Zemo Partnership launches assurance scheme to strengthen SAF traceability verification in UK

Zemo Partnership announced March 30 the launch of RFAS Aviation, a new voluntary assurance scheme designed to provide independent verification of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) across the U.K. supply chain.  

According to Zemo Partnership, the scheme responds to a critical industry need for a harmonized approach to verifying SAF traceability in the downstream fuel supply chain.  

“The absence of a consistent mechanism has limited the ability of airline operators to demonstrate greenhouse-gas (GHG) emissions reductions under the U.K. Emissions Trading Scheme, and for fuel suppliers to robustly evidence SAF sustainability credentials to customers,” Zemo Partnership stated.  

The company said RFAS Aviation builds on the established Renewable Fuels Assurance Scheme, widely used in the road-transport sector, extending its audit and assurance framework into the aviation market and aligning with U.K. ETS sustainability and chain-of-custody requirements.  

The scheme introduces what Zemo Partnership said is “a robust, independent mechanism for verifying the traceability of SAF” from the point of blending with conventional aviation fuel across the U.K. distribution network to the airport.  

Central to this is the introduction of a standardized SAF declaration, developed by Zemo Partnership, enabling fuel suppliers to provide a verified SAF production pathway, feedstock and lifecycle GHG-emissions data.     

This SAF declaration, according to Zemo Partnership, serves as a trusted, auditable record that can be used by airline operators to support emissions-reduction claims under the U.K. ETS, while also enhancing transparency and confidence across the aviation fuel supply chain.  

The introduction of RFAS Aviation comes as the U.K. moves to scale SAF supply through a national mandate, increasing the importance of clear, consistent and independently verified sustainability reporting across the fuel supply chain. 

“RFAS Aviation provides the independent verification needed to give airlines, suppliers and regulators confidence in the traceability and sustainability of SAF,” said Gloria Esposito, Zemo Partnership’s director of sustainable business. “Our close collaboration with the Environment Agency has been instrumental in ensuring SAF declarations align with U.K. ETS requirements and support credible emission-reduction claims. We are delighted to approve Valero Energy Ltd. as the first SAF supplier under RFAS Aviation.”  

RFAS Aviation is open to companies supplying SAF to the U.K. aviation sector and, according to Zemo Partnership, is designed to:    

• Provide independent verification of SAF traceability and sustainability claims.  

• Support compliance with U.K. ETS emissions-reporting requirements. 

• Enable consistent and credible communication of SAF attributes to customers.   

• Strengthen transparency as SAF volumes increase in the U.K. fuel mix.  

As SAF deployment accelerates, Zemo Partnership said RFAS Aviation provides a critical framework to ensure that sustainability claims are credible, consistent and independently verified, thereby supporting the U.K. aviation sector’s transition to net zero.   

The scheme also prevents cross-market attribution to aviation claims by ensuring kerosene supplied for other uses—for example, heating—is excluded.