DHL Express and IAG Cargo have signed a five-year sustainable aviation fuel agreement through 2030, covering approximately 240 million litres of SAF uplifted at London Heathrow Airport and delivering an expected lifecycle greenhouse gas reduction of 640,000 tonnes of CO2e for DHL Express.
The deal structure matters as much as the volume. DHL Express is the shipper accepting Scope 3 emissions reductions across its cargo network; IAG Cargo is the operating carrier. Stacking demand from both sides of the same freight relationship at a single hub, rather than each company negotiating separately, is a procurement model that unlocks higher committed volumes than either party could sustain alone.
DHL Express will receive Scope 3 emissions reductions from approximately 40 million litres of neat SAF per year under the agreement. The fuel is derived from used cooking oil, certified by ISCC, and achieves approximately 90% lifecycle GHG reductions compared to conventional fossil jet fuel. A parallel framework agreement between DHL Global Forwarding and IAG Cargo could increase the total DHL Group emissions reduction above 1 million tonnes of CO2e on a lifecycle basis.
“This agreement shows what is possible when two committed SAF users pool efforts.” — Travis Cobb, EVP Global Network Operations & Aviation, DHL Express
“This agreement shows what is possible when two committed SAF users pool efforts,” said Travis Cobb, EVP Global Network Operations & Aviation at DHL Express. Camilo Garcia Cervera, Chief Sales and Marketing Officer at IAG Cargo, said “partnerships like these will be critical to scaling sustainable aviation fuel use.” Heathrow has emerged as one of the most active airports in Europe for long-term SAF commitments, with the airport itself having committed £80 million to push its own SAF uplift to 5.6%, two percentage points above the UK mandate requirement.
The DHL Group-level framework agreement with DHL Global Forwarding is the number to watch. If executed at full scale, it would make this one of the largest cargo SAF programmes by volume at any single European hub. For IAG Cargo, securing a committed long-term buyer at Heathrow provides the demand certainty that justifies further supply investment at the airport.
