Online Editor

Chad Trautvetter

In an industry where pilots see having a decal of eco-activist Greta Thunberg with “How dare you!” text on the inside fuel door of the business jets they operate as a badge of honor, maybe touting sustainable aviation fuel’s environmental credentials hasn’t been the best marketing play? At least in the U.S., many business jet pilots think climate change is, well, cow manure, which ironically could be used as a feedstock to produce sustainable aviation fuel (SAF).
General and business aviation associations, fuel providers, and sustainability consulting companies have been playing up SAF’s green credentials for years, while all but ignoring the message most likely to resonate with climate nonbelievers: SAF can help increase U.S. energy independence. Other benefits of SAF that almost anyone—climate change activists and skeptics alike—can get behind include catalyzing new opportunities, investing in promising technologies that spark private sector innovations, and creating jobs. It also is poised to be a boon for agribusiness.
While SAF adoption has been slowly increasing over the past decade, it’s nowhere near fast enough. SAF producers are seeking demand/buyer commitment for jet biofuels before plunking down tens of millions of dollars for new production plants. “Build it and they will come” is a great movie quote, but that rarely ever works out well in the business world.
The bottom line is that the fuel buyers—in this case, the operators of business aircraft—are the ones who have to buy into SAF. And the current “save the earth” decarbonization push isn’t resonating with an audience that is—as my late colleague Paul Lowe described himself—“to the right of Atilla the Hun.” In fact, the green marketing likely is having the opposite effect, repelling end users from buying SAF to “own the libs.”
Coupled with the higher price of SAF that prevents cost-conscious business aircraft operators from making the switch, we have a real demand problem for the fuel in the U.S. And, as noted above, lower demand equals lower supply.
That’s bad for SAF retail pricing, because producers say the only way to bring biofuel costs more in line with jet-A is by increasing supply. Pricing parity is the only way most operators will even consider buying SAF.
Fortunately, the U.S. government has taken the appropriate approach to incentive SAF production via tax credits. That’s helping to spur investment in SAF production facilities beyond the West Coast—in places such as the U.S. Midwest, Southeast, and Northeast—and hopefully drive down prices, both from a supply perspective and as a trickle-down from the tax credits.
The wrong approach in the U.S. would be the European route of SAF production mandates, where producers are forced to invest in new plants without any guarantee that operators will choose to buy the fuel.
But for now, if the business aviation industry is seriously committed to its voluntary goal of reaching net zero by 2050, then the attention needs to be on how to boost demand for SAF. That’s because SAF is the only drop-in replacement for fossil jet-A in the existing business aircraft fleet, much of which will still be flying in 2050 and beyond.
While the industry’s end goal is net zero, the marketing approach needs to be seriously adjusted for operators and end-users of business aircraft. Ditch the sustainability pitch and shape the message to the audience.
Market SAF as a way to boost energy independence, reducing the need for imported oil by literally growing biofuel feedstocks in our own backyard. Put a spotlight on farmers, who will be able to continue passing down their multi-generation family farms thanks to being able to grow lucrative SAF feedstocks that don’t compete with food sources and also turn ag waste into a literal cash cow. Highlight the technologies and innovations that are being developed for biofuels that will also benefit other industries. And tout the private investments and government funding fueling the biofuel industry and creating new and more resilient jobs.
Kermit the Frog is right: it isn’t easy being green. And that goes doubly in a country where the most recent electoral map is heavily red.
The opinions expressed in this column are those of the author and are not necessarily endorsed by AIN Media Group.

News and developments about aviation fuel, including jet fuel, aviation gasoline, and biofuel.

Blog: Sustainable Aviation Fuel Messaging Needs a Reboot

Green marketing for aircraft biofuels doesn't resonate with a conservative audience

Business aviation's goal to reach net zero by 2050 is in peril if it can't find a way to market sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) to a conservative audience.