Lufthansa Cargo and Japanese freight forwarder Kintetsu World Express has signed an agreement for the use of Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) as part of its sustainability efforts.
With the deal, Kintetsu World Express will reduce around 5% of its total CO2 footprint of transported airfreight with Lufthansa Cargo for one year.
The company has also decided to offset the so-called "well-to-tank emissions" generated during the production and provision of SAF with the help of certified climate protection projects.
Kintetsu World Express has earlier committed to using SAF from October 2022 to September 2023 in a bid to bring down its emissions.
"Climate change is getting more and more obvious and devastating everywhere in the world. As an asset-light freight forwarder, reducing our Scope 3 greenhouse gas emissions is key to winning the battle against global warming. And SAF is a rising star," said Nobutoshi Torii, president & chief executive officer of Kintetsu World Express.
"I am delighted and proud to work with our long-time partner Lufthansa Cargo for the sustainable future of the air cargo industry," Torii added.
Dorothea von Boxberg, chief executive officer of Lufthansa Cargo AG noted that today, SAF offers the opportunity to save around 80% of emissions in airfreight transport.
"We are very proud that we have been able to win Kintetsu World Express, one of our most important customers, to transport their freight with us on a CO2-neutral basis," von Boxberg said.
"Thanks to the commitment of Kintetsu World Express and our other customers who have chosen Sustainable Aviation Fuel, we have
already been able to replace around 2% of our annual fossil fuel requirements with Sustainable Aviation Fuel in 2022," the Lufthansa Cargo chief added.
More climate-friendly flights with SAF
SAF — considered to be the first real alternative to fossil aviation fuel — is currently mainly produced from biomass but in the future, "non-biogenic" fuels will also be available.
Meanwhile, aside from the use of SAF, Kintetsu World Express also relies on additional offsetting of greenhouse gases generated in the provision of SAF.