The Council on Sustainable Aviation Fuel (CoSAFA) has published its “Methodology of SAF Environmental Attribute Transactions,” a system of procedures for the accounting and auditing of global book-and-claim programs.
Launched in 2021, CoSAFA—which includes many of the industry alphabet organizations such as NATA, NBAA, EBAA, IBAC, GAMA, and IATA—was designed to provide transparency to book-and-claim, which gives customers the ability to purchase sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) and receive the environmental credits even in areas where SAF is unavailable. Under book-and-claim, the corresponding amount of SAF would be dispensed at a location where actual SAF supply is present—typically situated near SAF production facilities—into an entirely different aircraft. That aircraft operator would not be entitled to any reporting benefits.
The process is dependent upon strict bookkeeping to prevent double counting of carbon-reduction benefits. CoSAFA has developed a list of fair rules governing the system, including equal access to decarbonization methods for all global aviation entities, creating an attractive investment environment for commercial decarbonization solutions, and ensuring the integrity of book-and-claim transactions for sustainability compliance requirements.
“CoSAFA has engaged a broad range of stakeholders in developing this methodology, which provides the critical transparency needed in the development of fair rules for book-and-claim,” explained NATA president and CEO Curt Castagna. “Through continued collaboration across the aviation industry, CoSAFA can provide a unified foundation for SAF transactions.”