As part of new
features in its Southwest Business Assist portal the carrier rolled out at
the end of July, Southwest Airlines has made it easier for corporate customers
to purchase sustainable aviation fuel claims and carbon offsets, and has
integrated climate tech company Chooose into the portal.
Any corporate manager who has access to Southwest Business
Assist can access the new sustainability program, Southwest senior
sustainability consultant Sarah Chou told BTN during last week’s Global
Business Travel Association convention in Dallas.
These options differ from the corporate SAF purchase program
Southwest launched in
2021 with four clients and which today has “about a dozen” or so
companies, Chou said, adding that those participants have bilateral SAF
purchase agreements.
SAF availability is limited, and the investment to purchase it
typically is relegated to “global buyers that have deeper pockets,”
VP of Southwest Business Dave Harvey said. “But with the Chooose
partnership, it gives economies of scale for some of our small to midsize
companies that just don’t have as big a budget to support that. It’s a way for
them to do meaningful things if that is a priority.”
With the new option in Southwest Business Assist, companies can
select SAF claims and/or carbon offsets directly in the portal. The claims are for
SAF that has already been delivered but unallocated, and there is no minimum
volume requirement. The amount available depends on the bilateral agreements
and “therefore may also be more volume-constrained,” Chou said.
Outside of SAF claims, customers still can contribute to
receive carbon offsets, and the program currently supports three projects: The
Guatemalan Conservation Coast, Kootznoowoo Improved Forest Management and Delta
Blue Carbon.
Those who select carbon offsets contribute into the
portfolio of the three projects; clients are not informed how much goes into
which project.
