Airline group IAG – which owns Aer Lingus, British Airways and Iberia – and Microsoft have strengthened their partnership with their largest and longest Scope 3 Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) agreement to date.
This agreement forms part of IAG’s work to invest in and accelerate SAF production, particularly in the UK and Europe, with a goal of using 10% SAF by 2030.
This Scope 3 agreement between airline and corporate customers aligns with Microsoft’s goal to reduce lifecycle emissions from business travel and air freight. SAF used as part of the agreement will be manufactured in the UK by Phillips 66 and in the United States by LanzaJet’s Freedom Pines Fuels, the world’s first commercial-scale alcohol-to-jet production facility.
The two parties are strengthening their efforts to reduce lifecycle carbon emissions across the industry by extending their 2023 co-funded purchase agreement for SAF by five years.
Under the new terms, Microsoft will co-fund an additional 39,000 tonnes of SAF that will help reduce lifecycle carbon emissions by approximately 113,000 tonnes. The extension to the agreement enables Microsoft to address Scope 3 lifecycle emissions and is the largest and longest Scope 3 SAF agreement to date between an airline and corporate customer.
By partnering with its corporate customers, IAG is able to purchase more SAF and reduce its Scope 1 (direct) emissions.
Jonathon Counsell, IAG’s Group Sustainability Officer, said: “We’re pleased to work with like-minded organisations such as Microsoft to expand efforts to reduce flying lifecycle emissions. Long-term agreements help encourage much-needed funding in SAF production, something that IAG is championing through our investment in global SAF projects such as LanzaJet.”
