More and more shippers are opting for more sustainable solutions to transport cargo with DB Schenker and Lufthansa Cargo announcing that tech company, Lenovo, decided to go for a carbon-neutral flight to move 20 tons of chargeable weight per week from Shanghai (PVG) to Frankfurt (FRA).

In a statement, Lufthansa said the carbon-neutral freighter flight is the only regular full charter connection worldwide which is 100% covered by sustainable aviation fuel (SAF).

SAF is produced out of renewable waste and residue raw materials such as used cooking oils.

The transported Lenovo products include laptops, notebooks, and PCs for both private and corporate clients.

"Our unique SAF full charter flights help corporates to make their shipments more sustainable. Lenovo is a major customer for this game-changing initiative and an example how shippers are keen for real change towards greener transports. We look forward to seeing further companies who would like to prioritize decarbonizing their supply chains together with us," said 

Thorsten Meincke, Global Board Member for Air & Ocean Freight at 

DB Schenker.

Gareth Davies, head of Global Logistics at Lenovo said sustainability is also "critical" to Lenovo.

"We are proud that we are further enhancing our solutions through this collaboration with DB Schenker and Lufthansa Cargo. For all businesses and individuals, adopting programs that improve sustainability is incredibly important and we are delighted about this new partnership,"Davies said.

Ashwin Bhat, chief commercial officer at Lufthansa Cargo, for his part said the joint effort with DB Schenker to avoid CO2 emissions is continuously growing stronger.

"We need to work together across industries to achieve our shared goal. Only together, we can make a real difference. With our SAF-covered flights, we are doing pioneer’s work," Bhat added.

DB Schenker and Lufthansa Cargo started the world’s first regular SAF-covered full charter air cargo connection between Frankfurt and Shanghai in April 2021 and extended the joint mission throughout the entire winter flight schedule.

The CO2 released during combustion in the engine is only the CO2 removed from the atmosphere during the photosynthesis phase of the plants that were utilized to produce the oils SAF is refined from.

By opting for the SAF based way of transportation offered by DB Schenker in cooperation with Lufthansa Cargo, Lenovo saves around 20 tons of conventional kerosene per flight and, thus, 62 tons of greenhouse gases (CO2e Well-to-Wheel) weekly.

In addition, the around 16 tons CO2e resulting from the production and