All Nippon Airways (ANA) last week launched its own initiative to promote the use of sustainable aviation fuel as the company looks to join the rest of the industry in advocating the use of alternative fuel and ultimately reducing the aviation industry’s carbon footprint.
The airline has received support from its forwarder partners with Nippon Express, Kintetsu World Express and Yusen Logistics announcing their participation in the SAF Flight Initiative.
ANA, along with these three major logistics and cargo companies, conducted a cargo flight powered by SAF on September 29, marking the first time that a Japanese airline made a SAF joint operation with its cargo partners.
Also read: Asia Pacific carriers take next step to zero emissions target
The carrier said it is following the standards initially outlined in the Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Protocol—a standard that requires companies to reduce all emissions, even those generated outside the core business and through its transport partnerships..
“ANA has long been a leader in advancing sustainability in the airline industry, and this fuel initiative further demonstrates our ability to meet the demands of society. As SAF will play a major role in reducing carbon emissions, we will continue looking for ways to accelerate its adoption,” said Yuji Hirako, president & chief executive of ANA.
“We recognize that preserving our environment requires that we build broad coalitions committed to achieving a common goal, and we will continue to work with partners to help them reduce their carbon footprint in line with our own ambitious targets,” Hirako added.
ANA noted that this SAF offering will also be extended to corporate customers as a way to meet their needs in raising their sustainability efforts.
“We will continue to cooperate with companies that are working to reduce emissions across their value chains and are committed to promoting the expanded use of SAF as it builds a coalition of companies that are contributing to decrease their carbon footprints,” the airline added.
The SAF programme announcement comes ahead of this year’s UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26) happening in November 2021, with sustainability one of the key topics to be discussed by regulators and stakeholders in transportation
