IAG and Microsoft Sign Largest and Longest Scope 3 Sustainable Aviation Fuel Agreement

The International Airlines Group (IAG), made up of Iberia, British Airways, and a few other airlines, and Microsoft are stepping up their efforts to reduce carbon emissions across the industry’s lifecycle by extending by five years their 2023 Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) co-financed purchase agreement. IAG reported that under the new terms, Microsoft will co-finance an additional 39,000 tons of SAF that will help reduce life-cycle carbon emissions by approximately 113,000 tons. The agreement extension allows Microsoft to address Life Cycle 3 (Scope 3) emissions and is the largest and longest Scope 3 SAF agreement to date, according to publicly available data. Scope 3 covers lifecycle carbon emissions that are not directly produced by a company, but for which it is indirectly responsible in its value chain (Microsoft corporate travel on IAG airline flights). By partnering with its corporate clients, IAG highlights that it can acquire more SAF and reduce its Scope 1 (direct) emissions. Corporate customers also benefit by lowering the industry’s Scope 3 lifecycle emissions proportionately to a portion of their corporate flights. Microsoft is also co-funding the SAF used by IAG airlines to ship data center components globally, in partnership with Microsoft carriers. Microsoft’s contribution to the cost of SAF production will support airlines within IAG in reducing overall lifecycle emissions. Jonathon Counsell, IAG Group Chief Sustainability Officer, said, “We are pleased to be working with like-minded organizations at Microsoft to expand efforts to reduce flight lifecycle emissions. Long-term agreements help encourage the necessary investment in SAF production, something IAG is promoting through our investment in global SAF projects such as LanzaJet.” Julia Fidler, Fuels and Materials Decarbonization Lead at Environmental Sustainability at Microsoft, said, “We are taking our collaboration with IAG further by extending our SAF purchase agreement to bring Microsoft closer to our goal of being carbon negative by 2030, while also securing a multi-year commitment to help drive greater SAF production. We are pleased to work alongside IAG in efforts to increase demand and make SAF more widely available through our agreement shared long-term purchasing option.” Using alternative fuel sources – rather than newly mined fossil materials – causes SAF to release existing carbon into the atmosphere rather than adding new carbon from fossil fuels. By the end of 2024, 1.9% of IAG’s total fuel use for the year was from SAF and total spend, including future commitments for SAF offtakes, exceeded USD 3.5 MM. IAG has been working with the aviation industry in its campaign to gain more government policy support to encourage investment in new SAF production technologies. The SAF used as part of the agreement between IAG and Microsoft will be produced from used cooking oil and food waste at Phillips 66’s Humberside refinery, and from sustainably sourced bioethanol at LanzaJet’s Freedom Pines Fuels facility in the state of Georgia in the United States. Both fuels are certified by the International Sustainability and Carbon Certification (ISCC). The Microsoft Climate Innovation Fund, a USD1 MM initiative that supports new climate technologies through investment, has already invested in LanzaJet. LanzaJet’s Freedom Pines facility is the world’s first commercial jet alcohol production facility and will supply SAF to British Airways. – https://aeroin.net/iag-e-microsoft-assinam-o-maior-e-mais-longo-acordo-de-combustivel-sustentavel-de-aviacao-de-escopo-3/