Airbus India Seeks CSR Credit for Voluntary SAF Spending

Jurgen​‍​‌‍​‍‌​‍​‌‍​‍‌ Westermeier, President and Managing Director of Airbus India and South Asia, has appealed to the government, in a very strong manner, to acknowledge corporate expenses for voluntary Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) programmes as part of mandatory Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) obligations.

Westermeier explained that a voluntary corporate SAF initiative for airlines is a very direct and easily recordable one to solve the climate crisis. “We implore the government to consider the funds committed by the corporates towards voluntary SAF as a legitimate CSR expenditure.

The acceptance of such a provision would open a large volume of unaccounted capital to support the demand for SAF, thus, making compliance an effective driver of green and sovereign energy,” he explained.

According to Indian legislation, certain classes of profit-making companies are required to set aside at least 2% of their net profits for CSR activities. Westermeier's suggestion is to bring this mandatory CSR into line with the air transport sector's sustainability agenda.

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While talking about the economic benefits of SAF, he mentioned that India, being the third-largest air passenger market in the world and the fastest-growing one, is very well positioned to produce renewable fuels indigenously.

If India goes on to implement a policy for local production of SAF, it would not only facilitate energy security but also reduce the country's import dependency in the energy sector and create 1.1–1.4 million new jobs spread over the entire value chain of utilizing 230 million tonnes of surplus agricultural residue, he said.

Moreover, he emphasized on the need for government, industry, and academia to work together to establish an ecosystem for clean aviation in ​‍​‌‍​‍‌​‍​‌‍​‍‌India.