DSV collaborates with Microsoft, United Airlines, Phillips 66 on sustainable aviation fuel

Photo: DSV

DSV announced April 15 that it is collaborating with Microsoft, United Airlines and Phillips 66 to unlock 11 million gallons of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) and deliver an expected reduction of approximately 100,000 metric tons of lifecycle greenhouse-gas (GHG) emissions compared to conventional jet fuel.   

By working together, the companies can secure more reliable SAF capacity and accelerate scaling at a level that would be challenging to achieve on their own.  

By aligning demand, commercial structures and operational execution, this approach shows how SAF can be scaled more effectively through long-term agreements and coordinated execution across the supply chain. 

“This collaboration aligns with DSV’s long-term sustainability strategy and reflects our role as a global partner helping customers access lower-emission transport solutions at scale,” said Frank Sobotka, the CEO of DSV’s air and sea division. “By connecting customers, carriers and fuel producers, we can help turn sustainability ambitions into operational outcomes.”  

In practice, United Airlines will use the fuel, while DSV and Microsoft participate through a book‑and‑claim methodology, allowing verified emissions reductions to be allocated independently of physical fuel use.  

This allows the associated environmental impact to be attributed transparently and support scalable carbon reduction. 

“This is the largest contracted SAF supply agreement with a single customer, DSV, in the history of our corporate SAF program, the ‘Eco-Skies Alliance,’ demonstrating the possibility of large-scale greenhouse-gas reductions when the members of a value chain—from supplier to end customer—work together,” said Lauren Riley, United Airlines’ chief sustainability officer.  

To ensure full transparency, this SAF transaction follows DSV’s standard process, is supported by International Sustainability and Carbon Certification, and is tracked through the SAFc Registry.  

The ISCC verifies that the fuel is produced from strictly sustainable feedstocks and managed through a fully audited supply chain. 

In parallel, DSV’s internal book-and-claim registry, together with the SAFc Registry, provides a transparent system that records and tracks the associated environmental attributes.  

This ensures that each ton of CO2 emissions reduction is verified, allocated to a specific shipper, and protected against double-counting.  

Together, this creates a clear and auditable trail that supports robust and credible corporate emissions reporting. 

“This collaboration builds on Microsoft’s ongoing work to reduce emissions across our cloud logistics value chain and supports our broader sustainability goals,” said Marco Eipper with Microsoft. “By collaborating with partners across the aviation value chain, we can help advance the adoption of sustainable aviation fuel and support the transition to lower-carbon air transport.”  

Delivering on these ambitions requires partners with the ability to operate at scale and translate demand into supply. 

“Phillips 66 has the integrated assets, logistics network and operational experience to deliver SAF at scale today, not years from now,” said Ronald Sanchez, Phillips 66’s vice president of aviation. “With this unique collaboration across industries, we’re helping turn demand for lower‑carbon aviation into reliable, real‑world supply with measurable impact.”  

The SAF deployment is expected to reduce lifecycle-GHG emissions by approximately 100,000 tons compared to conventional jet fuel—equivalent to one freighter-flight every day of the year.  

The collaboration illustrates how producers, airlines, logistics integrators and corporate customers can work together to turn sustainability ambitions into measurable climate-reduction outcomes.