Microsoft SAF Program
Purchase SAF Scope 3
Environmental Attributes
Through Microsoft's SAF Program, we provide automated emission estimates for aviation travel and transportation as well as access to purchasing SAF environmental attributes.
A program designed for select Microsoft suppliers. Collaborate on
decarbonizing your value chain and help accelerate the
sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) industry.
Activate your account
Access emission reports
Access emission reports
Support sustainable aviation fuel
Support sustainable aviation fuel
Purchase SAF Scope 3 attributes to help accelerate the nascent SAF Industry
Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) describes non-conventional jet fuels that are derived from renewable resources, known as feedstocks. Unlike traditional jet fuel, which is made from fossil fuels extracted from the earth, SAF uses alternative feedstocks and is produced through various technologies, also known as “processing pathways.” SAF is a drop-in fuel substitution, meaning it can be blended with conventional jet fuel in current aircraft engines without modifications. This substitution offers an immediate solution for reducing lifecycle aviation emissions and is anticipated to play in decarbonizing aviation in the short and medium-term. SAF has the potential to provide a lifecycle emissions reduction of up to 80% compared to the traditional jet fuel it replaces. SAF generally meets several criteria:
- Resource conservation: SAF must be produced , ensuring minimal impact on freshwater supplies, food crops, and the environment.
- Alternative materials: SAF must use materials other than crude oil. Examples of this can be fats, oils, and greases from cooking waste or meat production.
- Lifecycle emissions reduction: SAF must demonstrate a net reduction in emissions through a lifecycle analysis (LCA).
SAF is produced using conversion technologies, known as processing pathways. The most common processing pathway today is Hydrotreated Esters and Fatty Acids (HEFA), which refines oils, waste, and fats into SAF using a hydrogen-infused process. Other pathways include Fischer-Tropsch (FT) and Alcohol-to-Jet (AtJ) processes, which use catalytic chemical reactions. In addition, SAF can be produced without extensive infrastructural changes via co-processing, which is the simultaneous processing of fuels using non-petroleum and petroleum feedstocks at existing fuel refineries. As SAF development and adoption grows, feedstocks and production technologies will evolve. Future advancements could include eSAF, created by capturing atmospheric carbon and converting it into fuel, and more. However, significant progress in production capabilities is needed before this becomes scalable.
The production of conventional jet fuel requires extraction of fossil fuel, resulting in a release of carbon that has been sequestered in the ground for millions of years. All commercially produced SAF on the market today leverages biogenic feedstocks, i.e., biomass. Biomass is composed of carbon that has been removed from the atmosphere on a comparatively short timescale, and so the carbon released from SAF during combustion reflects a “recycling” of carbon as opposed to a release of “new” carbon. In short, using SAF reduces net carbon emissions by replacing a fuel with higher life cycle emissions with one with lower life cycle emissions. It is important to note that the emission reduction benefits will vary across feedstock types and SAF production processes.
Due to the limited amount of SAF available in the market today (SAF makes up of global jet fuel), SAF production, distribution, and refueling infrastructure are not yet widespread. Because of this, the sector has taken to using a “book and claim” chain of custody model. Through the book and claim model, you can purchase Scope 3 environmental attributes that are associated with the use of physical SAF. This chain of custody model separates the physical fuel from its environmental benefit, and allows those environmental benefits – known as environmental attributes – to be tracked, purchased, and “claimed” separately, without the buyer needing to be connected directly to the physical fuel supply chain. The purchase of these environmental attributes provides a buyer with a claim to the climate benefit associated with a given volume of physical SAF, while simultaneously helping to cover the cost difference between SAF and conventional jet fuels. Through this process, you contribute to demonstrating demand for a more sustainable aviation sector and to helping to lower the current cost barrier of SAF. Microsoft is working with the to provide the SAF environmental attributes available for purchase within this program. We are proud to collaborate with IAG in this initiative.
Passenger air travel emission estimates (i.e., the estimated GHG emissions associated with a passengers’s flight) follow the of the United Kingdom’s Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ, formerly known as UK BEIS) conversion factors. The emissions factors from this source are applied based on flight distance and cabin class. Emissions take into consideration upstream lifecycle values (WTT) and are not inclusive of radiative forcing. SAF reduction estimations (i.e., the estimated GHG reductions associated with a given volume of physical Sustainable Aviation Fuel) follow the of the UK DESNZ conversion factors for the jet fuel reference values and actual LCA from the physical SAF delivery. It is assumed that SAF and jet fuel have the same density and LVH. Full scope accounting (WTW) is applied to ensure a match against the estimated footprint. All air travel emissions and SAF reduction estimates are in units of CO2e where AR5-100 year (NF) GWP are referenced to convert between constituent gasses to CO2e .
You can sign up to join Microsoft’s SAF Program by . With your participation, users will have access to view detailed order history and analysis, further knowledge resources on SAF, and a summary of your company's cumulative GHG emissions tracked through this program.
This service is hosted by Chooose™. Chooose builds software solutions to enable the lower carbon fuel value chain. We help partners understand emissions, operate and scale SAF programs, and advance voluntary and compliance carbon initiatives. For more information, please visit