Delta, BCD sign 1st global travel management SAF agreement

Photo: Delta Air Lines

Delta Air Lines and BCD Travel USA LLC have signed the first-ever sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) agreement for a travel management company. The premier agreement helps address emissions from BCD employee travel and, as one of the largest travel management agencies in the world, bolsters the future of sustainability in the travel industry.

“With this partnership, we are seeing the entirety of the travel industry invested in creating a sustainable future for aviation,” said Amelia DeLuca, Delta’s managing director of sustainability. “Travel management companies, especially those as globally focused as BCD Travel, are noting the importance of traveling sustainably. No one person or company or country alone can make the impact necessary to put our planet on a sustainable track for the future. This partnership is one way Delta is engaging major stakeholders driving toward their own goals of carbon-neutral air travel, so we can make a real and lasting sustainable impact.”

This agreement represents a conceptual alignment within the travel industry to offset emissions from corporate traveler flights. This brings much-needed investment to the SAF market by building industry demand and SAF supply with the goal of decreasing the aviation industry’s reliance on conventional jet fuel.

“As one of the largest travel management agencies in the world, we are responsible for helping pave the way for the next generation of travel that helps improve the communities in which we live and work,” said Kathy Jackson, BCD’s vice president and executive chair of sustainability. “It’s part of our mission as a company to help people and companies travel smart and achieve more. And as we grow, we have an obligation to ourselves, our clients and our communities to do so sustainably.”

SAF is a critically important lever to reduce the life-cycle carbon emissions from aviation fuel. In its pure form, it can reduce life cycle carbon emissions up to 80 percent compared to petroleum-based jet fuel and is a key component in Delta’s commitment to becoming carbon neutral. The collaboration with BCD Travel continues to underscore the significant positive environmental impact that can be achieved through collaboration.