Finnair has launched a new Finnair for Business SAF service that enables corporate customers to participate in the reduction of aviation emissions by supporting the use of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF).
The new SAF service allows companies to monitor the flight emissions of their business trips and contribute to increasing SAF use through co-funding.
The emission reduction achieved is verified by a third party, and the company receives an audited SAF certificate for its investment, which it can use in its sustainability reporting.
The emission reduction is allocated to the corporate customer according to a book-and-claim model. This makes it possible to reduce emissions from flying without the physical delivery of fuel to the customer's own flight, Finnair said.
“With Finnair for Business SAF service, we want to accelerate the adoption of alternative aviation fuel made from renewable raw materials," said Tuomo Karppinen, head of environment at Finnair.
“We believe that the most effective solutions can be found at the system level and require cooperation not only between decision-makers and energy producers, but also between airlines and customers.”
In 2024, approximately 0.5% of the aviation fuel procured by Finnair was SAF. This year, Finnair's goal is to triple that share.
Finnair is collaborating, for example, with Neste to accelerate SAF adoption. Neste MY Sustainable Aviation Fuel is made from 100% renewable raw materials, such as used cooking oil and animal fat waste.
When used in its pure form, Finnair said that Neste MY Sustainable Aviation Fuel can reduce greenhouse gas emissions by up to 80% over the life cycle of the fuel compared to fossil kerosene.
"The environmental benefits of sustainable aviation fuel are significant,” said Karppinen. “However, the aviation fuel we use will not be fully renewable for a long time, since SAF is blended with fossil fuels.”
To date, a total of eight Finnair cargo and corporate customers have agreed to support the use of SAF.
Finnair has also made it possible for consumers to participate in the purchase of SAF.
This service has been available for almost a year, and has so far been used by around 31,000 customers who have made small donations when booking their tickets.