American Airlines and Virgin Atlantic are testing out different ways to reduce carbon emissions

From buying carbon credits from a startup that uses sawdust for carbon removal to flying on sustainable jet fuel made of fat and sugar, airlines are adopting innovative ways to reduce their carbon footprint.

Carbon removal bricks
American Airlines (AA) is buying carbon credits from a startup called Graphyte—backed by Bill Gates’s Breakthrough Energy Ventures—making it one of the first carbon-removal deals by an airline, reports the Wall Street Journal.

Graphyte collects biowaste such as sawdust or tree bark (that naturally absorbs carbon dioxide) to make special bricks that suck up carbon in the air and bury them.

Its first project in Arkansas aims to produce 140 pallets of blocks a day, storing 50,000 metric tons of carbon annually.

While this is minuscule compared to the nearly 35 million metric tons of direct emissions by AA last year, it appears to be a step in the right direction. According to scientists, billions of tons of carbon will need to be removed by 2050 to counter the worst effects of global warming.

Graphyte is charging AA $100 a metric ton for removing 10,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide. The airline finds it to be a cost-effective way to cut its emissions, considering sustainable fuel is not widely accessible for airlines yet.

However, another aviation giant is trying to make sustainable fuel go mainstream in commercial airlines.

Sustainable aviation fuel (SAF)
Yesterday, Virgin Atlantic tested its first-ever commercial plane flight across the Atlantic Ocean without using traditional fossil fuels. The successful flight used SAF made of waste fats and plant sugars.

Virgin claims the fuel emits 70% less carbon than petroleum-based jet fuel.

Cautiously celebrating the milestone, the airline said it was a one-time stunt and that it won’t regularly offer 100% SAF flights because it is too expensive and rare in production. Also, standard flight engines aren’t made to run on sustainable fuel.

Nevertheless, such explorations by airlines are a hopeful sign for the environment.