AVEVA, a global industrial software leader headquartered in the United Kingdom, initiated its first major sustainable aviation fuel certificate (SAFc) purchase in 2025. AVEVA conducted this purchase through SABA’s SAFc Connect platform, which provided AVEVA with hands-on experience across contracting, supplier engagement, and SAF certificate management, while benefiting from SABA’s vetting process and pre-approved offers for high-integrity SAF certificates.
Through this procurement, AVEVA secured SAF certificates 5 years ahead of its World Economic Forum First Movers Coalition commitment, demonstrating how corporate buyers can take early, meaningful action to meet ambitious 2030 climate targets.
In 2022, AVEVA became one of the first 50 companies to receive Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) validation for its net-zero commitments, which includes a 50% reduction in absolute Scope 3 GHG emissions by 2030. As a First Movers Coalition (FMC) member, the company further pledged to replace at least 5% of its conventional jet fuel demand with SAF that reduces life-cycle GHG emissions by 85% or more by 2030. As AVEVA worked to procure SAFc that met these external commitments as well as their internal sustainability requirements, they initially faced challenges in identifying and vetting viable SAFc volumes.
Despite headwinds that many first-time buyers face, AVEVA was able to streamline their pilot SAFc procurement by leveraging the structure and support of SAFc Connect. By utilizing the platform’s pre-vetted offers – all pre-approved by the SABA team for alignment with SABA’s Sustainability Framework – AVEVA bypassed hours of manual vetting, ensuring both supplier quality and a simplified internal evaluation.
Filtering tools enabled AVEVA to quickly narrow options to those that met their volume, timeline, and carbon intensity requirements. While the company noted high responsiveness across multiple providers, they ultimately selected British Airways. This choice was driven by pricing and operational synergies, bolstered by the strategic advantage of UK-based uplift at Heathrow, near AVEVA’s Cambridge headquarters.
Through this pilot, AVEVA also gained a deeper understanding of the SAFc purchasing process, allowing the company to test internal workflows with their procurement, legal, and sustainability teams ahead of AVEVA’s planned 2030 SAFc procurement scale-up.
By navigating this emerging market five years ahead of schedule, AVEVA has solidified its position as a proactive leader in aviation decarbonization. This early experience was vital preparation for more complex initiatives, such as AVEVA’s participation in SABA’s next-generation procurement, which will introduce a multi-year offtake agreement for an advanced SAF production facility that is pre-FID (final investment decision). Having already tested their internal SAFc procurement workflows, AVEVA is well equipped to manage these complexities and help drive large-scale market impact.
Pre-vetted offers on SAFc Connect can help buyers bypass SAF market complexity while providing confidence that purchases meet defined integrity criteria aligned with SABA’s SAF Sustainability Framework
Early pilots help de-risk future target compliance through developing internal SAF certificate procurement workflows
Initial spot procurements can put companies in a stronger position to participate in more complex pre-commercial or multi-year procurements down the road
