ESG in Action: From Shanghai to Abuja
September took ESG Consultancy to Shanghai, where we joined the China Air Cargo & Logistics Forum to speak about a question that is becoming increasingly important for our industry:
How do we decarbonize air cargo while remaining commercially competitive?
Our presentation, “Sustainable Skies – Navigating SAF Adoption & ESG Transformation in Air Cargo,” centered around a simple message:
ESG is the framework. SAF is the action.
ESG provides the structure through which an organization understands its environmental impact, risks, responsibilities, opportunities, and priorities.
SAF is one tangible action aviation can take to reduce lifecycle emissions.
But neither works effectively in isolation.
Conference information:
https://www.wernosa.com/col.jsp?id=107
SAF Will Require Collaboration: Not Just Fuel
One of the strongest messages we brought to Shanghai was that airlines alone cannot solve SAF adoption.
Producers, airlines, airports, cargo operators, freight forwarders, customers, governments, and finance all have a role to play.
And places around the world are already demonstrating what deeper collaboration can achieve.
Singapore is developing a coordinated SAF ecosystem that aggregates demand and uses collective procurement to pursue economies of scale and more competitive pricing. Other initiatives have demonstrated how longer-term procurement commitments, shared demand, and deliberate pricing strategies can improve the economics of SAF.
The lesson is important:
The SAF premium is not simply something aviation has to accept forever.
Collaboration, aggregated demand, longer-term purchasing commitments and supportive policy can change the economics.
For air cargo, that matters enormously.
And China belongs in this conversation for another reason.
Recent European SAF data shows just how international the SAF supply chain already is. A significant proportion of the feedstock used for SAF supplied in Europe originates outside the EU, with China playing a particularly important role. Used cooking oil continues to dominate the feedstock mix.
The aviation sustainability transition is therefore not European, Chinese or American.
It is global, and it will only work through collaboration.
What If SAF Is Not Accessible Yet?
Not every airline or cargo operator can access sufficient SAF today.
For many organizations, availability remains limited, and the economics remain difficult.
But that does not mean decarbonization has to wait.
For international aviation emissions covered by CORSIA, CORSIA-eligible carbon credits remain an important compliance mechanism.
And this is becoming increasingly important.
Demand for eligible CORSIA units is expected to increase significantly as airlines prepare for compliance obligations from the 2024–2026 period.
That means a carbon-credit strategy deserves attention now, not only when compliance deadlines approach.
Companies need to understand:
- Which credits are actually CORSIA-eligible?
- What documentation is required?
- What is available?
- And when should procurement begin?
For aviation organizations that cannot yet access SAF at the scale they would like, high-integrity eligible carbon credits remain another tool within the broader decarbonization toolbox.
Wherever You Are on the ESG Journey: Start Somewhere
Another message we brought to Shanghai was very simple:
Start where you are. But start.
If your organization hasn’t started its ESG journey yet, feel free to reach out. We can help you understand what ESG actually means for your business and identify a practical starting point.
If you are already on the journey and want to improve, we are equally happy to brainstorm how you can move further.
You don’t necessarily need an enormous ESG budget to begin.
For air cargo companies with limited budgets, we recommend TIACA BlueSky as a practical starting point.
BlueSky was developed specifically for the air cargo industry and gives organizations a structured way to understand their sustainability maturity across the industry’s key sustainability priorities.
It helps put you on the green journey.
For companies that are just beginning, it provides structure and direction.
For organizations that are already advanced, it offers something equally important:
Benchmarking.
At some point, the question is no longer:
“Are we doing ESG?”
It becomes:
“How good are we compared with our peers, and where can we improve?”
ESG Consultancy acts as an independent BlueSky assessor, and we also help air cargo organizations prepare to demonstrate a high level of maturity under the program.
👉 Explore the TIACA BlueSky program: https://tiaca.org/bluesky-program/
Because companies that want to survive and lead the green transformation will increasingly need environmental performance as both their license to operate and their competitive advantage.
Would You Like to Hear the Shanghai Presentation?
The conversations after our presentation demonstrated that many organizations are still trying to connect the dots between ESG, SAF, carbon markets, customer expectations, and commercial strategy.
So why limit the conversation to Shanghai?
If your company, association, or team would like to hear our presentation, “Sustainable Skies – Navigating SAF Adoption & ESG Transformation in Air Cargo,” please reach out.
If there is sufficient interest, we will organize an online ESG Academy webinar, allowing aviation and air cargo professionals worldwide to join the discussion.
Through ESG Academy, we also train executives, professionals and teams on ESG, aviation sustainability, European ESG requirements, carbon markets and practical sustainability implementation.
📩 Interested in the webinar or a dedicated session for your organization? Contact us here
Conference pictures:
https://m.alltuu.com/album/eec5066781a55fba897e5d5750af43cb/?from=qrCode&menu=
