Skip to Content

SAF Sustainability Guidance for Airports

 

Airports play a crucial role in the Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) economy since they are the intersection node of several stakeholders of the aviation sector – including fuel producers, traders, airlines, governments, and society. However, airports do not yet have a common ground when speaking about SAF.

As such, through the the Sustainable Airports Platform – a collaborative network linked to RSB membership and EU-funded ALIGHT project – RSB has published guidance on SAF sustainability for airports. This guidance is the main output of the platform and summarises the learnings created during the meetings and discussions held during 2022. It aims to support the wider airport community to better understand the role they can play to support SAF development, and how SAF can help the community meet their sustainability and decarbonisation goals.

  • In Chapter 1, the guidance starts with an assessment of the current role of airports in the SAF value chain, identifying key challenges and opportunities, and showcasing best practices developed by leading airports.
  • In Chapter 2, we present the results of research that investigated how SAF is currently being included in airports’ sustainability strategies.
  • In Chapter 3, we describe how SAF delivers significant GHG emission reductions compared to fossil jet, and specifically how these reductions can be linked to airports’ own decarbonisation goals.
  • In Chapter 4, the role of airports as interface with passengers is recognised, along with the opportunity to leverage this position to improve passengers’ awareness on SAF. The results of a passenger survey conducted by Rome Airport are presented. This chapter also presents a brief communication strategy developed via consultation with airports and other stakeholders that participated in the Sustainable Airport Platform, which highlights key messages that airports can use to educate passengers and airlines on SAF.
  • In Chapter 5,  the benefits of SAF beyond GHG emission reductions are presented, and introduces the SAF Sustainability Toolkit for Airports using the RSB 12 Sustainability Principles and Criteria as a guide.

To read the SAF Sustainability Guidance for Airports, click here.


 

Back to top