American Express Global Business Travel (Amex GBT), the first platform for journey B2B in the world, and Shell Aviation today announced that Google had joined its Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) program.
Google’s collaboration with Amex GBT and Shell Aviation builds on its goal of achieving the “net zero” across its operations and value chain by 2030, and contributing to global climate solutions. “The use of SAF will play a vital role in helping the aviation sector on the path to decarbonization. Join the program sustainable aviation fuel of Amex GBT further represents Google’s continued efforts to accelerate the global transition to a carbon-free future.”comments Michael Terrell, senior director of climate and energy at Google.
The program FAS of Amex GBT and Shell Aviation shows how the private sector can drive systemic change and help fund aviation’s transition to net zero by bringing together major companies such as Google, aon, Bank of America, Delta, Cathay Pacific, JetBlue And Japan Airlines. The program also brings together clear demand, a fundamental step to help scale the emerging SAF market. The program launched in 2022 with 1 million gallons of SAF available to corporate customers – enough to power nearly 15,000 business trips from London to New York.
Andrew Crawley, President, American Express Global Business Travel says: ” THE business travel are a crucial passenger segment for aviation, accounting for around 15% of air travel worldwide and generating around 40% of revenue. Google joining our growing SAF program shows how business collaboration can accelerate aviation’s transition to net zero and enable more sustainable travel. »
Air travel representing approximately 90% emissions from business travel, as sustainable business travel involves tackling a deep-rooted problem: aviation’s dependence on fossil fuels. SAF, when used pure, can reduce life cycle carbon emissions by up to 80% compared to traditional fossil fuels. This is currently the most promising avenue in the aviation industry to decarbonize air travel. However, the FAS represents less than 0.1% of available aviation fuel and is two to eight times more expensive than conventional fossil jet fuel. As a result, the production and demand for SAF are limited, argues the press release from American Express Global Business Travel.
Amex GBT and Shell Aviation are bringing businesses and airlines together to help solve these problems. Leveraging Shell Aviation’s airline customers and the buying power of Amex GBT’s more than 19,000 corporate customers in 140 countries, the cost of SAF can be co-financed and help expand its use. This demand signals a capital investment in production facilities and additional technologies needed to achieve economies of scale, thus helping the emerging industry SAFs to take off.
