Flexport.org and CHOOSE team up to address air freight decarbonization

With a focus on helping its shipper customers achieve their emissions objectives, Flexport.org, the impact arm of San Francisco-based freight forwarding and customs brokerage services provider Flexport, announced today it is introducing a new offering in collaboration with SaaS platform services provider CHOOSE, focusing on accelerating air freight decarbonization.

Flexport explained that this offering will enable its customers to reduce lifecycle emissions through supporting sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), which it explained is part of Flexport.org’s climate impact and technology solutions portfolio on the Flexport Platform.  

In terms of how this offering will be utilized by shippers, Flexport said that both the Flexport and CHOOSE platforms are integrated via API to provide Flexport’s shipper customers with a “seamless in-app experience as they evaluate solutions to act on their carbon footprint when booking freight,” which it said functions as a book-and-claim chain-of-custody model. And it added that Flexport customers will be able to purchase certificates that can be applied as direct reductions against their scope three emissions, often the largest source of emissions for an organization because they are outside of a company’s direct control, and are driven by functions such as supply chain operations and transportation.

“Any customer with air shipment emissions will be able to support SAF, regardless of the origin or destination, carrier, or trade lane, and can do so with the confidence that it directly addresses airfreight emissions at the source, instead of relying on alternative paths, such as forestry management, to reduce their lifecycle carbon emissions,” said Flexport.

In an interview, David Hume, Head of Climate Programs at Flexport.org, provided LM with a detailed overview of this collaboration with CHOOSE.

LM: What drove the need for this new offering? How long had it been planned/in the works?

Hume: The need for this solution was driven by the aviation industry's significant contribution to global greenhouse gas emissions. The aviation sector is responsible for 2-3% of the world's greenhouse gas emissions and is often regarded as one of the most difficult industries to decarbonize due to its high energy demands. Air shipments contribute to these emissions. 

Our customers, like many other businesses, are actively working to reduce their overall carbon footprint, including their emissions from shipping. Many companies have made commitments to reduce their footprint, such as through the Science Based Target initiative for example. Supply chain emissions often account for more than 90% of a company's total greenhouse gas emissions, which makes them an important category of emissions to mitigate. 

Sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) is one of the best ways to decarbonize air transport and we want to help increase its use. SAF significantly reduces the carbon intensity of flying; it reduces emissions upwards of 80% relative to petroleum-derived jet fuel. SAF is produced in very small quantities today, less than 1% of global aviation fuel demand. To decarbonize the aviation sector, SAF needs to be more widely-used. 

LM: What are the main benefits/takeaways of this partnership for shippers? 

Hume: Ultimately, this solution helps accelerate the uptake of SAF to decarbonize the aviation sector and allows clients to reduce their supply chain emissions. Our partnership makes SAF available to all of our customers through the Flexport Platform and its API integration with CHOOOSE. Customers are able to reduce their supply chain emissions through a seamless, in-app experience. 

This means democratized access to SAF through the book and claim chain-of-custody model, which allows Flexport customers to reduce their emissions for any air freight shipment on any trade lane with any carrier. When clients purchase a SAF certificate, book and claim ensures that a proportional volume of fuel is used somewhere within the aviation sector resulting in a net-reduction. For our clients, this flexibility ensures that shippers of any size can contribute to emissions reduction without having to arrange for large fuel offtake agreements directly with air carriers or fuel suppliers.

The partnership also allows for greater control and management of Scope three emissions, or value chain emissions, that include upstream and downstream activities such as the transportation of materials and goods. Scope 3 emissions are often the largest source of emissions for organizations, but are challenging to mitigate as they are directly controlled by other organizations (air carriers, suppliers, etc.). This solution empowers shippers to easily mitigate these emissions by purchasing SAF certificates that reduce their Scope 3 emissions arising from air freight. This process of reducing emissions within the value chain, as opposed to outside of it, is referred to as insetting.

LM: What needs to happen to get increased shipper buy-in for this type of initiative? 

Hume: It all starts with education and helping shippers understand the options available to them to measure emissions and mitigate. For years, carbon offsets have been one of the most-used tools to help companies reduce their environmental impact. Offsets helped start the conversation around sustainability, but offsets don’t directly decarbonize the aviation sector. In other words, offsets are reductions outside the value chain whereas insets are reductions within it. For this reason, some organizations don’t recognize offsets as qualifying reductions in emissions accounting. Educating shippers on this subtle but important difference is important.  

LM: What are the future plans, or next steps, for this partnership? 

Hume: This new offering is part of Flexport’s comprehensive suite of climate solutions that empower customers to calculate, monitor, and mitigate emissions. It adds to our emissions calculator, forestry offset program, marine fuel program and other services. We strive to increase the impact of our services through our clients and will be focused on growing this program in the near term through education.

We are actively working with our fuel partners, including CHOOOSE and GoodShipping, to continue offering new services that empower our customers to mitigate their emissions within their value chains. One of the biggest barriers to clients is the cost of using fuel certificates, so we’ll be focusing on ways to reduce costs while still providing a high-quality service to our customers. 

Flexport will also look for other ways to increase adoption of low-emission fuels throughout the transportation industry. For example, on the maritime side, Flexport recently announced its membership in the first-of-its-kind Zero Emissions Maritime Buyers Alliance (ZEMBA). ZEMBA brings together 20-plus companies to accelerate commercial deployment of zero-emission vessels.