DHL Group has expanded its sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) collaboration with IAG Cargo in a move that will increase the use of lower-emission fuel at London Heathrow Airport.
The new five-year agreement between DHL and the cargo arm of International Airlines Group (IAG), combined with a previous renewal completed in 2025, will enable around 240m litres of SAF to be uplifted at Heathrow. The arrangement is designed to reduce the lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions associated with DHL Express cargo transported on British Airways services.
Under the agreement, DHL Express will receive the Scope 3 emissions reductions linked to around 40m litres of neat SAF each year. Together with the 2025 renewal, the deal is expected to deliver a total lifecycle reduction of 640,000 tonnes of CO₂e, according to the companies.
They added that the agreement covers almost all of the fuel currently attributed to the transport of DHL Express cargo across IAG Cargo’s network.
The SAF used in the programme is certified by International Sustainability & Carbon Certification (ISCC) and is produced from feedstocks including used cooking oil. Compared with the fossil jet fuel it replaces, it is expected to deliver lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions reductions of around 90%.
The expanded collaboration will also be reinforced by an additional framework agreement between DHL Global Forwarding and IAG Cargo, supporting the Group’s wider cross-divisional strategy to secure reliable and diversified access to sustainable fuels.
According to the companies, the enlarged DHL Global Forwarding framework could lift the total lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions reduction across the DHL Group to more than 1m tonnes.
Travis Cobb, executive vice president, global network operations & aviation at DHL Express, said the agreement demonstrates what can be achieved when two committed SAF users combine their efforts. He said it significantly strengthens DHL’s ability to cut lifecycle emissions on a major trade lane while showing how cross-sector partnerships can produce concrete results.
Camilo Garcia Cervera, chief sales and marketing officer at IAG Cargo, said the agreement builds on a longstanding relationship between the two companies. He added that partnerships of this kind will be essential in scaling up the use of sustainable aviation fuel while supporting more sustainable airfreight solutions.
The agreements also support DHL’s target of raising the share of SAF used in air transport to 30% by 2030, a central part of its wider sustainability strategy.
