RMI and World Energy Partner to Lower the Carbon Footprint of Business Travel

As climate leaders prepare to fly to San Jose for the VERGE Conference, sustainable aviation fuel certificates offer a solution to air transport emissions.

• Five-year contract will deliver 954 metric tons of carbon reduction
• Equivalent of flying more than 1500 economy passengers round trip between New York and San Francisco.

Boulder, CO, Boston, MA – October 28, 2024

RMI (founded as Rocky Mountain Institute) and World Energy today announced they have signed an agreement for the purchase of sustainable aviation fuel certificates (SAFc) to address emissions associated with RMI’s necessary business travel and accelerate decarbonization solutions in the aviation industry. This is RMI’s second and largest purchase of SAFc to date and is expected to deliver 954 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) emissions reduction over five years, or the emissions from flying more than 1500 economy class passengers round trip between New York to San Francisco.

This agreement was part of the most recent set of agreements facilitated by the Sustainable Aviation Buyers Alliance (SABA), which collectively supported more than 20 customers in purchasing SAFc from about 50 million gallons of SAF, representing 500,000 metric tons of CO2e abatement.

This important part of RMI’s commitment to decarbonize its own operations aligns with its leadership role in the race to support climate solutions across multiple industries. Alongside sectors like shipping, trucking, cement, chemicals, and steel, aviation is a priority for RMI due to its growing share of global greenhouse gas emissions and complex supply chain. The announcement comes as many RMI personnel will be traveling to San Jose to contribute expertise and ideas at the VERGE24 conference during another busy event season when climate experts from around the globe find themselves flying to meet their peers.

“Air travel is a significant contributor to carbon emissions, and as an organization that frequently engages in international collaboration, we recognize our responsibility to mitigate our environmental impact,” said Bryan Fisher, managing director at RMI. “By investing in sustainable aviation fuel certificates – a tool we helped pioneer – we are helping drive demand for SAF, advancing the adoption of new fuel technologies, and setting a strong example for companies increasingly focused on addressing climate change.”

World Energy, the sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) producer and low-carbon solutions provider, is a leading innovator in enabling customers to decarbonize their supply chains with SAFc to help scale the SAF industry. It has worked with SABA as a SAFc provider in both collective procurement efforts to date, as one of the companies paving the way for broader SAF adoption.

“World Energy has been proud to put many of RMI’s ideas and models for the SAF market into practice in the corporate world,” said Kathleen Wight, World Energy’s vice president of Net Zero Solutions. “RMI’s commitment to using SAFc insets for its own emissions reduction sends a strong signal that real world solutions exist today in the aviation sector for those committed to net-zero travel.”

Purchasing SAF certificates enables corporate travelers to support the production and use of sustainable aviation fuel, even if it isn’t directly used in the aircraft they fly on. The investment enables companies to claim greenhouse gas emissions reductions in their climate disclosures, while the physical SAF flows to an aircraft operator, displacing fossil jet fuel. The integrity of the SAF certificates is digitally tracked and third-party verified through a chain of custody model known as book and claim. These certificates will be delivered through the SAFc Registry, a not-for-profit, globally accessible platform RMI helped develop that aims to bring consistency and transparency to the SAF certificate market.

The SAF underlying the SAF certificates will be made with state-of-the-art technology, refining hydroprocessed esters and fatty acids (HEFA) using waste fats, waste oils, and other residues as feedstocks. The high-quality fuel will be certified against the industry standards consistent with SABA’s sustainability criteria to ensure its sustainability.

Media contacts:

RMI: Rachel Sarah, Strategic Communications, RSarah@rmi.org

World Energy: Media@WorldEnergy.net

About RMI:

RMI is an independent nonprofit founded in 1982 that transforms global energy systems through market-driven solutions to align with a 1.5°C future and secure a clean, prosperous, zero-carbon future for all. We work in the world’s most critical geographies and engage businesses, policymakers, communities, and NGOs to identify and scale energy system interventions that will cut climate pollution at least 50 percent by 2030. RMI has offices in Basalt and Boulder, Colorado; New York City; Oakland, California; Washington, D.C.; Abuja, Nigeria; and Beijing. More information on RMI can be found at www.rmi.org or follow us on LinkedIn @RMI.

About World Energy:

World Energy is a low-carbon solution pioneer working with leading companies to help meet their net zero commitments. With operations in sustainable aviation fuel, clean hydrogen, advanced biofuels, and fully transparent decarbonization services, World Energy is collaborating to confront the biggest decarbonization challenges in the hardest-to-abate sectors. For over 25 years, World Energy has been at the forefront of commercializing renewable fuels and was the world’s first commercial-scale sustainable aviation fuel producer. Today, World Energy is deploying more than $15 billion into major new projects in California, Texas, and Newfoundland to help leaders accelerate their efforts to make net zero real.  Learn more at www.worldenergy.net.