Sustainability is a core aspect of both SWISS and SWISS WorldCargo’s strategies, and partnerships in this area play an essential role in getting the company closer to its target of becoming carbon-neutral by 2050. SWISS WorldCargo recognizes the importance of accelerating key technologies and innovation to create a more sustainable future for the air cargo industry and takes action to ensure that significant partnerships are established to drive sustainability initiatives forward.
SWISS WorldCargo’s initiative builds on the carbon removal agreement to remove residual CO2 emissions signed by SWISS and Lufthansa Group, that was announced in March 2024. SWISS WorldCargo now launches a pilot to integrate carbon removal in its customer offerings, with Climeworks, a SWISS-based leading company that offers high-quality carbon removal services to businesses and individuals. Climeworks provides a permanent solution to a persistent problem, by employing its pioneering direct air capture (DAC) technology to capture CO2 from the air, which can then be stored permanently underground.
Direct air capture, a technology to permanently remove CO2 from the air
With its direct air capture technology, Climeworks is a global leader within the carbon removal field. DAC is a vitally important method of removing CO2 directly from the atmosphere and storing it permanently underground. The airline sector will need to take advantage of both DAC and further negative-emission technologies if it is to achieve its ambitious carbon emission mitigation goals. Climeworks already operates the world’s two biggest DAC and storage facilities, which are located in Iceland, and has extensive growth plans. More information on Climeworks’ DAC technology is available in the graphic below. DAC technologies also offer a scalable means of procuring atmospheric CO2 for use as a raw material in manufacturing the next generation of synthetic fuels, which are also known as Sustainable Aviation Fuels (SAF). The use of such synthetic fuels is vital to the decarbonization of the airline sector as well. SWISS and the Lufthansa Group have long been industry pioneers in this field, driving the scale-up of these key fuel technologies.
SWISS WorldCargo’s new premium offering, for reducing CO2 emissions along the supply chain
As of today, SWISS WorldCargo’s customers have the possibility to choose the new premium offering, called the ‘Aviation Tech Pioneer’ package, to support driving sustainability initiatives forward through carbon removal with direct air capture (DAC), in combination with an investment in Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF). In fact, thanks to this new offering, SWISS WorldCargo’s customers now have at disposal an option to not only help the scale-up of critical tech to reach net-zero in aviation, but also act on reaching their scope 3 emission reduction targets to support removing unavoidable emissions from the atmosphere.
With SWISS being Climeworks’ first airline partner, SWISS WorldCargo’s new premium offering reflects SWISS’ ongoing commitment to scale-up key defossilisation technologies. The new offering follows other ongoing initiatives at SWISS WorldCargo, such as investments in Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF), lightweight containers, and modern aircraft, and has the potential to pave the way for more sustainable practices in the aviation and logistics industries for the years to come.
“We’re excited to realize this first-of-a-kind pilot with SWISS WorldCargo. It serves as an inspiring example for how the aviation industry can accelerate the much-needed scale up of carbon removal within their own industry and beyond” states Laurent Müller, Director of Strategic Partnerships Management of Climeworks.
“At SWISS WorldCargo we’re very glad to be bringing our division one step closer to its environmental goals by establishing this important collaboration. Thanks to Climeworks’ innovative technology, we’re able to offer our customers a premium solution to mitigate the impact of their operations on the environment” says Lorenzo Stoll, Head of Cargo at SWISS International Air Lines Ltd.
About SWISS WorldCargo
SWISS International Air Lines (SWISS) is Switzerland’s largest air carrier. With one of Europe’s most advanced and carbon-efficient aircraft fleets, SWISS is a premium airline that provides direct flights from Zurich and Geneva to keep Switzerland connected with Europe and the world. Its SWISS WorldCargo division offers an extensive range of airport-to-airport airfreight services for high-value, time-critical and care-intensive consignments. As The Airline of Switzerland, SWISS embodies its home country’s traditional values and is dedicated to delivering the highest product and service quality. The company has also committed to the ambitious climate goals of halving its 2019 net carbon dioxide emissions by 2030 and making its operations entirely carbon-neutral by 2050, particularly by promoting the use of sustainable aviation fuels. SWISS is part of the Lufthansa Group and is also a member of Star Alliance, the world’s biggest airline network.
About Climeworks
Climeworks is a global leader in carbon dioxide removal (CDR) as a service via direct air capture (DAC) technology, empowering companies to advance their net-zero roadmaps and fight global warming. Founded by engineers Christoph Gebald and Jan Wurzbacher in 2009, Climeworks is on a journey to climate impact at scale with integrity at its core and a focus on the highest-quality permanent removals. Climeworks is spearheading the DAC industry globally, with the world’s first and to date largest DAC facility combined with storage installation in commercial operation, modular CO2 collectors designed for scalability and facilities running exclusively on clean energy. Its growing customer base numbers over 160 companies, including multinationals such as Microsoft, BCG, UBS and SWISS Re. At Orca, Climeworks’s DAC facility in Iceland, the CO2 is permanently removed from the air by capturing it and geologically storing it for thousands of years with Climeworks’s underground mineralization partner Carbfix. The CDR services delivered from Orca are verified by independent third party DNV.
