IAG Cargo partners with Kuehne+Nagel and Neste to launch first net-zero carbon charter chain with SAF

The last of the British Airways B787-900 flights left Stuttgart on June 26, 2021, collecting on average 45 tonnes of automotive spares and other industrial goods destined for Atlanta via London Heathrow. The business has now completed over 300 automotive charters since it began its charter service last year.

International Airlines Group was the first European airline group to commit to powering 10 percent of its flights with sustainable aviation fuel by 2030. These charters mark IAG Cargo’s first step on that journey – I’m incredibly proud of our commitment to long-term sustainability, helping to reduce carbon footprint overall. We are constantly looking at ways which reduce our impact on the environment whilst improving our customer offering and we were delighted to support Kuehne+Nagel with sourcing Neste-produced SAF to power these landmark charters, the first of many, said John Cheetham, Chief Commercial Officer at IAG Cargo.

The sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) was provided by Neste, the world’s leading provider of SAF. According to Neste, this collaboration marks the first time ever that passenger-freighter charter flights are operated with net-zero carbon emissions.

As SAF use still produces some carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, carbon neutrality was achieved by substituting each litre of jet fuel kerosene used with 1.25 litres of SAF. The initiative highlights the importance of joint efforts for making sustainable transportation choices and possibilities available at close-by airports to local and global industry players avoiding further emissions through trucking goods into major hubs.

Neste MY Sustainable Aviation Fuel is made from sustainably sourced, renewable waste and residue raw materials. In its neat form and over the life cycle, its use can reduce up to 80 percent of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions compared to fossil jet fuel use as calculated with established life cycle assessment (LCA) methodologies, including EU RED and CORSIA.

The SAF was blended with fossil jet fuel to comply with aviation fuel certification standards, shipped to the UK from Europe, and then transported by underground pipelines into Heathrow.

Neste MY Sustainable Aviation Fuel provides immediate emission reductions and is already available today, playing a pivotal role in decarbonizing the aviation industry. We continue to scale up our operations and will have the capacity to produce some 1.5 million tonnes of SAF annually by the end of 2023, said Jonathan Wood, VP Europe, Renewable Aviation at Neste.

Growing demand for environmentally friendly logistics

Answering growing customer demand for environmentally friendly logistics, Kuehne+Nagel is proactively expanding its sustainable services portfolio with innovative and easily customized shipping options.

The overall commitment so far of 12.7 million litres of SAF allows Kuehne+Nagel customers to benefit from immediately available alternative fuel solutions to reduce CO2 emissions of their air freight globally.

Climate change has now given new urgency to the search for cleaner, renewable fuels as they are currently the most effective measure to achieve true decarbonization in our industry. Kuehne+Nagel is committed to increasing its supply of SAF as part of our ambitious Net Zero Carbon programme. Our work with our suppliers is critical here, with trusted partners like IAG Cargo playing a vital role in the attainment of our goals and by fostering deployment of sustainable fuels so our like-minded customers can ship their products CO2 neutral in an easy and transparent way, commented Yngve Ruud, Member of the Management Board of Kuehne+Nagel, responsible for Air Logistics.