IATA and 123Carbon Partner to Enhance SAF Registry Transparency and Decarbonise Aviation
The global aviation industry is increasingly focused on reducing its carbon footprint, and a crucial step in this journey involves managing Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) emissions. In a significant move to streamline SAF management, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) has partnered with 123Carbon to enhance transparency and prevent duplicate emissions reporting through their SAF registries.
This strategic collaboration aims to create seamless interoperability between IATA’s SAF registry, which is set to launch in April 2025, and 123Carbon’s platform. The partnership will optimise the management of SAF certificates, ensuring that data is efficiently shared between registries. By creating a unified framework, both organisations aim to prevent the potential for duplicate emissions certificates, which has been a major challenge in the aviation sector. Marie Owens Thomsen, IATA’s Senior Vice President for Sustainability and Chief Economist, commented on the importance of this partnership: “User trust is essential. The transparency that comes with interoperability will ensure that our registries can function cohesively to maximise SAF’s potential to support aviation’s decarbonisation efforts.” The collaboration brings together over 50 global stakeholders, including airlines, fuel suppliers, and environmental organisations, all working towards a more sustainable aviation sector.
123Carbon, an independent platform dedicated to carbon offsetting across multiple transport modalities, has become a key player in the environmental certification space. With more than 50 global users, 123Carbon helps stakeholders such as fuel suppliers, fleet operators, cargo owners, and forwarders manage and transfer Environmental Attribute Certificates (EACs) across different transport modes, including aviation. This alignment with IATA ensures that SAF providers, airlines, and corporate entities can avoid issues related to duplicate certificate issuance, while also digitising the entire certification process. Jeroen van Heiningen, Managing Director at 123Carbon, shared his enthusiasm for the collaboration: “We have found a strong partner in IATA that shares our belief in establishing integrity and trust in the market for Environmental Attribute Certificates (EACs). With IATA, this collaboration will help airlines and freight forwarders manage their SAF certificates digitally on our platform.”
The primary goal of the collaboration is to ensure that SAF certificates are accurately tracked and efficiently managed. By addressing the challenges related to duplicate reporting, both IATA and 123Carbon aim to standardise the SAF certificate market, which is crucial for advancing aviation’s decarbonisation goals. The new registry will offer a clearer and more reliable way to track SAF usage, ensuring that the industry adheres to its carbon reduction commitments. The IATA SAF Registry is poised to be a key part of aviation’s efforts to reduce its environmental impact. It will provide a standardised system for the issuance and tracking of SAF certificates, and it is expected to play a pivotal role in the industry’s broader decarbonisation strategy. IATA has already developed the SAF Accounting and Reporting Methodology to support the Registry’s launch, further ensuring transparency and consistency in SAF tracking.
The IATA SAF Registry launch is anticipated for April 2025, with support from more than 50 organisations across the aviation sector. As part of its development, IATA is consulting with a wide range of SAF stakeholders, including 123Carbon, to ensure that the registry aligns with the needs of the global aviation industry. This partnership marks a significant step forward in the aviation sector’s sustainability efforts. By optimising certificate management and facilitating data exchange between SAF registries, IATA and 123Carbon are helping to build a more transparent and efficient system for tracking aviation’s carbon emissions. Through such initiatives, the aviation industry is taking a crucial step towards a more sustainable and environmentally responsible future.
