The San Francisco 49ers, despite their National Football League loss to the Minnesota Vikings earlier this week, stand tall as one of the NFL’s great franchises who fell one drive short of their sixth Super Bowl title last year in an overtime loss to the Kansas City Chiefs.
The franchise is also expanding its energy playbook by acquiring sustainable aviation fuel for future game-related flights. United Airlines and the 49ers announced that the team will purchase sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) as its commitment to more sustainable practices.
The team has purchased enough SAF to cover its game-related flying on United from San Francisco to Los Angeles this weekend. The 49ers are playing NFC West Division rival Los Angeles Rams on Sunday.
United's SAF is certified by an independent third-party for meeting several sustainability criteria, including its carbon intensity.
The airline purchased more sustainable fuel as compared to other U.S. airlines in 2023 and has used a blend of SAF at five airports in the U.S. and Europe including San Francisco International Airport.
"SAF has the potential to be a powerful tool to help reduce carbon emissions from flying, but the industry is still in its infancy, supply is limited, and most people don't know what it is," said United CEO, Scott Kirby, in a statement.
The deal is the first by an NFL franchise to sign up for United’s Eco-Skies Alliance. The program is designed to connect customer companies to share costs of the “green premium” to purchase lower emission fuels such as SAF, which is two to four times more costly than traditional jet fuel but can reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 85%.
United started the Eco-Skies Alliance in 2021. It has contributed toward the purchase of 15 million gallons of SAF.
The 49ers’ home field Levi's Stadium also has achieved a LEED Gold certification, and its solar panels generate enough energy to power the energy demand equivalent of every 49ers home game.
The companies that have signed up for SAF purchase and the United Eco-Skies Alliance include AutoDesk, Bank of America, Deloitte, Meta, Microsoft, SalesForce and Siemens, among others.