Five major Australian companies have joined Qantas to reduce their emissions by investing in sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) rather than carbon offset programs.
Australia Post, KPMG, Macquarie Group, Woodside Energy and Boston Consulting Group are the first corporate partners of the Qantas-led “sustainable aviation fuel coalition”.
The companies will pay a premium to reduce about 900 tonnes of their air carbon emissions each year by contributing to the incremental cost of SAF.
Experts have welcomed the announcement, labelling it a “very smart move” by the national carrier.
“With aviation fuel it’s a little bit first come, first serve,” said professor of sustainable travel at Griffith University, Susanne Becken.
“One of the big challenges will be the availability of fuel at a large scale.
“Airlines will tie up arrangements early on, so doing what Qantas has done by setting up a coalition will probably give them the best chance to get the fuel.”
SAF is produced from certified bio feedstock, including used cooking oil, energy crops, forestry residues, animal fat and other waste products.
It is blended with regular jet fuel and produces up to 80 per cent less emissions on a life-cycle basis compared with traditional jet kerosene.
Qantas has committed to using 10 per cent SAF in its overall fuel mix by 2030 and about 60 per cent by 2050.
Local biofuels industry
Qantas CEO Alan Joyce said the strong demand for SAF from corporate Australia is a key step towards developing a local biofuels industry.
“Air travel is a crucial part of doing business for many companies. Companies need to travel to meet customers, suppliers and partners, but they also want to reduce their impact on the environment. SAF is a great way to do that,” Mr Joyce said.
“The demand for SAF has never been higher, but supply is lagging well behind, particularly without a local industry in Australia, and that’s keeping prices several times more expensive than traditional jet kerosene.
“The more leading corporates that join our program/coalition the more feasible a local industry becomes and the more cost-effective the fuel becomes.”
The announcement signals a pivot from carbon offsetting, which many travellers will be familiar with, to a focus on sustainable fuel.
Clarity needed
Dr Becken says the onus is on Qantas to explain to its customers what sustainable aviation fuel is and why the airline’s focus has shifted.
“People have been told for many years that carbon offsetting is the way to go, and suddenly, there’s this new option… I think that might be difficult for people to understand,” she said.
“Qantas will need to communicate this change very clearly to its customers.”
In a statement, Qantas said it will continue its corporate offsetting program, Future Planet, which enables companies to “offset emissions through certified, high-quality projects in Australia and overseas”.
Dan Heathwood, from EnPerSo Business Travel, told The New Daily that while the move “looked great on the surface”, more detail was needed to make sure the shift to sustainable fuel over carbon offsets “stacked up”.
“If they want to broaden the coalition and sign more people up then we definitely need to see more detail – otherwise it’s hard to gauge what the actual impact of this initiative will be,” Mr Heathwood said.
