Marisa Garcia Jet Blue Funds SAF with New ‘Sustainable Travel Partners’ Program
The budget-savvy upscale airline suggests it is “empowering corporate customers to enhance the sustainability of their business travel” by introducing this clever mutually beneficial Carbon Offsetting scheme.
JetBlue is looking to provide corporate travel with an eco-friendly option that will help companies meet their own sustainability goals. The “Sustainable Travel Partners” program’s inaugural customers—Biogen, Deloitte LLP ,ICF and Salesforce—all companies committed to sustainable practices in their corporate travel. Combined, JetBlue estimates the launch customers will reduce a combined 2,730 Metric Tons of CO2 emissions.
From JetBlue’s Press Release
JetBlue has a suite of offerings to help corporate travel customers reduce their business travel emissions and meet their own corporate sustainability targets. That includes personalized data and resources to help companies enhance the sustainability of their travel. The Sustainable Travel Partners program offers corporate partners the following resources:
- Business travel emissions reduction through the offering of JetBlue generated sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) certificates * Complimentary carbon offsetting on all domestic flights operated by JetBlue * Personalized travel data and analysis for more accurate emissions reporting
- Consultation and tools for custom planning and target-setting to support in making more sustainable travel decisions * JetBlue Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) Certificates
What is SAF?
SAF is a synthetic jet fuel produced from renewable biological resources that can be replenished rapidly and without impacting food supply. Compared to traditional petroleum-based Jet-A fuel, SAF can emit up to 80 percent less CO2 over its lifecycle when used in neat form and reduces air pollutants such as particulate matter and sulfur oxides. SAF drops into existing engines and infrastructure and is ASTM certified when blended up to 50-50 with fossil Jet-A fuel. With more than a 10 year track record of safe use in aircraft, SAF is recognized as the most promising solution to mitigate air transport emissions currently available.
JetBlue has been flying regularly on SAF as a component of its fuel supply from its partners Neste out of San Francisco International Airport (SFO) since July 2020 and World Energy (SAF producer) and World Fuel Services (logistics supplier) out of Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) since July 2021.
JetBlue recently shared industry-leading plans to speed up its transition to SAF with a deal with its partner SG Preston that will bring 67 million gallons of blended SAF a year to the Northeast over 10 years. Following this agreement, JetBlue leads the airline industry in committed SAF off-take based on a percentage of total fuel at roughly 8% and is on track to meet its goal of converting 10% of its total fuel use to SAF years ahead of its 2030 target.
Through the purchase of SAF certificates, JetBlue customers now have the ability to directly and meaningfully reduce their business travel emissions. Business travel emissions, categorized as “Scope 3” emissions, are indirect emissions customers are not directly responsible for but that exist within the value chain, such as those produced through corporate travel. By purchasing SAF certificates, our corporate customers may reduce their reported carbon footprint, while helping cover the cost premium of SAF that exists today – thereby growing the share of SAF JetBlue is able to source while helping stimulate the emerging SAF market that is critical for the aviation industry to reach its net zero goals. Through the Sustainable Travel Partners program, our partners are helping source roughly 325,000 gallons of SAF, helping reduce 2,730 metric tons of CO2 emissions.
Complimentary Domestic Carbon Offsetting for Corporate Air Travelers
In July 2020, JetBlue became the first US airline to voluntarily offset the CO2 emissions from jet fuel for all its domestic flights. All of JetBlue’s purchased carbon offsets are audited, verified and retired on the airline’s behalf from its three expert carbon offsetting partners Carbonfund.org, EcoAct, and South Pole. As part of its offsetting portfolio, JetBlue selects projects around the globe focused on forestry, landfill gas capture, solar, and wind projects that reduce or avoid CO2 emissions. As Sustainable Travel Partners, JetBlue’s customers can benefit from enhanced reporting on our complimentary carbon offsets, as well as review opportunities to expand offsetting utilizing JetBlue’s offsetting expertise and business partners.
Emissions Travel Data and Analysis
Historically, business travelers have not had the ability to estimate their air travel emissions in a personalized, accurate, or granular way. Through the Sustainable Travel Partners program, JetBlue is saving partners the effort of inaccurate guesswork by offering emissions reporting based on travelers’ actual flying and JetBlue’s average actual fuel burn on those routes. JetBlue’s intent is to provide our partners with more accurate emissions reporting by sharing actual operational data, as well as incorporating the airline’s own emissions reduction initiatives into emissions reporting. JetBlue is also working to include travel emissions data into Salesforce’s Net Zero Cloud with hopes of making this available to the airline’s Sustainable Travel Partners. For corporate customers who purchase SAF certificates, JetBlue will also provide emissions reporting highlighting the estimated emissions reduction associated with the SAF.
Sustainable Tools and Consultation
JetBlue Sustainability and Corporate Sales representatives have developed guidance and are available for personalized conversations to help JetBlue’s business customers develop strategies to reduce their emissions associated with their organization’s business travel. This includes helping set emissions reduction targets associated with their business travel and recommending actions to promote more sustainable travel decisions to achieve these goals.
“As our business customers return to the skies, they increasingly have been asking for our support in meeting their net zero and sustainable travel goals,” said Sara Bogdan, director of sustainability and environmental social governance, JetBlue. “JetBlue has extensive expertise in decarbonizing air travel thanks to our early and leading commitments and supply agreements. We’re now extending these options to our corporate customers so that, for the first time, they can play a direct role in enhancing the sustainability of their air travel when flying with JetBlue. We’re proud to introduce the Sustainable Travel Partners program to help our business customers set and achieve their sustainable travel targets.”
JetBlue Sustainable Travel Partner Quotes
“Climate action is essential for human and planetary wellbeing,” says Alphonse Galdes, Ph.D., Head of Pharmaceutical Operations and Technology at Biogen. “Yet, if we hope to make a substantive impact in this area, we all must come together – across industries – to re-examine the way we work, the way we live and the way we consume energy. By becoming an inaugural member of JetBlue’s Sustainable Travel Partner Program, we at Biogen are proud to reduce our dependency on fossil fuels and their associated impacts, as well as utilize more accurate data to inform travel decisions in the future.”
“Deloitte is committed to driving responsible climate choices,” said Scott Corwin, Managing Director and US Leader for Sustainability and Climate Change at Deloitte LLP. “By coming together with JetBlue, we are another step closer to reducing our travel emissions and achieving a more sustainable future.”
“As the first professional services firm in the world to reach carbon neutral status in 2006, sustainability is part of our company’s DNA,” said ICF President, Chair and CEO John Wasson. “As we continue to pursue our own ambitious carbon reduction targets, we’re thrilled to partner with JetBlue to help other companies achieve their sustainability targets, too.”
“We are proud to join JetBlue’s Sustainable Travel Partners program to help accelerate the aviation industry’s journey to net zero,” said Patrick Flynn, VP and Global Head of Sustainability at Salesforce. “The urgency of this climate emergency means we need all-of-the-above strategies. For us that includes helping incentivize emerging clean technologies like Sustainable Aviation Fuels and working with partners like the Sustainable Aviation Buyers Alliance to lower barriers to scale and cost reduction.”
What is JetBlue’s Decarbonization Strategy?
JetBlue is taking bold steps to address its emissions and reduce its contribution to climate change. In 2020, JetBlue became the first US airline to voluntarily offset CO2 emissions on all its domestic flights. To date, the airline has offset more than 6 million metric tons of CO2. Upon launching this initiative, JetBlue has been very transparent that it views carbon offsetting as a short-term solution while the industry builds up lower-carbon solutions. The airline has therefore been very aggressive in growing solutions that have a more direct reduction in air travel emissions, such as making large commitments to the purchase of SAF. JetBlue recently shared plans to speed up its transition to SAF with a deal that will bring 67 million gallons of SAF a year to the Northeast over 10 years, putting the airline well ahead of pace to reach its target to convert 10 percent of its total fuel usage to SAF on a blended basis by 2030.
While JetBlue views SAF and carbon offsetting as promising solutions in addressing aircraft emissions, these are just two pieces of JetBlue’s larger decarbonization strategy, which currently also includes aircraft efficiency, fuel optimization, electric ground operations and technology partnerships.
Industry Collaboration for Aviation Decarbonization
The Sustainable Travel Partners Program represents the next step as JetBlue collaboratively works with its many partners to accelerate solutions to decarbonize aviation. In November, JetBlue announced it had joined Sustainable Aviation Buyers Alliance (SABA), a joint initiative with Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI), Environmental Defense Fund (EDF), and a forward-looking group of corporate travelers and U.S. airlines to help drive investment in high-integrity SAF. In October, JetBlue joined as a launch member of the Aviation Climate Taskforce, a new non-profit organization founded to accelerate breakthroughs in emerging technologies to decarbonize aviation, alongside 9 other global airlines and Boston Consulting Group (BCG).
Companies which would like to join JetBlue’s Sustainable Travel Partner program, can get more information at: https://www.jetblue.com/sustainability/sustainable-travel-partners.
For more information on JetBlue’s sustainability and ESG strategy, read the 2019-2020 ESG Report which can be found here: http://blueir.investproductions.com/~/media/Files/J/Jetblue-IR-V2/Annual-Reports/2019-2020-jetblue-esg-report.pdf
JetBlue’s Focus on the Environment
JetBlue depends on natural resources and a healthy environment to keep its business running smoothly. Natural resources are essential for the airline to fly, and tourism relies on having beautiful, natural and preserved destinations for customers to visit. The airline focuses on issues that have the potential to impact its business. Customers, crewmembers and community are key to JetBlue’s sustainability strategy. Demand from these groups for responsible service is one of the motivations behind changes that help reduce the airline’s carbon output and overall environmental impact. For more on JetBlue’s sustainability initiatives, visit www.jetblue.com/sustainability.
More About JetBlue Airways
JetBlue is New York’s Hometown Airline®, and a leading carrier in Boston, Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood, Los Angeles, Orlando and San Juan. JetBlue carries customers across the U.S., Caribbean and Latin America, and between New York and London. For more information, visit jetblue.com.
