Bank of America has joined American Express Global Business Travel's Avelia sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) programme, the companies announced this week.
The US banking giant has become the first financial institution to commit to join the Avelia “book-and-claim” solution for buying SAF, which was launched in 2022 in partnership with energy giant Shell and Accenture.
The Avelia platform was launched with 1 million gallons of SAF available for corporate customers – enough to power almost 15,000 business trips from London to New York, according to Amex GBT – and the TMC plans to increase this amount as more clients come on board.
Professional services firm Aon was Amex GBT’s first client to commit to the programme last June, joining airline partners such as Cathay Pacific, JetBlue and Delta.
Beth Sullivan, head of global corporate and executive travel at Bank of America, said: “This is another step Bank of America is taking to reach our goal of having SAF account for at least 20 per cent of our annual employee air travel by 2030.
“By purchasing SAF and working with other companies, we are taking more tangible steps to help build a more affordable and accessible sustainable aviation fuel market.”
Bank of America SAF purchases this year through Avelia and the Sustainable Aviation Buyers Alliance are set to further the bank’s commitment to invest $2 billion in sustainable finance for production of 1.2 million gallons of SAF per year from 2025.
Amex GBT president Andrew Crawley said: “The business travel sector has a critical role to play in scaling SAF and accelerating the decarbonisation of travel.
“We will move closer to achieving these objectives with more companies like Bank of America making bold commitments and recognising the powerful role the corporate travel programme can play in achieving a company’s broader sustainability ambitions.”
Jan Toschka, president, Shell Aviation, added: “Corporations that choose to fly on SAF have the power to catalyse the scaling of this technology and accelerate decarbonisation across the aviation sector. It’s a fantastic opportunity for businesses to make aviation more sustainable and we are here to support this transition and help make it happen.”