* Science Based Targets (SBTi) do not accept offsets as a carbon reduction
*However, sustainable aviation fuel is accepted as a reduction in aviation by SBTi so it is possible to use a SAF unit or credit instead, some view it is a different kind of offset or insetting, do you want to find out more?
*SBTi aligns with the life cycle analysis (LCA) that CORSIA proposes for airlines, which is created by the UN body ICAO, for all airlines; life cycle analysis counts how much carbon reduction there is across the whole process of making the fuel compared with using fossil fuels
*easyJet is working towards Science Based Targets as is 3821 other global companies which is set up by WWF, one of the most trusted organisations in planetary conservation
*it’s future focused and ahead of the curve decision
*supports avoidance of greenwashing accusations, even though offsets do have their role, many do not like to see just offsetting alone
Why does hydrogen make sense for easyJet over electric?
*they are a European carrier with flights between 30 mins to 5 hours – so medium haul flights with around 200-300 seats
*electric is only ever likely to support regional and very short haul flights due to the energy the battery can carry versus the weight of the battery
*airbus, Boeing and the major manufacturers (OEMs) are investing in hydrogen planes aiming for market use around 2035
*there is a new EU alliance ‘Zero Emission Aviation Alliance‘ to support the political will of hydrogen powered aircrafts which is the biggest technological change since aviation started earlier in the 20th century
*political will, societal acceptance and investment is what is needed to switch from hydrocarbon based fuel to hydrogen, not just tech alone
What else could easyJet still do?
*promote and buy sustainable aviation fuel now and in the medium term
*support more customers to know about sustainable fuels and reducing their own footprint in other ways (www.carbonfasting.com)
*lobby for hydrogen uptake and investment in Brussels
*carry out social listening to listen to all stakeholders including flight shaming arguments and work with independent consultants
Do you have other ideas and comments? Contacts us to share your thoughts. Read more on easyJet’s plans on GreenAir.
Biofuels have become a part of the everyday energy mix and now on the increase as part of energy transition targets. As regulations increase the aviation industry is accelerating use of sustainable aviation fuels (SAF) as a route to 2050 decarbonisation objectives. This panel will look at how sustainable aviation fuels are evolving and discuss what environmental impact they will have. How are SAFs being developed including investment opportunities in the sector? And how sustainable are they? Can SAFs be made in a way that does not damage biodiversity or compete with feeding the world?
FGA will also be part of the startup networking session on 4th October in person. Read more online about the 4 other startups who will be part of this new Economist initiative: here.
As part of our diversity, equity and inclusion work we want to share an article we have written based on our response to recent tabloid headlines, LinkedIn virals, political news and day-to-day office politics.
This is a collection of our thoughts on the ‘unwritten rules‘ of civil behaviour in the workplace. We welcome more thoughts on how to create a fairer and more equal and equitable workplace whether you are a PM or a PA.
Although we all do know what respect is in most cases, it can be a grey area or forgotten at times especially when we are angry, unhappy/happy/have high energy or want to bond with people over shared intell, so we want to go through and suggest some ways to truly respect our coworkers or future partners/clients, and work towards a healthy working environment. We suggest:
Do think about other’s mental health and reasons why they might be having a bad day
Not talking over people
Respecting personal time, unless agreed do not bother people outside of office hours
Learn about biases and be aware of them so you can avoid them, especially around gender, culture, parenting and LGBT+ topics
Don’t be aggressive or passive aggressive: do not have tolerance for any form of physical or verbal assault or provocation, be aware of your language and tone, avoid emailing/tweeting/posting when emotionally affected
No bad-mouthing or gossiping about colleagues or clients in or out of meetings
Respecting pronouns and the latest language or terms
Don’t steal ideas or cut people out; give credit where due
Don’t boast excessively, or over promise, both cause expectations to be skewed and cause disappointment
Allow others space to think, speak and have time-out
Don’t ghost people
Give a contract if work is being carried out and let people know as early as possible if you won’t renew
Your word should be as good as a contract, unless something changes a lot, which you should clearly explain, then try to stick to your agreements
Don’t share personal social media, videos, pictures or texts with other colleagues or the press
Smell clean and be clean
Be on time to meetings and to work, and communicate if you will be delayed as early as you can, reschedule if you will miss the meeting
Communicate if you feel you are being disrespected, without fear of repercussions
Avoid winking at colleagues or visitors in the office, keep it professional
Be decent/be considerate
Can you think of any others?
When you move country you can read book about the culture so you know how to respect people but we don’t often have these rules in a workplace. Are these rules universal? Should we be adding more to the unwritten code of civil behaviour or spelling it out more clearly? We welcome your thoughts, additions and debate to support inclusion and decent behaviour.
What you put out there as an individual and what you are willing to put up with for yourself and others is how it all starts. We do know these standards get broken constantly (and we even maybe watch reality TV shows for entertainment dramatising all of these office politics) but if you are in the thick of it what can you do to make sure you are psychologically safe and get respect from your colleagues or those you are pitching to? It’s not always that easy and maybe making the unwritten, written, might help create a healthy office culture to be in. We hope so as having a bad time at work really affected people’s quality of life and is likely to cause high turnover for a business so it’s important to get this right.
This article is posted as part of FGA’s personal development and diversity, equity and inclusion work. You can read more about our thoughts and work here.
We’ve chosen to keep FGA independent, agnostic and flexible.
Why?
We can give advice which is truly sustainable and without an agenda
We make ethical decisions on who we work with and make sure we don’t cut those out that supported in the name of competition
Avoids ‘collaboration-washing’ – with conflicts of interest at play all the time commercially, working with an independent can get you to where you want to be without complications
Meaning contracts and NDAs can be signed quickly, will be agreed to and avoids grey areas later
A bigger consultancy/travel company may have the brand exposure but is that important when it comes to sustainability?
A personalised and bespoke service
We want to bring up topics that are blockers and need to be voiced
We want to be impartial
Be independent experts in sustainability, sustainable travel and fuels
We maintain integrity over commercial opportunity
Have collaboration in mind to avoid topics and solutions being blocked
Are you unsure about the benefits of offsetting? If you are and many are debating offsets, an alternative is buying extra electricity from solar or wind which increases the supply globally (RECs or iRECs). Out of all of the energy sources we need more green electricity before any other commodity. In the UK Chris Goodall discusses in ‘What we need to do now‘ that we need 25 times more green electricity.
A REC is not an offset but does ‘offset/replace’ scope 1 electricity used and buying more than your scope 1 requirements can only be a good thing, if you still don’t want to offset as a company.
The main difference between renewable energy certificates vs carbon credits is what they offset. Where carbon credits help reduce greenhouse gas emissions, renewable energy certificates offset electricity use from non-renewable sources. Instead of offsetting carbon, RECs offset kilowatt hours.
Giles Dickson and WindEurope reduced the price by 5 times over 10 years due to industry work. Offsets can also support the global energy transition. Read more about the case study of electricity from wind on page 11 of FGA’s report here.
Buying offsets and RECs can also be a way to redistribute wealth to lower GDP countries. The advice is don’t always buy the cheapest offset, find country you want to support, investigate what you are buying and how the country benefits from the production in the offset or REC in their country. This is what Gold Standard does to ensure it complies with the #SustainableDevelopmentGoals.
Offsets do have benefits and so does purchasing extra RECs.
Generally if we buy green electricity/RECs we buy them in a #Book&Claim way, meaning we never know where the electricity is, if it is in our house/office or another. Roundtable on Sustainable Biomaterials (RSB) is working on a Book & Claim system for Sustainable Aviation Fuel #SAF too.
*Scaling up SAF: Highlighting strategies to successfully secure financing for SAF, build projects, attract capital for production scale-up, overcome the valley of death and create a genuine market
We are happy to have discussed our work over the years to support acceleration of SAF awareness and use. To name a few contributions and milestones:
Booking.com granted in 2018 to work on turning waste into SAF
We were the first SAF alliance created in May 2019
Created our own SAF credit in 2019 approved by Gold Standard in which we are now aligning with Book & Claim and we believe was the first introduction of the credit for SAF
Pioneered sustainable travel and SAF use in the business travel and travel management sector and consulted with , presented to and supported American Express Global Business Travel on SAF, which has now led the partnership with Shell, Clyde Travel Management, CTM and The Business Travel Show, SAP Concur, The Business Travel Association and others
Pioneers and resident experts in SAF and sustainability in sports working with Formula E, the football sector and FGA are travel partner of Sport and Sustainability International
Pioneered a female CEO and approach in SAF
Working with CERN on data solutions for aviation decarbonisation
Will be with EUROCONTROL later in the year discussing FGA’S role in acceptance of renewables after being invited to lead on societal acceptance by Imperial College London this year in an EU grant
We have also created a SAF Mechanisms report to support investors and corporates to navigate the alliances and mechanisms out there which includes RSBs Book & Claim which will be available on the SAF congress website and follow up soon
We had a great couple of days catching up with familiar faces and seeing a lot of new ones joining the SAF table.
As a startup in aviation and travel in the pandemic we are happy that, despite many challenges, we are developing our business well and contributing to our goals and the planet’s greater global goals.
At the East London location of the Barbican, on Tuesday 22nd March, was the in-person day of the 7th Annual Sustainability Week of The Economist, focusing on green investment and scaling technology for the energy transition, moving away from fossils fuels.
The panels of the day consisting of assets managers, carbon reporting companies, economists, academics, commentators, and technical experts in infrastructure and green tech.
Alok Sharma addressed the room with an opening keynote summarising some of the achievements of COP26 which included 60% of the FTSE announcing net zero pre-November event in Glasgow. Also sharing that 90% of the global economy has signed up to net zero and 40% of all global assets owners have made the pledge.
Swampy, the original climate activist in the UK from the 90s, made a cameo appearance in Alok Sharma’s speech which was a reminder that the work on climate has been happening for a long time and highlighting further the need to accelerate the transition. Also significant that there are many activists like Swampy now, and mostly wearing suits, so we have come a long way since 1996.
Alok discussed the themes of 2022 being ‘doing’ and ‘how’.
Sowhat is it we need to do?
Switch from a fossil based energy system to green electricity and hydrogen as discussed in ‘What we need to do now’ by Chris Goodall. A very practical and positive book on how to achieve an energy system shift globally to limit global temperature rise.
How?
Estimates of funds required to switch energy systems were coming in at $2.5-5 trillion per year up to 2050. Greening brown industries and transition plans were part of the how and discussion on not stranding brown assets which would mean that they were not gone but being passed to those willing to still invest in fossil.
Utilities and infrastructure have historically been government led as towns and council have developed over the years often becoming privatised to improve running efficiencies and to become profitable businesses. This is why that a big part of the debate included use of strategic Public/Private Partnerships (PPPs) to give green first-of-it-kind tech, unstable tech or low return on investment tech and solutions an opportunity to show return. Hurdling investment was a topic which supported low return projects to demonstrate stability and profit over time. Although asset managers do not want to take on such risk with their pension funds, sovereign wealth and private client’s money, the bottom line.
However the question was still asked, which ones are the right ones to back? Which will be the green cash cows? Can they take the burden of the question marks or dog/laggards? And over how long in order to get to a point of profitability? The BCG matrix concept comes into play when working out what the portfolio energy mix will be.
There was a lot of discussion around hydrogen being a safe bet for asset managers which we do need more of but without green electricity it will only be able to serve some industries and definitely not aviation until 2035 as discussed by the Jet Zero Council in this recent update published 21st March. 200-300 seater hydrogen planes won’t be online until 2035. However e-fuels using green hydrogen and carbon should be in play before then. For aviation bio SAFs still do need to be in place and due to planes being in service for 25 years and being deployed now the market for SAF will be around for many decades to come. There are currently no hydrogen planes being submitted for certification and with us never having flown hydrogen societally before it is likely to take 5+ year for safety checks for these new planes. It is necessary to contextualise, look to the comparisons, the long term rollout plans, certification and public acceptance when it comes to investing in new tech and especially as new energy sources that are needing new infrastructure and behavioural changes like hydrogen needs.
Companies such as bp said:
By 2025 – 25% of portfolio will be transition
By 2030 – 50% transition projects and 40% less oil & gas in the portfolio
Various approaches were discussed when it came to understanding and choosing ‘green investments’
One commentator mentioned as well as Risk & Return, the next check is climate.
On an ESG approach – bottom line, does it harm the planet?
Topics at the table:
*Transition plans, should they be mandatory? * ‘50 shades of green’ in investment terms * Greening the brown economy * Low cost capital for transition green projects * The definition of transition * Greening aviation ♻️✈️ * How to not strand brown assets * ESG criteria for investments * Reporting and supply chain * Investment in Hydrogen
A few thoughts from our side were: * Finance for green electricity, is it a given that it will be invested in? Although mentioned it was not emphasised that we do need a lot more for green hydrogen too (e.g.25 x times more in the UK in the next 2 decades) * if investors/governments need to run at low or no ROI for new tech, how long can they manage this/hurdle this for? – 5 years? More? * less discussed was customer /consumer readiness levels for paying for green
*although climate optimism was discussed, mitigation and water management was less discussed which we will likely need to do in conjunction with reducing carbon in general
At the event there was no plastic on badges or any single use, very nice vegetarian food, reusable plates, cups, cutlery and no paper flyers or schedules. ♻️✅
The work FGA have been doing, which has been recognised by institutes such as Imperial College London and our clients, is how we apply the energy transition work to businesses travel and sports. We are also working to find the finance for sustainable aviation fuel and low carbon projects which is ongoing work for us.
To start to conversation about green investments or how to switch-to-green in your business contact: sarah@flygreenalliance.org
Yesterday we attended an event by Avi – ALL – Aviation for All on the topic of D&I. As an industry that has around 20% of women there is still a way to go on balance and diversity.
It was an interesting event which discussed culture, mentoring, biases, language used, education of younger people, #girlsinSTEM and inclusion not just diversity.
The speakers were asked how to ensure it really does become part of the culture and some answers were:
CEOs and board members gaining training to ensure they are not defaulting to biases in language, behaviours and decision making
We believe that it’s also about developing confidence in those that are in the minority whether they are women, neurodiverse, LGBTI+ or those from ethnic backgrounds or countries that are less represented. To truly ensure this, providing free access to professional coaching would be a helpful approach to building self confidence, resilience in the workplace and to improve communication skills, including role play or third-person perspective scenerios. Equity is also important as it’s about being listened to and feeling that you can contribute as an individual. We wrote about our thoughts on equity last year and believe integrating more of this into HR policies would help integrate DEI fully.
A conversation also started about getting young people involved in STEM. We were part of Boeing’s event over summer with ThinkYoung at Summer of Coding discussing tech and sustainability. As we believe it is encouraging and building confidence in kids at a young age that can help change mindsets. Just as girls now play football from a young age they are also starting to code, get involved with tech and skateboard and more with the help of campaigns and initiatives.
We definitely ensure it’s part of our remit as we have a #femaleCEO and set up FGA to bring more diversity to the sector. We have seen changes already and are happy to be part of this work. #DEI#FGA
Book & Claim is an approach to the buying and selling of fuel much like how green electricity is sold and bought. When you purchase green electricity (RECs or iRECs) you know it has been added to the grid, the national electricity supply, from renewable sources but the supply may not be in your own house. With green electricity you buy an amount, a subscription or credits. Sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) can be purchased in the same way and then added to the global supply of jet fuel. SAF must be blended, re-tested for stability and can then mix with standard jet fuel.
The global mechanisms and the companies starting to use Book & Claim are currently under development and at a pilot stage, and the European Commission also reviewing if this should be regulated.
The European Commission consultations such as ‘Count your transport emissions‘ is looking into what this system should look like.
What are the benefits of Book & Claim?
It saves carbon due to reduced emissions from transportation of the fuel
Supply management – as the fuel can stay in the country it is produced in and uplifted there, while still acting as an offset in another it means transport timings, logistics arrangements and location of the fuel is less of a risk as supply chains are shorter
Shipping fuel can run into high delays and so Book & Claim mitigates for this
Any airport close to the fuel can therefore uplift the fuel
Reduces the cost of transport (via ship or road) and therefore the cost of SAF, as it can be up to 3 times as expensive then any cost saving is needed right now to make is closer to the cost of kerosene (Jet-A1)
The credit or agreement can offset emmissions from travel and does not need to be tied to one airline
