The RSB supports the development of sustainable aviation fuels (SAF) for the aviation industry that promote social and environmental sustainability and safeguard food security. We do this by partnering with aviation initiatives worldwide, engaging airlines through membership, and helping supply chain companies achieve RSB certification for their alternative fuels.
AVIATION FAST FACTS
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Sustainable Aviation Fuel accounted for 17% of RSB certified products in 2019.
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Nearly a third of RSB members represent the aviation sector, including airlines, SAF producers, and aviation industry and research associations.
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RSB drives the sustainability agenda at global level through ICAO, and the RSB CORSIA Standard has been recognised by ICAO for CORSIA certification from December 2020.
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Many SAF initiatives worldwide, including the 28 airlines member of the Sustainable Air Fuel User Group (SAFUG), have committed to RSB-certified fuel.
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RSB certified SAF has a minimum 50% GHG emission reduction compared to the fossil fuel baseline and guarantees the protection of social and environmental rights and food security.
A SUSTAINABLE FUTURE FOR THE INDUSTRY
The aviation industry has committed to grow carbon-neutrally as of 2020, and to decrease GHG emissions by 50% by 2050.
We are working with industry leaders to achieve these goals – and to ensure that these developments have sustainability at their heart.
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GOAL 1
Improve fleet fuel efficiency by 1.5% per year from now until 2020.
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GOAL 2
Stabilise net aviation emissions at 2020 levels with carbon neutral growth.
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GOAL 3
By 2050, net aviation carbon emissions will be half what they were in 2005.
Practical Solutions For A Sustainable Aviation Industry
The RSB’s pioneering approach drives continuous improvement and adaptation to new market challenges and opportunities. With credible solutions, innovative and advanced approaches to the latest sustainability challenges and a proven track record in supporting the industry, we are delivering clear benefits and value to partners across the aviation supply chain.
RSB STANDARD FOR ICAO CORSIA
RSB’s ICAO CORSIA Standard specifies requirements for operators along the Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) supply chain to produce SAF that complies with RSB’s sustainability requirements and is eligible under CORSIA.
The Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation, or CORSIA, is an emission mitigation approach for the global airline industry, developed by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). CORSIA has been adopted as complementary to a broader package of measures to help ICAO achieve its goal of carbon-neutral growth from 2020 onwards.
LOW ILUC
RSB’s progressive ILUC module is the first to address the challenges associated with indirect land use change in biomass production and enables SAF to carry an additional low ILUC claim with its RSB certification upon compliance with at least one of three sets of indicators: Waste & Residues, Unused Land, and Yield Increase. The module is available ahead of new regulations coming into force in the EU, and is part of the RSB CORSIA certification scheme.
GHG CALCULATOR
RSB’s Greenhouse Gas calculator is a market-leading tool based on emission factors and actual activity measurement The calculator integrates both the RSB Global and EU RED (soon EU RED II) methodologies, as well as CORSIA. The calculator enables operators to conduct their individual calculation of actual GHG LCA values to show a better performance than available default values. By offering the RSB GHG calculator, RSB supports the industry to decrease their carbon emission impact.
FOOD SECURITY
RSB’s approach to food security is extremely robust thanks to a dedicated focus on food security in our Principles and Criteria and a risk management and stakeholder consultation approach that ensures that issues which might impact local food production, such as water access, are identified and managed right from the start.
SDG ALIGNMENT
RSB is well aligned with the UN Sustainable Development Goals, and our partners in the aviation industry can be assured that RSB certified SAF is contributing to the realisation of many of the SDGs.
RSB'S WORK AT ICAO
EXPLORE RSB'S SAF PROJECTS
RSB's Aviation Team
Arianna Baldo
Sector Lead: Aviation
Arianna Baldo is based in Cape Town, South Africa and is RSB’s sector lead for aviation. She coordinates RSB’s Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) projects and partnerships, and engages stakeholders globally to support the industry’s sustainability and decarbonization goals through RSB membership, certification and advisory […]
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Carolina Grassi
Business Development Lead - Latin America // Sector Lead: Ground Transport
Carolina leads RSB’s Business Development work in Latin America, as well as our sector focus on ground transport. A biologist with a Ph.D. in genetics and an MBA in Business Management, Carolina has dedicated her professional career to helping to […]
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Elena Schmidt
Standards Director // Sector Lead: Shipping
Elena leads Standard Development at RSB and coordinates the development and update of sustainability standards in partnership with more than 100 members from all sectors. Prior to the RSB, Elena worked for Tüv Süd, a German certification body, where she […]
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WHY RSB
By 2030, the RSB will have supported the emergence of a new world bioeconomy founded on social, economic and environmental considerations that contribute to the UN Sustainable Development Goals – reducing climate impacts, enhancing food security and rural development, and protecting ecosystems.
With credible solutions, global expertise, partners across the spectrum from government to industry and NGOs, and an extremely robust approach to sustainability, RSB is the partner of choice for the aviation industry as it seeks to fulfil its global commitments to greenhouse gas reduction while also ensuring social development and environmental protection.
RSB is a member-led organisation which represents a worldwide movement of businesses, NGOs, academics, government and UN organisations that have demonstrated their commitment to the development of the sustainable bioeconomy by working together to create our most trusted Standard.
The RSB Standard is the strongest and most trusted of its kind, recognised as such by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC).
Testimonial
The International Coalition for Sustainable Aviation's (ICSA) vision for a “zero climate impact” international aviation pathway towards 2050 endorses RSB as the “best-in-class sustainability certification standard for advanced aviation fuels”
The International Coalition for Sustainable Aviation (ICSA)
What airline passengers should know about the future of alternative fuels
“They cause deforestation” “They increase food prices” “They don’t prevent climate change” These are all common claims made about biofuels and they make for alarming reading. But are they true? The answer, as is usually the case, is in […]
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SkyNRG and KLM announce commitment to RSB Certification at new Dutch plant
Today in Amsterdam, SkyNRG and KLM announced the first European alternative aviation fuel plant. To be built by SkyNRG, KLM has made a commitment to purchase 75, 000 tons of fuel per year over 10 years. With the plant due […]
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A third of global aviation biofuel demand could be met by RSB certified biofuels from Africa
A new report published by WWF South Africa and conducted in collaboration with the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA) and supported by the Boeing Company has found that there is a small, but not insignificant, potential for the […]
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Shipping leaders look to develop a roadmap for biofuels with commitment to real sustainability at heart
12th December 2018; Berlin, Germany: The Sustainable Shipping Initiative (SSI) grouping of leading maritime organisations, and the Roundtable on Sustainable Biomaterials (RSB) – the world’s most robust and trusted sustainability leader in the bioeconomy – came together in Berlin last […]
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Call for Volunteers: Heriot Watt Low Carbon Jet Fuel project seeks interviewees for research
Heriot-Watt University School of Social Sciences is looking for volunteers to participate in an interview for our project titled “Assessing Sustainable Aviation Biofuel Production Technologies”. This project is a part of a larger EPSRC-funded project that aims to produce low […]
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Alternative Aviation Fuels: A Sustainable Future is Taking Off
Alternative Aviation Fuels: A Sustainable Future is Taking Off The aviation industry has committed to major action in the global fight against climate change, including carbon neutral growth from 2020 and a 50% reduction in emissions by 2050 compared to […]
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RSB works with Airbus to map a sustainable future for Mobile, Alabama
The RSB has been working with Airbus in Mobile, Alabama to assist the aircraft manufacturer in developing a sustainable vision for the development of sustainable alternative aviation fuels in the region. Airbus, having committed significant resources to Mobile, is looking […]
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Developing an Aviation Fuel Roadmap for Ethiopia
RSB’s Executive Director Rolf Hogan attended a series of meetings in Addis Ababa to take forward the initiative to develop an aviation fuel roadmap for Ethiopia that was launched at the Aviation Biofuel Summit in March 2019. Shortly after the […]
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Alternative Fuels are Taking Flight in Mexico!
Our Executive Director, Rolf Hogan, attended the first ever Mexican Bio Jet Fuel Congress hosted by RSB community member and partner, the Mexico Biojet Cluster. RSB has been working with the Cluster for over a year and we are extremely […]
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