One year on: Lessons from the Airbus Book & Claim Demonstrator
David Zawadka
Services Architect for Sustainability
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Airbus
At Airbus, we believe that the book and claim mechanism can play a crucial role in increasing voluntary demand for sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) [1], helping to overcome some of the practical challenges that might impede otherwise interested operators from adopting its use. To put this conviction into practice, in March 2025, we announced the launch of the Airbus Book & Claim Demonstrator (ABCD), which aims to solve logistical hurdles and accelerate the connection of SAF supply and demand using the book and claim chain-of-custody model.
So, one year on, how did it go, and what have we learned so far?
What were our goals
When we set up the ABCD, our mission was to act as a facilitator, purchasing certified SAF and managing the associated sustainability attributes – through a book and claim registry provided by a recognised sustainability certification scheme, in our case, the Roundtable on Sustainable Biomaterials (RSB) – that could then be resold and transferred to our customers. This project had several objectives: to stimulate short-term demand for SAF, to generate operational insights into the use of the book and claim mechanism (including providing an opportunity for customers to experience book and claim for themselves), and to assess market-interest – that is to say, is there a role for us to play in the market as a facilitator?
What we did
In order to operate the book and claim model, we first purchased certificates corresponding to a total of around 1,000 tons of neat SAF from four suppliers, two based in the US and two in Europe. The SAF was produced using the HEFA pathway, with tallow or used cooking oil as the predominant feedstock, offering a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions between 84- 96.7% depending on the supplier and the SAF batch it originated from. All of the batches of SAF and the associated production facilities were certified against RSB CORSIA, RSB EU RED or ISCC EU sustainability standards.
During the course of the year, Airbus signed contracts with six customers, including aircraft lessors, helicopter operators and Airbus Corporate Jet (ACJ) operators, allowing them to experience the book and claim mechanism for themselves.
One such operator was Service Aérien Français (SAF) Hélicoptères, part of SAF Aerogroup, who used the book and claim mechanism via the ABCD for two helicopters undertaking emergency medical services missions in Catalonia, Spain. Using SAF on the helicopters was a contractual requirement, but the logistics for acquiring physical SAF (such as pipelines or tankers) were not feasible for a small hospital helipad. The ABCD allowed us to propose a solution that bridged this gap.
SAF Aerogroup were pleased that the ABCD offered a transparent process for both the operator and end user of the helicopters. They praised the fact that the book and claim system provided traceable, verifiable SAF benefits consistent with their ethical code’s emphasis on “honesty, accountability and sustainability” even where direct physical supply was not feasible in their rotorcraft.
Following this successful initiative, we are currently working with SAF Aerogroup to explore how the ABCD could support some of their other operational needs.
What we learned
For us, this inaugural year provided plenty of valuable insights. We were able to perform our facilitator role, successfully procuring SAF from different geographical locations and managing the certificate transfer and retirement process via the RSB Book & Claim System.
Over the course of the year, two clear themes emerged:
Keep it simple: The book and claim concept and its ecosystem is inherently complex. To effectively engage with air operators and their customers, it was vital to make the process as simple as possible, whilst also maintaining accuracy and transparency. To achieve this, we worked closely with our early adopters to support their onboarding to the RSB registry, as well as undertaking joint communication and advocacy initiatives, such as participating in SAF Investor London 2025 and the RSB Annual Conference.
Good things take time: In order to gain scale, the book and claim model for SAF will require industry-wide recognition. When we started, a key challenge was the lack of recognition from regulatory and major accounting standards bodies. While it is still the case that book and claim is not yet recognised, there has been progress, with ISO publishing a standard on chain-of-custody requirements for book and claim in February this year. Despite this positive signal, there is still work to do to achieve alignment and galvanise the aviation industry behind book and claim.
In summary, this first year provided many positive outcomes. We gained practical experience in how we could better engage with SAF suppliers and the operation of the RSB B&C registry, as well as deeper understanding of customer priorities. As customer adoption remains the principal challenge, ongoing success depends on being able to identify partners who are prepared to proactively offer SAF certificates to their end customers, and who enable their internal teams to support the use of SAF. The buy-in of leadership within our partner organisations is a must-have.
Additionally, we found our partnership with the RSB to be highly collaborative. Their willingness to support us in this initiative with the benefit of their expertise was critical to the success of this first year.
What’s next?
We’re excited by what we could achieve in the future. We look forward to continuing our collaborations with our existing ABCD early adopters, and even stepping up our partnerships where we can. We would like to explore new use cases with our existing customers as well as with new suppliers, partners and customers. The more expertise we can bring around the table – especially when we have a specific problem statement to solve – the more we can bolster the SAF ecosystem as a whole.
Finally, as we know, book and claim is not yet (or explicitly) recognised by regulators. Our work with the ABCD over the last year has reaffirmed our belief that it could be a powerful lever to make SAF more accessible, so we will continue to advocate for its recognition in voluntary frameworks (such as the GHG Protocol and SBTi), and ultimately in certain regulatory frameworks.
1 Sustainable aviation fuels (“SAF”) refer to renewable or waste-derived aviation fuels that meet sustainability criteria such as those in ICAO’s CORSIA or EU’s Renewable Energy Directive and that are certified under a recognised sustainability certification scheme (covering the full chain of custody).