Air Canada has announced the purchase of 9.5 million litres of Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) in recognition of Earth Day on 22APR. This will generate greenhouse gas reductions equivalent to emissions that could be absorbed by 28,000 acres of forest, the airline says.
"At Air Canada, environmental and social factors are incorporated into our strategic decisions," said Michael Rousseau, President and CEO at Air Canada.
"SAF comprises one of our core pillars in pursuing our net-zero emission targets. Today's announced purchase represents a five-fold increase in our SAF procurement year over year and is an important step towards our target of one per cent fuel to be SAF by 2025, supporting our journey towards our 2050 net zero decarbonization goals," he added.
Through Air Canada's Leave Less Travel Program, corporate customers and cargo freight forwarders can purchase SAF, carbon offsets or a combination of both to mitigate their carbon footprint. This program is part of Air Canada's Climate Action Plan.
The airline notes that current global SAF supply remains extremely limited, costly, and insufficient to support worldwide demand. Air Canada has been involved in several initiatives in this area, including:
- A founding member of the Canadian Council for Sustainable Aviation Fuels (C-SAF), a not-for-profit to accelerate the commercial production and use of Canadian-made SAF.
- A founding member of, and the first Canadian carrier to join, the Aviation Climate Taskforce (ACT), formed to tackle the challenge of rising CO2 emissions from commercial aviation.
- A signatory of the Clean Skies for Tomorrow Coalition. The coalition's mission is to accelerate the deployment and use of SAF technologies to reach 10 per cent of global jet aviation fuel supply by 2030.
- In 2017, supporting the Civil Aviation Alternate Fuel Contrail and Emissions Research project (CAAFCER), to test the environmental benefits of biofuel.
- In 2016, joining as lead airline for Canada's Biojet Supply Chain Initiative (CBSCI) to identify and help solve supply logistic barriers to using aviation biofuels.
- Since 2012, Air Canada has purchased nearly 2.5 million litres of SAF.
For more information about Air Canada's environmental and sustainability programs, visit Air Canada's program Leave Less.
