F is the primary new platform, with deliveries continuing through 2026. The company has also introduced the ATR 72-600F for its feeder network. • Reduced carbon footprint: The new aircraft are more fuel-efficient, which helps FedEx work toward its goal of carbon-neutral operations by 2040. • Fleet modernization: The overhaul includes phasing out older aircraft such as the McDonnell Douglas MD-11 and Boeing 757. • Operational improvements: Modern aircraft and new technologies reduce maintenance costs and improve operational efficiency. • Other sustainability efforts: • Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF): In FY25, FedEx began its first major U.S. deployment of SAF at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX). • Electric vehicles (EVs): FedEx is continuing to add electric vehicles to its network to reduce its transportation-related carbon footprint. • Network optimization: The company is also restructuring its air network by shifting some shipments to surface transportation, outsourcing more flights, and increasing the use of direct routes to save costs and improve efficiency. 

These founders turn CO₂ from the air into jet fuel✈️ (And raised $173M to scale it globally) When chemist Staff Sheehan and entrepreneur Gregory Constantine met in New York, they saw opportunity in our biggest crisis… Our carbon problem is worse than you think: ↳ CO₂ levels hit 427 ppm (highest in 800,000+ years) ↳ Aviation alone accounts for 2.5% of global emissions ↳ Traditional fuel production creates massive carbon footprints ↳ Most solutions address symptoms, not the CO₂ itself That's when they created something revolutionary. What if we could transform excess CO₂ into valuable products? AIRCO was born. Their breakthrough? AIRMADE™ technology that: ↳ Converts captured CO₂ and green hydrogen into liquid fuels ↳ Creates sustainable aviation fuel with 97% lower carbon intensity ↳ Removes 1.5kg of CO₂ per kg of ethanol produced ↳ Uses 99% less water than corn-based alternatives ↳ Requires only waste CO₂, hydrogen, and electricity The impact? Already disrupting multiple industries: ↳ First product (carbon-negative vodka) named a TIME Best Invention ↳ Partnering with major aviation companies for sustainable jet fuel ↳ Scaling production for diesel, gasoline and other essential chemicals ↳ Creating a resilient supply chain immune to traditional disruptions And they're just getting started: ↳ Targeting 10.8% reduction in global CO₂ emissions by 2050 ↳ Expanding into the rapidly growing carbon capture utilization market Sometimes the solution to pollution is in the air we breathe 🌎🧪 - If this sounds interesting👇 🗞️Grab my 5 min newsletter about them: https://lnkd.in/eTuVKRA5

It is well known that aviation causes 2.5% of global CO2 emissions, but did you know a massive 35% of its warming impact comes simply from contrails? To tackle this problem, a recent study integrated AI-based contrail forecasts directly into standard flight planning software. In a large-scale randomized control trial, dispatchers and pilots used these predictions to actively avoid atmospheric regions that create warming contrails. The results show incredible promise: 🟢 Flights that successfully followed the contrail avoidance plans achieved a 62% reduction in contrail formation. 🟢 There was no statistically significant difference in fuel usage between the test and control groups, proving this is a scalable and cost-effective way to reduce the climate impact of commercial flying. By building contrail avoidance directly into the tools airlines already use, we are one step closer to sustainable aviation. Find the study and read more on our Keyword: https://lnkd.in/g8fRHsEu #AI #Sustainability #Aviation #ClimateAction

The potential of Sustainable Aviation Fuels (SAF) in reducing the aviation industry's carbon footprint. At Sheffield University, researchers, including are testing synthetic fuels using a small jet engine. SAFs are produced from renewable sources like waste oils, agricultural residues, and even human waste. These fuels offer the advantage of net-zero carbon emissions, as the carbon released during combustion has recently been captured from the atmosphere. The aviation industry, facing growing demand and commitments to net-zero emissions by 2050, sees SAFs as a critical solution. However, significant challenges remain, including the limited availability and high cost of SAFs, which currently make up only 0.05% of the fuel used in the EU. Although modern aircraft can run on 100% SAF, most flights still use a blend with conventional fuel. Governments are introducing mandates to increase SAF usage, but environmentalists are skeptical about the industry's willingness and ability to move away from fossil fuels. While there is progress, scaling up SAF production and reducing costs are essential for broader adoption.

Just-published research from Amadeus and Accenture shows how IT solutions can drive more sustainable operations, by improving operational efficiency and reducing CO2 emissions.   For airline customers, the research analyzed Amadeus Departure Control – Flight Management. This solution calculates the optimal required fuel for a flight and the ideal centre of gravity of the aircraft. Both optimizations result in significant fuel savings and reduced carbon emissions.   In the case study, with calculations provided by Accenture, one of our long-standing airline customers reduced fuel burn across its fleet by approximately 14,540 metric tons in 2023. This would result in a potential avoidance of approximately 46,000 metric tons of CO2 emissions.     More detail in the report: https://lnkd.in/etNWqK9c

Do you know how your preferred airlines actually are performing relative to each other in terms of overall carbon efficiency ? If you do, then hats off to you, because a majority of travel buyers (and TMC's) do not have access to this information, but have to focus on measuring the CO2 on each air booking which might be a good data point on its own, but it doesn't really provide any insight about how good or bad the number is compared to the best in class airlines There is a now a new solution which makes it possible for travel buyers to compare the carbon efficiency and overall sustainability performance of multiple airlines over multiple years in just a few seconds - and you can check it out immediately ENVEST GLOBAL have completed the migration of 5 years of sustainable aviation data into an online data portal with easy access to 12 operational KPI's for more than 100 of the worlds biggest airlines. Importantly, all the data used are provided by the airlines themselves in a myriad of announcements (financial reports, operational statements, press releases and interviews), so there is a complete audit trail for each data element which means the airlines are unable to dispute the information as it originates from their own information sharing What does this mean for the sustainable travel buyer - well, a number of new strategies now become possible You can start comparing the so-called "CO2 per RPK" number (revenue passenger kilometer) for each airline and ask them what they are planning to do in order to lower this number and become more competitive Or you can decide to only fly with the most carbon efficient airline on your top-10 city pairs and reduce the overall carbon emission levels across all bookings, and simply tell the other airlines they have to improve their performance to get your business back Or you can decide to promote the airline with the highest SAF use ratio - and given that only 22 airlines currently self-report their SAF usage publicly, you can also ask the airline rep when they will start reporting their SAF numbers so you can include them in your preferred program again Or you can use the rating system included in the Envest Global data portal where each airline is assigned a rating (5 levels in total) based on their actual performance, their level and frequency of public data sharing and finally the transparency and quality level of their carbon offset claims These are just a few examples of how travel buyers finally can use validated data to influence and guide the composition of their preferred airline program - without a complex implementation of new policy rules in the OBT and agent desktop tools To get started head over to the Envest Global website and try the new widget on the home page where you can enter the current high level summary of the airlines you are buying from, and get a quick evaluation of how good or bad your carbon efficiency for air travel actually is https://lnkd.in/dq8C2bxY

‘Absolutely possible’ to produce enough sustainable jet fuel to decarbonize aviation, says Willie Walsh, Director General at International Air Transport Association (IATA). To genuinely advance the use of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) and decarbonize aviation, actionable steps must replace mere discussion. Here are three critical points: 1. If airlines commit to using SAF beyond the EU's 2% mandate starting January 1, 2025, fuel companies will ramp up production. Airlines need to exceed these mandates voluntarily, demonstrating a proactive stance. 2. Airlines should also invest in the development and implementation of sustainable technologies like alcohol-to-jet (AtJ) fuel and Hyfly. Furthermore they should invest in diverse biomass feedstocks. This will ensure a steady, scalable supply of SAF and reduce dependency on limited resources like used cooking oils and animal fats. 3. Governments should avoid over-regulating feedstocks and instead facilitate their availability. Policies should support the broad use of sustainable biomass, simplify approval processes for new feedstocks, and remove bureaucratic barriers to innovation. The repeated focus on used cooking oils and animal fats is misguided. Their supply is inherently limited, and increasing consumption to produce more waste oil and animal fat is unsustainable. Instead, sustainable biomass such as spineless cacti, which thrive on marginal soils in semi-arid areas, should be the focus. These plants provide a consistent and scalable source of biomass without competing with food crops. To decarbonize aviation effectively, airlines must lead by adopting and investing in SAF. Governments should support this transition by creating a regulatory environment that encourages innovation and the use of diverse, sustainable feedstocks. Only then will the decarbonization of air transport be possible. 🌵 🌵 Read more: https://lnkd.in/eaKVZpMH #saf #sustainableaviationfuel #biomass #spinelesscacti #alcoholtojet #atj #methanoltojet #mtj #cookingoil #animalfats #feedstock #sustainable #aviation #airlines #fossilfuels #decarbonization Willie Walsh

🟦✈️This semester, my students at the University of Pennsylvania audited Airbus’ 𝐞𝐧𝐝-𝐭𝐨-𝐞𝐧𝐝 supply chain carbon footprint—and how much emissions reduction is feasible. ✨Key insights: ⚡𝐒𝐜𝐨𝐩𝐞 𝟑 𝐝𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐬 ~99.8% of total emissions Airbus’ 2024 footprint is defined by downstream use of sold aircraft: ~560 MtCO₂e (Scope 3) vs. ~0.77 MtCO₂e combined Scope 1+2. Factory efficiency alone cannot move the needle🎯. ⚡Scope 1 & 2 progress is positive, but small in absolute terms Renewable electricity reached ~1.1 TWh; Scope 2 fell to ~163 ktCO₂e in 2024. Airbus is on track for –63% Scope 1+2 by 2030 (vs. 2015), but these scopes remain <1% of total emissions 📉. ⚡Near-term reduction potential is 𝐮𝐩𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐦 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐦𝐢𝐝-𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐦 Logistics optimization and modal shift (air→sea, SAF in Beluga ops) can cut transport emissions ~60–70% on key lanes. Low-carbon aluminum substitution alone could reduce ~600,000 tCO₂e/year—often at lower cost than future carbon exposure. ⚡𝐅𝐥𝐞𝐞𝐭 𝐞𝐟𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐲 is a strong lever New-generation aircraft (A320neo, A330neo, A350) deliver ~25% lower fuel burn per seat—~20,000+ tCO₂e avoided per aircraft per year. SAF can cut lifecycle emissions up to 80%, but current abatement costs 💰are ~$600–700/tCO₂. Hydrogen is essential for 2050, contingent on infrastructure and green H₂ scale. 💡Bottom line: Airbus’ net-zero pathway is technically feasible—but only if 𝐜𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐫 𝐮𝐬𝐞 is addressed. If it is not addressed, reductions remain marginal. 👥Customer-side decarbonization is underexplored because firms can’t dictate behavior. Yet, as with suppliers, many efficiencies require little or no capex and often save money. BCG shows up to 50% of supplier emissions can be cut at low or neutral cost, with one-third below $12/tCO₂e (≈20% of EU ETS prices; source: EcoVadis). Tools, methods and frameworks for 🏭 reducing carbon from customer use is under-explored. The reason is obvious – companies can’t tell their customers what to do.  One of my New York University teams researched this and produced a great report that catalogued ways to incentivize customer decarbonization behaviors while strengthening the relationship. Contact me if you’d like to learn what was studied and what the answer is. Outstanding work by Kai Hua, Jiazhen Zhang, Fan Yang and Zhuolun Zhang  on the Airbus study, and thanks to Dazan Fernandes, Weijia Su, Wenxuan Zeng, Wanni Cao, and Nikitaa Kenkre for excellent work on customer decarbonization.

✈️ Sustainability Takes Flight! 🌍 As I’ve been jetting around these past few weeks, I couldn’t help but reflect on an incredible roundtable discussion I had at Phocuswright with 🌟 Lauri Reishus of Airlines Reporting Corporation (ARC), Phillipe Chereque of Certares Management LLC, Eric Bailey (formerly Microsoft), Jay Boehmer (BTN Group), and subsequent discussions with other industry innovators like Tom Romary (YACTA.AI) and Jean Belanger (Cerebri AI Inc.). We attempted to tackle one BIG question in our short time together: How can we move beyond measuring carbon footprints and start actively reducing them? The clock worked against us (isn’t that always the case? 😅), but the conversation sparked some powerful ideas. Here’s my brainstorm of actionable strategies: 🌿 1. Go Green on the Ground: Swap short flights for high-speed rail or electric vehicles. Shared mobility for the win! 🚆 🚖 ✈️ 2. Travel Smarter: Optimize itineraries to achieve more with fewer trips. Efficiency is key. 🧳 💻 3. Virtual First: Embrace remote collaboration and hybrid events to reduce travel needs. 🤝 ⚡ 4. Green Investments: Don’t just offset—invest directly in renewable energy projects. 🌞 🌍 5. Partner with Purpose: Choose suppliers who prioritize sustainability. Together, we rise! 📦 🛠️ 6. Carbon Budgets: Assign limits for teams to keep emissions in check. 💡 📚 7. Empower Travelers: Educate and equip people to make sustainable choices. 🚶♀️🚴♂️ 🔬 8. Tech for Tomorrow: Support R&D in game-changing low-emission technologies. 🚀 🎉 9. Sustainable Events: Reimagine meetings and events to be eco-friendly from the ground up. 🌱 📈 10. Stay Accountable: Commit to transparent reporting on progress. Credibility matters! 🔍 These are my thoughts on WHAT we should do—but I’ll save the HOW for another post (or a coffee chat ☕). Thanks again to Pete Comeau for inviting me to the conversation. Let's keep the momentum going! 🌟 How do YOU reduce your carbon footprint? Drop your ideas below! 👇 #SustainabilityInTravel #CarbonReduction #GreenTravel #ActOnClimate #Phocuswright #TravelLegends #EcoInnovation #Zeno #Planet