China Airlines and Morrison Express Lead Taiwan’s Green Aviation with New MOU on Sustainable Aviation Fuel

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China Airlines partners with Morrison Express on SAF, marking a first in Taiwan, to reduce carbon emissions and promote sustainability in the airline industry.

China Airlines, the Taiwan-based carrier, announced the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) with Morrison Express. The MOU was signed by Senior Vice President Eddy Liu of China Airlines and Corporate Vice President Vincent Kao of Morrison Express, marking the first time a Taiwanese airline has partnered with a corporate client on SAF usage. This move introduces a new business model for domestic industries, where the sharing of carbon reductions between China Airlines and its clients will decrease both direct carbon emissions from air transport and the overall carbon footprint of transporting passengers and cargo. Additionally, this initiative contributes to the sustainability of the entire airline industry, helping achieve the Net Zero carbon emissions goal by 2050.

China Airlines has been at the forefront of the industry in promoting the use of SAF, pioneering its implementation on ferry flights for new aircraft deliveries since 2017. The first Taiwanese passenger flight fueled by SAF was operated in 2023. This year, China Airlines launched a SAF partnership program for upstream and downstream vendors and customers. The program aims to create a sustainable supply chain by promoting energy transition and developing low-carbon transportation in the Taiwanese airline industry. Morrison Express, a leading global freight forwarder headquartered in Taiwan, is the first company to join the program and support SAF usage by the China Airlines freighter fleet.

Morrison Express’s commitment to developing a corporate sustainability roadmap that provides green logistics solutions aligns perfectly with China Airlines’ ESG philosophy. The SAF used in this partnership produces 80% less carbon emissions than conventional fuel, a percentage that should encourage more companies to join the program and establish strong foundations for ESG sustainability.

China Airlines has long been a promoter of sustainability. Many eco-friendly initiatives have been implemented in cargo operations, including the introduction and promotion of e-Cargo services, the use of eco-friendly recycled poly-sheets for stacking pallets, computerized apron operations stored on PDA mobile devices to reduce paper consumption and loading errors, and electric tractors for airside operations to cut waste and carbon emissions. The airline previously won the Best Sustainable Innovation Cargo award during the SkyTeam “The Sustainable Flight Challenge.” Moving forward, China Airlines will continue to refine and optimize carbon reduction targets and pathways to become one of the top sustainable enterprises in Taiwan.