“While the Covid crisis has compelled us to make many changes across the business, one thing that hasn’t changed is our commitment to minimising the impact we have on the environment,” commented Andrew Parker, Qantas Group Executive, Government, Industry and Sustainability. “Even though we have been flying a lot less, we’ve actually seen the same proportion of customers choosing to offset their domestic travel during the pandemic – showing this issue remains top of people’s minds.

“Airlines globally have a responsibility to cut emissions and combat climate change, particularly once travel demand starts to return. The Qantas Group has set some ambitious targets to be net carbon neutral by 2050 and while offsetting emissions is a big part of that in the next few years, longer term initiatives like building a sustainable aviation fuel sector in Australia, are key.”

The airline group claims to operate one of the industry’s largest carbon offset programmes, with around 10% of customers booking flights on its website opting to offset the emissions from their flights. In turn, both Qantas and low-cost subsidiary Jetstar match every dollar spent by customers.

“We think the programme can grow and we have a lot of corporates, not just individuals, signing up for it,” Qantas CEO Alan Joyce told a recent Eurocontrol Aviation StraightTalk interview (see video below). “Sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) is going to take a while to get established and make it economic.”

He said Qantas would be working on a plan with BP to create a local SAF industry to help it meet the 2050 target. “BP think it’s a great opportunity. In Australia we have a massive land mass and our airline, pre-Covid, was spending $4 billion a year on fuel. There’s potential for an industry here in Australia that we’re excited about developing.”

Commenting on the tie-up with Qantas, BP’s EVP, Regions, Cities & Solutions, William Lin, said: “At BP, we’re focusing on working with corporates in key industrial sectors that currently have significant carbon emissions to manage and need to decarbonise – sectors such as aviation.

“By bringing our complementary capabilities together, we can help each other, and our customers, move at a faster pace on the energy transition journey. We are delighted to have the opportunity to collaborate with Qantas on plans to reach net-zero while continuing to deepen our existing relationship.”

Frédéric Baudry, President, BP Australia and SVP Fuels & Low Carbon Solutions, Asia Pacific, said: “This is another move towards our ambition to be a net-zero company by 2050 or sooner and help the world to get to net-zero. We believe the planet needs everyone working together on this vital cause, and that supporting companies to transition to a more sustainable future means we can all get there faster.

“Forming strong strategic partnerships with leading companies like Qantas is an important way to achieve our shared goals and we are proud that BP is working to provide decarbonisation solutions for customers in Australia.”

Photo: BP

Excerpt of interview with Qantas CEO Alan Joyce talking about sustainability and SAF:

“This achievement demonstrates the airport’s firm commitment to invest in a more sustainable future for aviation and for the region it serves,” said Stefano Baronci, Director General for ACI Asia-Pacific. “Without a doubt, it is a remarkable milestone at a time of unprecedented challenges for aviation. For airports, it is essential to recover from Covid-19 in a more agile and sustainable way, and Christchurch Airport is clearly leading the way in working towards decarbonisation. We hope other airports in the region will follow its leadership.”

To achieve Level 4 Transformation of the programme, an airport has to define a long-term carbon management strategy oriented towards absolute emissions reductions. Accreditation requires the airport to:

• Compile an extended carbon footprint (for Scope 1 and 3);
• Formulate a long-term, absolute emissions reduction target, aligned with the 1.5 or 2 degrees C pathway outlined by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change;
• Define the steps to achieve this target and the interim milestones to measure its progress; and
• Demonstrate evidence of actively driving third parties towards delivering emissions reductions.

Having already been accredited at Level 2 Reduction, Christchurch Airport’s General Manager Planning & Sustainability, Rhys Boswell, said its Level 4 Transformation submission took three months to complete.

“We were required to present a verified Carbon Footprint, a Carbon Management Plan in line with the UN Paris Agreement, and a Stakeholder Partnership Plan to influence Scope 3 emissions,” he confirmed. “All this went to an independently verified accreditor who scrutinises carbon accounting and airports. We provided independently verified proof of all our carbon reduction achievements.”

Boswell said the airport had reduced its Scope 1 emissions by 83% over the past year, from 1,186 tCO2e to 204 tCO2e, through installing ground source heating and cooling in the terminal building. Scope 2 emissions have reduced by 27% against a 2015 baseline year, through LED replacements and improved energy efficiencies.

“Plus, as part of our commitment to support the aviation industry transition to a low-carbon future, we have installed aircraft ground power,” he added. “When an aircraft is on the ground, it can use electricity rather than jet fuel and so saves approximately 730 tCO2e per plane per year.”

The airport’s carbon policy goals are to achieve net zero emissions by 2030 and absolute zero emissions by 2050.

“We have worked hard to demonstrate how emission reductions factor into our airport planning and decision-making, now and into a low-carbon future,” said Boswell. “Being recognised as the world’s first airport to demonstrate best practice in this area is a good feeling.”

Added Christchurch Airport CEO Malcolm Johns: “As a regional airport, we set a good example for our regional peers and for the airport industry as a whole. We show that small is big when you are bold enough to set the bar higher on climate actions and to deliver on ambitious environmental goals. We will continue to work diligently to build a more sustainable aviation in strong cooperation with our business partners.”

Commenting on Christchurch’s new accreditation, Air New Zealand’s Head of Sustainability, Lisa Daniell, said: “It’s great to see this kind of industry-wide commitment and collaboration happening to reduce carbon emissions. For Air New Zealand, having infrastructure at Christchurch Airport to plug aircraft into ground power on the tarmac, instead of running systems like air conditioning and cabin lights from the APU unit, which burns fuel, has helped us to reduce our own emissions.”

In October, Christchurch Airport saw the launch by start-up ElectricAir of New Zealand’s first electric plane, a two-seat Pipistrel Alpha Electro. ElectricAir has received support from the city council’s Innovation and Sustainability Fund and the Christchurch Agency for Energy Trust. The airport is also supporting the project as part of its electrification and decarbonisation programme, which will be the inaugural user of the airport’s newest charging infrastructure.

“We use electricity to power jet aircraft while they’re parked on the ground, we offer EV and e-Bike charging stations, so installing e-plane charging infrastructure was a natural next step,” said Boswell. “We are proud to be the launch pad for ElectricAir and to further power up to keep emissions down.”

The airport has also announced it is exploring the long-term potential of building what it describes as a “world-class sustainable airport” in Central Otago, on the lower South Island. It has purchased 750 hectares of land and the airport would start with a 2.2km, jet capable runway and a small terminal building. However, said Johns, the airport would be consulting with the local community before proceeding with the project.

Photo: Christchurch Airport

“ANA takes pride in its leadership role and has been recognised as an industry leader in sustainability, and this agreement with Neste further demonstrates our ability to serve passengers while also reducing our carbon footprint,” said Yutaka Ito, Executive Vice President at ANA overseeing procurement. “While Covid-19 has forced us to make adjustments, we remain committed to meeting our sustainability goals. We recognise that preserving our environment requires humanity working together to achieve a common goal, and we are proud to be doing our part to protect our shared home. We are also pleased to report that according to the ISCC Proof of Sustainability certification, the Neste MY Sustainable Aviation Fuel supplied in Tokyo provides approximately 90% greenhouse gas emissions reduction through its lifecycle and in its neat form compared to fossil jet fuels.”

ANA and Neste plan to expand the partnership after 2023 based on a multi-year agreement. The airline has pledged to reduce its CO2 emissions in 2050 by 50% compared to its 2005 level.

“We recognise the major role SAF has to play in reducing greenhouse gas emissions of aviation, both in the short and long term. Through this new collaboration, we are enabling the supply of SAF for the first time in Asia. We are very honoured to partner with ANA and support them in achieving their ambitious sustainability goals,” said Thorsten Lange, Executive Vice President for Renewable Aviation at Neste.

Neste currently has an annual capacity of 100,000 tons of sustainable aviation fuel but with refinery expansion taking place in Singapore and possible additional investment into its Rotterdam refinery, the company is expecting to have the capacity to produce around 1.5 million tons annually by 2023.

Meanwhile, Neste said it was taking seriously allegations of sustainability violations contained in a report by Profundo and commissioned by Milieudefensie (Friends of the Earth Netherlands) that was published last week. The report alleges raw material suppliers to Neste were responsible for the deforestation of over 10,000 hectares of tropical forest since the beginning of 2019, nearly 13,000 fire alerts during the same period and other violations. Milieudefensie has demanded the EU bans the use of crop-based biofuels, including fuels made from PFAD (palm fatty acid distillate), a residue raw material used by Neste.