BCD Travel has launched a corporate sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) investment programme that allows businesses to begin funding SAF purchases through an additional contribution starting at €1 per flight booking. Developed with sustainability technology partner Squake, the initiative is designed to help companies test procurement, emissions-accounting and assurance processes before committing to larger investments.
The programme, called One Euro SAF, targets two barriers to corporate SAF adoption: the high upfront cost of investment and the internal coordination required to establish governance and reporting procedures.
Fabio Fornari, BCD Travel’s senior director of sustainability solutions, said the initiative would allow companies to explore SAF investment without taking on a substantial initial financial commitment. The programme will initially target European corporate clients, although BCD may consider participation from other markets.
How the One Euro SAF programme works
Under the programme, participating companies agree to an increase in their existing flight-booking transaction fee, starting at €1. Contributions are accumulated and channelled into SAF purchases through Squake, with the investment amount, purchasing frequency and other conditions defined in a contractual amendment.
The €1 contribution is an entry point rather than a mandatory fixed rate. Companies can determine their investment arrangements and specify SAF requirements, including geographical preferences, before implementation.
Squake manages the purchasing process and supplies the resulting SAF certificates to participating companies. This structure is intended to help corporate travel and sustainability teams evaluate the administrative, governance and assurance procedures associated with SAF investment.
According to Fornari, even a relatively small contribution can help businesses test these systems and secure internal approval before expanding their commitments.
The programme also provides a potential stepping stone towards other procurement arrangements, including automated SAF purchasing at the point of sale. BCD expects the lower entry cost to help companies move more quickly from exploring SAF to implementing an investment process.
Corporate SAF certificates gain recognition in emissions accounting
BCD’s launch follows the Science Based Targets initiative’s (SBTi) June revision of its Corporate Net-Zero Standard, which recognises SAF certificates and book-and-claim accounting as mechanisms companies can use to address emissions associated with business travel under Scope 3, Category 6.
Scope 3.6 covers emissions from business travel, including air travel undertaken by employees. These emissions can be difficult for companies to reduce directly because businesses generally do not control the aircraft, fuel supply or airline operations.
Book-and-claim systems offer an alternative to requiring a company to use a specific flight powered by SAF. Under such arrangements, the environmental attributes associated with eligible SAF can be documented through certificates and allocated to a purchaser separately from the physical delivery of the fuel, subject to the applicable accounting framework and programme rules.
This separation can help connect corporate demand with SAF production even when the fuel is not physically supplied to the aircraft carrying a particular company’s employees. Credible implementation, however, depends on robust documentation, verification and safeguards against double counting.
For BCD’s programme, the availability of certificates through Squake is intended to help participating companies test how SAF contributions can be incorporated into their reporting and assurance processes. Recognition under a corporate accounting framework does not, by itself, guarantee that every SAF certificate or procurement arrangement will qualify; companies must follow the relevant standard and eligibility requirements.
Corporate demand could support SAF market growth
The initiative comes amid growing interest in corporate procurement as a potential source of demand for SAF. The International Air Transport Association (IATA) recently published an assessment suggesting that corporate SAF demand could increase sixfold by 2030, potentially supporting production of between 1 million and 1.9 million tonnes of SAF.
Corporate purchasing programmes can help airlines and fuel suppliers demonstrate demand for lower-emission aviation fuels. However, the scale of their contribution will depend on actual purchases, the availability and price of qualifying SAF, and the willingness of companies to increase their financial commitments over time.
BCD’s approach is designed to make the initial step easier by reducing the amount companies need to commit before establishing internal procedures. Once those arrangements are tested, participants may choose to increase their contributions or adopt more integrated procurement models.
The programme will initially focus on European clients, where the policy and corporate sustainability landscape is creating additional interest in SAF procurement. Expansion into other markets will depend on client interest and the company’s implementation plans.
Economic uncertainty remains a challenge
Despite growing interest in aviation decarbonisation, companies continue to face competing financial and operational priorities.
Fornari said geopolitical uncertainty has made some corporate clients more conservative, pushing sustainability down their priority lists even as they work towards 2030 emissions-reduction targets. He added that many BCD clients have science-based targets and are considering additional ways to address business-travel emissions.
The €1 model is intended to reduce the immediate financial hurdle, but it does not remove wider barriers to SAF deployment. These include the premium SAF can command over conventional jet fuel, limited production relative to total aviation fuel demand, and the need for credible accounting and verification systems.
For corporate buyers, the next challenge is to determine whether an initial contribution can develop into a sustained procurement commitment that delivers measurable, appropriately documented climate benefits.
Bioenergy Business Analysis
BCD Travel’s One Euro SAF programme addresses a practical problem in aviation decarbonisation: corporate buyers may be interested in sustainable aviation fuel but lack the internal processes or budget approval needed to begin purchasing it. By lowering the initial financial commitment, the programme aims to make SAF procurement easier to test before companies commit to larger investments.
The wider commercial challenge remains the price and availability of SAF. Corporate investment programmes can help signal demand and support procurement, but they cannot independently resolve constraints in feedstock supply, fuel production capacity or the cost of renewable fuel pathways.
For SAF producers, airlines and corporate travel providers, the key indicators will be the amount of fuel purchased through such programmes, the number of participating companies, the transparency of certificate allocation and the extent to which buyers increase their commitments.
BCD’s initiative offers a low-cost entry point into corporate SAF procurement. Its longer-term value will depend on whether that entry point creates sustained demand and credible, measurable progress towards aviation emissions reduction.
