Google joins Amex GBT and Shell sustainable aviation fuel program

Google joined American Express Global Business Travel and Shell Aviation's sustainable aviation fuel program, supporting its 2030 net-zero goal. The development underscores corporate demand aggregation for SAF, a decarbonisation lever increasingly relevant to Indian corporates managing business-travel emissions.

American Express Global Business Travel (Amex GBT) and Shell Aviation announced Google has joined their sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) program, aligning with Google's goal of net-zero emissions across operations and value chain by 2030. Launched in 2022, the program began with 1 million gallons of SAF, enough to fuel nearly 15,000 London-New York business trips. SAF in pure form can cut carbon emissions by up to 80% versus fossil fuels, though it constitutes less than 0.1% of available aviation fuel and costs more than conventional jet fuel.

Corporations with large business-travel footprints are the affected group, with the program uniting Aon, Bank of America, Delta, Cathay Pacific, JetBlue, and Japan Airlines to consolidate SAF demand. Business travel accounts for 15% of global air travel and 40% of airline revenues, while air travel contributes 90% of business-travel emissions. Leveraging Shell Aviation's supply and Amex GBT's 19,000+ corporate clients across 140 countries, the program shares SAF costs to drive adoption and investment in production.

Indian corporates tracking Scope 3 business-travel emissions should monitor SAF programs as a decarbonisation mechanism and the demand-aggregation model that lowers costs. Companies can track the Avelia platform, a blockchain-powered solution for SAF booking and claiming that prevents double counting and enables validated lifecycle-emission reporting toward net-zero or science-based targets. Stakeholders evaluating travel decarbonisation should watch SAF supply scaling, given current availability below 0.1% of aviation fuel.

Key figure — Emission reduction: up to 80% versus fossil-based jet fuel