Air Canada and Airbus have announced a joint initiative to establish a Canadian Sustainability Co-Investment Platform, committing up to $13,700,000 Canadian Dollars ($10,000,000 US Dollar equivalent) to accelerate the production of commercial-scale Sustainable Aviation Fuel within Canada. The primary objective of the platform is to advance a selected domestic SAF project toward a Final Investment Decision. Both companies emphasize that establishing a supportive public policy framework alongside federal and provincial governments is critical to scaling local refining capacity, maintaining price competitiveness, and preserving air travel affordability.

As part of the partnership, Airbus has entered into a five-year agreement under Air Canada’s Leave Less Travel Program to address Scope 3 emissions from employee corporate travel. For its initial allocation, Airbus will purchase environmental attributes corresponding to more than 60,000 liters of SAF, which Air Canada will track and retire on the manufacturer’s behalf. This corporate demand mechanism complements Air Canada’s broader fleet renewal efforts, which include the introduction of fuel-efficient Airbus A220 and A321XLR aircraft.

A macroeconomic study conducted by Airbus and ICF highlights the substantial economic potential of building a domestic SAF market, projecting that replacing 40% of Canada’s aviation fuel demand with SAF by 2040 could generate $32,000,000,000 Canadian Dollars ($23,360,000,000 US Dollar equivalent) in gross domestic product and support 140,000 jobs across the agricultural, forestry, and urban sectors.