ClimeFi is pleased to share that it has published its latest report: ‘SAF Certificates: A Buyer’s Guide’.
Aviation-linked emissions are amongst the hardest to abate within a corporate footprint and, for many companies, business travel and air freight are among the largest Scope 3 categories left once direct operations are addressed.
Sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) is one of the most credible levers to address this: a drop-in fuel that cuts lifecycle emissions by roughly 60–90% versus conventional jet fuel. Few companies can access the fuel itself, however. SAF certificates (SAFc) solve this through book-and-claim: the fuel's environmental attributes are sold to the corporate buyer funding them, while the fuel is used by an airline wherever it makes most sense.
However, the market is early-stage, and not all certificates are equal. This paper sets out the questions that determine what a SAFc is worth and how regulation and incentives shape what buyers pay in different regions. As a rule of thumb, expect today US$200–350 per tonne of CO₂ reduced, net of incentives. Be mindful about quoted prices, and make sure to benchmark $ / tCO2 reduced.
The paper also sets out how corporates can approach additionality, highlighting the need to align the additionality standard with the emissions claim and reporting framework your company operates under. Moreover, it explores the correct approach to take when evaluating SAFc offers, recommending to always price on $ per tonne of CO₂ reduced basis, not per tonne of fuel.
Starting procurement early and starting small allows companies to build the procurement process, relationships, and reporting before committing to longer-term offtakes. To illustrate what this process looks like in practice, the paper closes with a case study of ClimeFi’s recent SAFc procurement.
