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    San Francisco 49ers Commits to United Airlines’ Sustainable Aviation Fuel Compact for Rams Road Game

    Sept. 20, 2024
    Sustainable aviation fuel reduces emissions 85% but costs two to four times more. The 49ers join the United Eco-Skies Alliance including companies such as AutoDesk, Bank of America, Deloitte, Meta, Microsoft, SalesForce and Siemens.
    United Airlines celebrates the addition of the San Francisco 49ers to the Eco-Skies Alliance for supporting sustainable aviation fuel. Image credit United
    United Airlines celebrates the addition of the San Francisco 49ers to the Eco-Skies Alliance for supporting sustainable aviation fuel. Image credit United

    The San Francisco 49ers, despite their National Football League loss to the Minnesota Vikings earlier this week, stand tall as one of the NFL’s great franchises who fell one drive short of their sixth Super Bowl title last year in an overtime loss to the Kansas City Chiefs.

    The franchise is also expanding its energy playbook by acquiring sustainable aviation fuel for future game-related flights. United Airlines and the 49ers announced that the team will purchase sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) as its commitment to more sustainable practices.

    The team has purchased enough SAF to cover its game-related flying on United from San Francisco to Los Angeles this weekend. The 49ers are playing NFC West Division rival Los Angeles Rams on Sunday.

    United's SAF is certified by an independent third-party for meeting several sustainability criteria, including its carbon intensity.

    The airline purchased more sustainable fuel as compared to other U.S. airlines in 2023 and has used a blend of SAF at five airports in the U.S. and Europe including San Francisco International Airport.

    "SAF has the potential to be a powerful tool to help reduce carbon emissions from flying, but the industry is still in its infancy, supply is limited, and most people don't know what it is," said United CEO, Scott Kirby, in a statement. 

    Wikimedia Commons
    levi_stadium

    The deal is the first by an NFL franchise to sign up for United’s Eco-Skies Alliance. The program is designed to connect customer companies to share costs of the “green premium” to purchase lower emission fuels such as SAF, which is two to four times more costly than traditional jet fuel but can reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 85%.

    United started the Eco-Skies Alliance in 2021. It has contributed toward the purchase of 15 million gallons of SAF.

    The 49ers’ home field Levi's Stadium also has achieved a LEED Gold certification, and its solar panels generate enough energy to power the energy demand equivalent of every 49ers home game.

    The companies that have signed up for SAF purchase and the United Eco-Skies Alliance include AutoDesk, Bank of America, Deloitte, Meta, Microsoft, SalesForce and Siemens, among others.

    About the Author

    Rod Walton, EnergyTech Managing Editor | Senior Editor

    For EnergyTech editorial inquiries, please contact Managing Editor Rod Walton at [email protected].

    Rod Walton has spent 15 years covering the energy industry as a newspaper and trade journalist. He formerly was energy writer and business editor at the Tulsa World. Later, he spent six years covering the electricity power sector for Pennwell and Clarion Events. He joined Endeavor and EnergyTech in November 2021.

    Walton earned his Bachelors degree in journalism from the University of Oklahoma. His career stops include the Moore American, Bartlesville Examiner-Enterprise, Wagoner Tribune and Tulsa World. 

    EnergyTech is focused on the mission critical and large-scale energy users and their sustainability and resiliency goals. These include the commercial and industrial sectors, as well as the military, universities, data centers and microgrids. The C&I sectors together account for close to 30 percent of greenhouse gas emissions in the U.S.

    He was named Managing Editor for Microgrid Knowledge and EnergyTech starting July 1, 2023

    Many large-scale energy users such as Fortune 500 companies, and mission-critical users such as military bases, universities, healthcare facilities, public safety and data centers, shifting their energy priorities to reach net-zero carbon goals within the coming decades. These include plans for renewable energy power purchase agreements, but also on-site resiliency projects such as microgrids, combined heat and power, rooftop solar, energy storage, digitalization and building efficiency upgrades.

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