London, 3 November 2022 – Today, Sunweb Group, one of the leading European travel organizations, is announcing its partnership with Neste, the world's largest producer of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) and diesel. The move means the Group is Neste's first travel industry partner that is taking the important step despite not owning any aircraft.
In spring 2022, the travel company announced it would no longer compensate CO2 directly, but instead invest in reducing emissions from its own products. The funds generated by the move have allowed Sunweb Group to partner with Neste by purchasing 385,000 litres of SAF to reduce its CO2 emissions.
SAF is the most sustainable fuel alternative currently on the market, emitting at least 80%1 less greenhouse gases (GHG) compared to using fossil kerosine. The fuel purchased from Neste by Sunweb Group is produced from 100% sustainably sourced renewable waste and residue raw materials such as used cooking oil.
The move is also in addition to an on-going collaboration between Sunweb Group and Dutch airline Transavia in April 2022, when they announced they would invest in a shared sustainability budget in SAF.
"While this initial SAF purchase is currently a small amount, it is an important step towards making flying more sustainable," says Chris Oskam, Sunweb Group's Head of Sustainability. "SAF is the most effective way of lowering our CO2 footprint. At the moment, less than 0.1% of all aviation fuel used globally is SAF2. In order to reduce airplane emissions, we need to raise SAF's share. With this new investment, we add another 0.5% of SAF to all flights taken by Sunweb Group's one million customers in 2022, and in doing so we aim to show that sustainability is a responsibility for us all," concludes Oskam.
“Neste is committed to helping the aviation industry become more sustainable and working together with innovative and forward thinking partners who share our ambitions is key to success. As one of the largest travel organizations in Europe, Sunweb Group is taking on the responsibility to make their offering more sustainable by buying SAF and applying it directly for their clientele. This is a first of its kind collaboration, and we hope it will be inspiring for other forward thinking organizations. The world needs these kinds of pioneers to lead the way towards a more sustainable future,” says Jason Reichow, Vice President Business Development Renewable Aviation at Neste.
Neste: Please contact Neste’s media service, tel. +358 800 94025 / media@neste.com (weekdays from 8.30 a.m. to 4.00 p.m. EET).
1Measured over the fuel's lifetime and calculated with the proven LCA methodologies for life cycle analysis, including the CORSIA methodology
2 https://airlines.iata.org/analysis/realizing-the-potential-of-sustainable-aviation-fuel
Neste in brief
Neste (NESTE, Nasdaq Helsinki) creates solutions for combating climate change and accelerating a shift to a circular economy. We refine waste, residues and innovative raw materials into renewable fuels and sustainable feedstock for plastics and other materials. We are the world’s leading producer of sustainable aviation fuel and renewable diesel and developing chemical recycling to combat the plastic waste challenge. We aim at helping customers to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions with our renewable and circular solutions by at least 20 million tons annually by 2030. Our ambition is to make the Porvoo oil refinery in Finland the most sustainable refinery in Europe by 2030. We are introducing renewable and recycled raw materials such as liquefied waste plastic as refinery raw materials. We have committed to reaching carbon-neutral production by 2035, and we will reduce the carbon emission intensity of sold products by 50% by 2040. We also have set high standards for biodiversity, human rights and supply chain. We have consistently been included in the Dow Jones Sustainability Indices and the Global 100 list of the world’s most sustainable companies. In 2021, Neste's revenue stood at EUR 15.1 billion. Read more: neste.com
