San Francisco 49ers is First NFL Team to Purchase SAF
Business meetings, parcel deliveries and sporting events – aviation underpins many parts of modern life, but considerably impacts Scope 3 emissions.
The aviation industry is one of the fastest growing sources of greenhouse gas emissions and needs to make significant changes to meet its 2050 net zero goal.
Sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) can play a big role in the short term.
SAF is a renewable fuel for aircraft that lowers emissions compared to conventional jet fuel.
These fuels work in current aircraft engines, so companies could switch away from fossil-based fuels without making changes to existing fleets.
The San Francisco 49ers has purchased SAF from United Airlines, making it the first NFL team to do so.
"SAF has the potential to be a powerful tool to help reduce carbon emissions from flying, but the industry is still in its infancy, supply is limited, and most people don't know what it is," says Scott Kirby, CEO at United Airlines.
"We're proud to partner with like-minded organisations like the 49ers to demonstrate and elevate to a broader audience why it's important to support real solutions like SAF."
United Airlines’ SAF
United has a long history with SAF.
In 2009 it was the first US airline to test SAF and it became the first US airline to use SAF for regularly scheduled flights in 2016.
The company flew the first passenger flight using 10% SAF in one engine in 2021.
United aims to decrease its carbon intensity by 50% from 2019 to 2035 and reach net zero by 2050.
It says the SAF it uses has up to 85% lower GHG emissions than regular jet fuel across its full value chain from manufacturing to delivery and use.
United’s Eco-Skies Alliance
SAF is between two to four times more expensive than traditional jet fuel.
The Eco-Skies Alliance is an innovative programme designed for participating companies to work together to share the higher costs associated with purchasing lower emission fuels.
Launched in April 2021, the programme has collectively contributed towards the purchase of nearly 15 million gallons of SAF.
This is enough SAF to reduce around 150,000 tonnes of GHG emissions or fly passengers nearly 1 billion miles.
Members of the alliance include Meta, Bank of America, Siemens and Microsoft.
As a result of purchasing SAF, the 49ers have joined the Eco-Skies Alliance.
"We are thrilled to join United's Eco-Skies Alliance, and take this important step towards reducing our carbon footprint," says Brent Schoeb, Chief Revenue and Marketing Officer for the 49ers.
"As the first NFL team to invest in SAF, this is a meaningful part of our commitment to more sustainable practices, and we're grateful to United for leading the way in this space."
San Francisco 49ers’ sustainability initiatives
The team isn’t new to sustainability. It has been leading community-based initiatives and environmental stewardship in San Francisco for some years.
The 49ers’ home, Levi’s Stadium, was the first professional US football stadium to achieve a LEED Gold certification with solar panels generating enough electricity to power every home game.
The team’s Faithful to the Planet initiative funds programmes to reduce ocean pollution and plant and protect new trees.
Founding partners for this project include Pepsi, SunPower, Toyota and United.
Faithful to the Planet funds three environmentally focussed projects:
- Save the Redwoods League: protects and restores California’s redwood and giant sequoia forests
- Plastic Fischer: deploys floating barriers that collect plastic waste in rivers
- Trees for the Future: supports sub-Saharan farmers to to implement ‘forest gardens’
"Faithful to the Planet showcases the 49ers continued commitment to a more sustainable future and better planet for everyone," says Kevin Hilton, 49ers VP of Corporate Partnerships.
"Over the past several years, many of our corporate partners have expressed an interest in getting involved with our organisation's sustainability efforts. We created this program as a way to harness that interest and use it to create a lasting impact on the environment."
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