Source: United Airlines

United Airlines is the first U.S. airline to commit to reducing its own greenhouse gas emissions by 50% by 2050, relative to 2005. The target is equivalent to the removal of 4.5 million vehicles from the road annually, or the total number of cars in Los Angeles and New York City combined.

To kick off the initiative, flight 44 from San Francisco to Zurich will operate today with the fuel-efficient Boeing 787 and 16,000 gallons of biofuel at a 30/70 blend with conventional jet fuel. The biojet fuel was derived from Carinata seeds from Canadian agri-tech company Agrisoma and refined by World Energy’s Paramount, California, facility.

United has invested more than $30 million in California-based sustainable aviation fuel producer Fulcrum BioEnergy, and has contracted to purchase nearly 1 billion gallons. In line with its environmental sustainability goals, the airline has also eliminated non-recyclable plastic stirring sticks and cocktail picks on aircraft and replaced them with an environmentally friendly bamboo product. Efforts are ongoing to replace eligible ground equipment with cleaner, electrically powered alternatives, with nearly 40% of the eligible fleet converted to date.