Is your SAF sustainable?
A SAF economy that aligns with the sustainability principles that underpin clean energy, clean transportation and sustainable agriculture initiatives is good for the environment — and for business. (Image by Kimberly Boustead for FMR)
Sustainability extends far beyond lower emissions.
For any Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) to legitimately earn its moniker, reductions in greenhouse gas emissions from flights cannot come at the expense of clean water and healthy habitat. Nor can the fuel’s production put more pressure on farmers and their soil.
Sustainable aviation fuel has to be sustainable for everyone and everything — not just what’s convenient. Not only is this approach the best thing for the environment, it’s also the best thing for business.
SAF's impact on land and water
Crop-based feedstocks are the only realistic near-term solution to scaling up SAF in time for airlines to meet their climate targets. But even without this additional demand, the current agricultural economy already puts a lot of pressure on land and water, and the communities that tend them.
- Row crop farming is the biggest source of pollution to many water bodies and sources of drinking water in the upper Midwest, including the Mississippi River, its watershed and nearby groundwater systems.
- Commercial markets push farmers to grow more and more of a small, dwindling number of crops — removing choice and increasing risk.
- Land is a zero-sum game. If every commercial crop has to be grown over the summer, there's only one way to make space for more: convert non-agricultural land (such as forests or prairies) into cropland.
If the industry over-relies on conventional summer crops for a new aviation fuel, these pressures will only increase. As pollution worsens, as drinking water becomes threatened, SAF risks going the way of other corporate climate initiatives, such as the carbon offsets market — well-intentioned, but ultimately doing little to win public trust.
How SAF can earn its ‘sustainable’ label
Here are corporate commitments and policy objectives that can help ensure sustainable aviation fuel is actually sustainable:
- Invest in regenerative cropping systems like winter-hardy oilseeds, which are the most-sustainable near-term option
- Promote in-field climate-smart agriculture practices, such as reduced tillage, nutrient management and cover crops
- Restrict land conversion and retain indirect land use change as a factor in the life cycle analysis
- Tether tax credits to carbon intensity reductions to reward success
- Set specific goals for feedstock production from the most sustainable sources
- Prohibit imports of palm oil and other products that result in widespread forest conversion
- Don’t neglect the long-term: Also invest in green hydrogen and true carbon-neutral options
This approach would allow airlines to meet emissions targets and position SAF as a key part of the solution to achieving clean water. It would boost rural economies by giving farmers more choice. And it would help protect valuable natural habitat from being destroyed for agriculture.
SAF, if done responsibly, would ensure the environment, U.S. agriculture and the aviation industry remain resilient and durable for decades to come.
