TL;DR
- Many companies with material aviation footprints are struggling to reduce business travel emissions or are ignoring them entirely. Both have the same problem: emissions stay high and create an ambition gap that gap shows up in SBTi submissions and CDP filings.
- SAF certificates (SAFc) are a distinct instrument, not a carbon credit. They reduce aviation emissions at the source through a Book-and-Claim system. The accounting treatment is different, the scope it addresses is different, and the two can't be substituted for each other.
- The Book-and-Claim model means any company can buy SAFc regardless of which flights their employees took. You don't need a direct airline relationship or a corporate aviation program to participate.
- SAF supply is constrained and SAFc prices are higher than the average carbon credit. That's not a reason to avoid the instrument. It's the reason early movers have a procurement advantage before jurisdictional and CORSIA compliance concentrate demand further.
What is a SAF certificate?
A SAF certificate (SAFc) is a tradeable environmental attribute representing one unit of Sustainable Aviation Fuel produced and blended into the aviation fuel supply. Companies purchase SAFc to claim the emissions reduction associated with that fuel. It works through a Book-and-Claim accounting model, the same underlying logic as RECs for electricity.
Sustainable Aviation Fuel is produced from renewable feedstocks: used cooking oil, agricultural and municipal waste, woody biomass, and synthetic pathways that convert captured CO2 and green hydrogen into fuel. The dominant current pathway, waste-based HEFA (Hydroprocessed Esters and Fatty Acids), delivers lifecycle emissions reductions of 60-85% compared to conventional jet fuel. Emerging synthetic pathways like Power-to-Liquid can reach higher reductions, but remain pre-commercial at scale.
The Book-and-Claim model works like this: SAF producers blend SAF into the jet fuel supply and register the corresponding environmental attribute in a certified registry. An airline uses the blended fuel, unlocking the SAF certificate. That SAFc attribute can then be purchased by any company, anywhere, to claim the associated emissions reduction. The company doesn't need its flights to have physically used the SAF. Instead, the certificate represents a reduction that already happened in the same supply chain (air travel), but at a different location.
Carbon credits are inherently different. A carbon credit represents an emission avoided or removed somewhere else in the economy. It offsets emissions that already occurred, or prevents them from occurring, often in a way disconnected from the buyer’s supply chain. A SAFc represents a reduction in emissions within the aviation value chain and specifically related to replacing the emitting fuel. That direct connection to the supply chain changes the accounting treatment and allows for a reduction to be claimed.
SAF currently represents less than 1% of global jet fuel supply. Demand from jurisdictional and CORSIA compliance as well as corporate net-zero programs is growing faster than production capacity. That gap is why SAFc prices are high today and likely to be higher tomorrow.
What SAFc actually covers, and what it doesn't
SAFc is commonly used to deliver reductions associated with corporate air travel emissions, typically reported under Scope 3 Category 6. In some cases, it may also support claims related to aviation freight emissions, such as Scope 3 Category 4 upstream transportation and distribution, where those emissions can be traced to aviation. **For most enterprise sustainability teams, SAFc is one tool within a broader decarbonization strategy, not a complete answer.
The scope 3 framework under the GHG Protocol and SBTi divides indirect emissions into 15 categories. Category 6 covers business travel: flights, hotels, and other travel-related emissions employees generate on behalf of the company. For professional services firms, technology companies, and consulting businesses, Category 6 is often the single largest scope 3 category they can directly address through procurement.
Carbon credits don't cover it. RECs don't cover it. The only market-based instrument that specifically addresses scope 3 aviation emissions is SAFc.
The direct connection to the value chain is the core unlock. As market-based mechanisms mature, the clear expectation is to take action where the emission source is, not in an unrelated part of the economy. That means matching the instrument to the emission source, and SAFc is the direct fit for the air travel fraction of Scope 3 Category 6. When a company buys and retires SAFc, it's claiming a reduction in its air travel emissions proportional to the amount of SAF the certificate represents.
For companies where business travel is a material scope 3 source, leaving aviation unaddressed or retiring carbon credits against it is a misunderstanding of the mitigation hierarchy. Scope 3 Category 6 eventually shows up as a highly visible gap in CDP disclosures, SBTi target reporting, and corporate sustainability reports, a gap that gets noticed and pointed to as a shortcoming in ambition.
How the Book-and-Claim system works in practice
In Book-and-Claim, SAF producers register their fuel when it's blended into the jet fuel supply. Companies can then purchase the corresponding SAF certificate regardless of which flights used the fuel. This makes SAFc accessible to any company globally, not just those with direct airline relationships or corporate aviation programs.
Two distinct layers of infrastructure underpin this. First, sustainability certification standards, primarily RSB and ISCC, govern the chain of custody from feedstock through fuel blending and qualify the SAF for certificate issuance. Once issued, the SAF certificate is tracked in an independent digital registry, such as the SAFc Registry (created by RMI and EDF in collaboration with SABA and Energy Web), the CADO registry, Avelia, and others. These registries are the central platforms for issuing, transferring, tracking, and retiring SAF certificates. They provide transparent, auditable ledgers for certificate activity. Corporate participants in SAFc procurement using these registries include JPMorgan Chase, McKinsey & Company, and many others.
When purchasing SAFc, corporate buyers should ensure that their purchase creates additional demand for SAF that exceeds what is already required of airlines by regulatory mandates (e.g., ReFuel EU Aviation, UK SAF mandate) and international agreements (CORSIA, the Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation). The Sustainable Aviation Buyers Alliance (SABA) has created widely accepted integrity standards that ensure SAFc used for corporate scope 3 claims meets this bar and other criteria such as sustainable feedstocks and an unbroken chain of custody. Separately, it’s worth asking whether the certificate finances new SAF production or simply attributes existing supply. Certificates tied to incremental production carry a yet stronger additionality argument.
Why SAFc is becoming a core part of enterprise environmental portfolios
Two things are happening at once:
Corporate travel recovered post-pandemic, ramping up scope 3 aviation exposure that many companies had seen drop during the slowdown. And SBTi scope 3 near-term targets have become binding for companies that set them in 2021 and 2022. Companies that deferred addressing aviation emissions are now running out of time to meet those commitments without market-based instruments.
I am seeing a pattern emerge: Companies have built reasonably sophisticated carbon programs, they know their scope 1 and scope 2 numbers, and they are buying RECs for their scope 2 footprint. But when it comes to scope 3, aviation gets treated the same as any other scope 3 emission, despite better tools like SAFc being available. In a recent conversation with a carbon credit customer with a carbon neutral claim, this surfaced as a gap in their strategy. They had done the work, long-term net-zero commitment, an ambitious but credible path to get there. Air travel was itemized in their Scope 3 disclosure. But when you looked at the carbon neutral methodology, Category 6 was neutralized with generic carbon credits. The sustainability team wasn't cutting corners, they just didn't know SAF certificates existed as a better suited and more credible instrument.
Some companies have gotten ahead of this. One large professional services firm, with a travel footprint that puts it among the largest corporate SAF buyers in the world, built a multi-EAC portfolio structured around like-for-like matching. SAFc covers aviation directly. Nature-based avoidance and removal credits fill out the rest of the portfolio through 2035. It's a structure that holds up to scrutiny, with instruments to match the emission sources.
For those not yet using SAFc, the practical consequence is a credibility problem created by disclosure. SBTi near-term targets for scope 3 require companies to address Category 6 proportionally to its materiality. And for carbon neutral claims, the market stance points toward using the tools that best match the emission source. For a carbon neutral claim, applying carbon credits against aviation emissions is an instrument mismatch that increasingly doesn't hold up to scrutiny.
Supply is structurally constrained, with production scaling, but not at a pace that matches projected demand from jurisdictional and CORSIA compliance, and corporate net-zero programs. Corporate buyers and airlines are competing for the same pool of high-quality supply. The companies building supply agreements now are in a better position on both price and access. The companies waiting for a deadline to force the issue will be stuck with higher prices.
This is the same logic that applies to carbon removals: the SAFc supply that exists today, at today's prices, is more accessible than what will be available in 2027 under a more competitive demand environment. In the meantime, SAFc does what market-based instruments do best: It bends the curve while the harder work of reducing travel emissions works its way through.
SAFc works best as part of a coordinated multi-EAC program. For a breakdown of how it fits alongside carbon credits and RECs, see our portfolio approach guide.
How do companies buy SAF certificates?
Companies purchase SAFc through brokers, directly from SAF producers and airlines, or through end-to-end procurement partners like Patch. Procurement involves selecting a certified SAF pathway, verifying the certificate against a recognized registry, and retiring it against a specific emissions claim. Volume, timing, location, and certification standard all affect price and availability.
The two primary certification standards, RSB and ISCC, have three tiers of certification each — CORSIA, EU RED, and GLOBAL/PLUS — with the CORSIA tier representing the highest integrity bar. All three tiers are eligible under SABA's integrity rules, but they are not equivalent: the CORSIA and EU tiers carry regulatory backing and stricter oversight, while ISCC PLUS, the voluntary global credential, has faced documented fraud in waste-oil supply chains and integrity challenges due to largely paper-based auditing. Knowing which tier sits behind a certificate matters as much as knowing it's SABA-eligible.
Once certified, issuance, retirement and tracking happen through an independent digital registry. Several registries operate in the market today, including the CADO Registry and Avelia, with the SAFc Registry (safcregistry.org) being the most widely used.
SAF production pathways vary significantly in feedstock, commercial maturity, and the emissions reduction they deliver. Understanding the differences matters when evaluating certificate quality.
SAFc prices vary by pathway and market. Waste-based HEFA certificates are the most widely available. Prices across all pathways are meaningfully above conventional carbon credits, reflecting real production costs and constrained supply. Depending on feedstock, volume, and certification, prices can range from the $150s to over $400 per tonne of CO2 abated, in line with durable removal carbon credits. HEFA represents the lower end of that range, and 3rd generation feedstocks like woody biomass and PtL represent the upper bound. With jurisdictional and CORSIA compliance concentrating demand against constrained supply, prices are more likely to go up than down across the board.
Before any purchase, four questions to ask:
- What production pathway does it represent, and what is the lifecycle carbon intensity?
- Is it RSB or ISCC certified? For the most cost-effective ISCC PLUS certification it’s worth asking a few additional questions regarding integrity.
- Does it support new SAF production, or attribute existing supply?
- Has the airline's scope 1 claim been retired, or is it confirmed for retirement within 30 days of the scope 3 transfer?
Red flags: certificates without clear registry documentation, pathways that don't disclose lifecycle emissions reductions, and sellers who can't commit to a specific RSB or ISCC certification before deal close.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is a SAF certificate the same as a carbon credit?
No. A carbon credit represents the avoidance or removal of CO2 elsewhere in the economy. A SAF certificate represents a reduction in emissions at the source, embedded in the fuel used in aviation. They address different emission scopes, carry different accounting treatments, and can't be substituted for each other in SBTi or CDP disclosures.
What is CORSIA and how does it affect SAFc procurement?
CORSIA is the international framework requiring airlines to offset growth in aviation emissions above their 2019 baseline. Airlines must report Phase 1 compliance to ICAO by January 2028. CORSIA creates institutional demand from airlines for the high-integrity CORSIA-eligible SAFc that’s also most desirable to corporate buyers need. That competition for supply poses a practical constraint. CORSIA-eligible SAFc provides the highest confidence in claim integrity, but commands higher prices.
How much does a SAF certificate cost?
SAFc prices vary by feedstock, pathway, and market. They are meaningfully higher than comparable carbon credits, reflecting real production costs and constrained supply. With jurisdictional and CORSIA compliance adding institutional demand, prices are more likely to increase than decrease over the next several years. Currently, prices are in line with high-quality durable removals, ranging from the $150s to $400 per tCO2e. Companies with material travel footprints generally benefit from longer-term supply agreements rather than spot purchases.
Can any company buy SAF certificates, or only airlines?
Any company can buy SAFc through the Book-and-Claim system. You don't need a direct airline relationship or a corporate aviation program. Book-and-Claim was designed specifically to extend SAFc access to corporate buyers globally, decoupling the environmental attribute from the physical fuel.
How does SAFc fit into a net-zero strategy alongside carbon credits and RECs?
SAFc addresses scope 3 aviation emissions. RECs address scope 2 electricity. Carbon credits address residual emissions or support broad carbon neutral claims in categories where specific instruments like SAFc and RECs aren’t available. A coordinated multi-EAC program uses a mix of instruments, matched to the specific emission scope each covers, rather than relying on any single instrument to do everything.
Can I use SAFc to meet my SBTi targets?
Under the current SBTi Corporate Net Zero Standard (CNZSv1), SAFc is not yet a formally recognized instrument for scope 3 target achievement. The recently released CNZSv2 changes that. SAFc is eligible for targets (re-)validated from February 2027 onward; however, guidance is pending regarding what specific instruments are eligible. Companies should watch for updated guidance before making accounting claims on that basis.
