Sustainable Fuel Service: Targeted reduction of emissions in air and sea freight

DACHSER relies on SAF and SMF to reduce emissions in air and sea freight—with the Book & Claim procedure, regardless of the mode of transport.

By Christian Auchter

I 3 minute read

25/09/2025

The decarbonization of air and sea freight is a key challenge for the logistics industry. With its Sustainable Fuel Service, DACHSER offers a way to specifically reduce greenhouse gas emissions in international freight transport.

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Quick Read

DACHSER uses Sustainable Aviation Fuels (SAF) and Sustainable Maritime Fuels (SMF) made from residual and waste materials to reduce CO₂ emissions in air and sea freight, with SAF enabling CO₂ savings of up to 80%.

The book and claim process means that emission reductions are allocated independently of the physical transport route. SAF or SMF can therefore be booked for any transport.

Sustainable Aviation Fuels (SAF) and Sustainable Maritime Fuels (SMF) are considered essential bridging technologies on the road to more climate-friendly transport.  They are based on residual and waste materials such as used cooking oils or animal fats and can partially replace fossil fuels. Depending on the manufacturing process, SAF can reduce CO₂ emissions by up to 80 percent compared to conventional jet fuel.

Book & Claim: Flexible allocation regardless of the mode of transport

Since SAF and SMF are not available everywhere, DACHSER relies on the Book & Claim procedure. This decouples the emission reduction from the physical transport: Customers book the service and receive independently verified proof of the amount of CO₂ saved. This allows sustainable fuels to be used where they are available and gives companies elsewhere the opportunity to finance and offset emission reductions without their own shipments being transported in a low-emission manner. At the same time, transparent documentation of the climate impact is guaranteed. DACHSER also relies exclusively on sustainable fuels from residual and waste materials.

DACHSER Air & Sea Logistics customers can easily add the Sustainable Fuels option. Your local contact person will be happy to answer any questions you may have.

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Verified methodology and transparent results

In the period 2023–2024, DACHSER avoided a total of 4,488 tons of CO₂ through the use of SAF and SMF. This corresponds to the emissions from the conventional transport of over 4,300 sea freight containers on the Rotterdam-Shanghai route or more than 2,100 air freight shipments between Frankfurt and Chicago.

The methodology for recording and verifying emission savings has been audited by the independent auditing company NORMEC VERIFAVIA. It complies with the standards of the Smart Freight Centers, including the GLEC-Framework and the MBM framework.