We are implementing an energy efficiency plan focusing on four key priorities to cut emissions generated by business aviation: SAF sustainable fuels, flight operations optimization, research & technology and CO2 storage.
We are committed to reducing emissions to achieve the worldwide target of carbon neutrality in the aviation sector by 2050.
In one year, the 2,100 Falcon jets in operation emit the equivalent of a day’s worth of global video streaming, 5 hours’ worth of global truck traffic, or 2.5 days’ worth of German fossil fuel power production. Business aviation accounts for 0.04% of global CO2 emissions.
We have filed an action for annulment with the General Court of the European Union against the regulation excluding business aviation from the European taxonomy of sustainable economic activities. This action is based primarily on a breach of the principle of equality with respect to the other categories of aircraft included in the taxonomy. It also highlights a manifest misunderstanding, as business aviation is a key driver in the decarbonization of the aviation sector.
In 2023, Dassault Aviation operated 413 Falcon flights using 30% SAF blends, compared with 179 in 2022. These flights resulted in CO2 savings of 681 tonnes over the course of the year.
On February 1, 2024, Dassault Aviation and the ADP Group announced a five-year agreement to step up their efforts to reduce carbon emissions at Paris-Le Bourget airport: supply and use of SAF, electrification of ground operations, geothermal energy to power buildings and hangars.
We are actively involved in the European Clean Aviation initiative, as well as in France’s civil aviation research council (Corac). Our work is focused particularly on cutting fuel consumption by reducing aircraft drag, as well as by the use of SAF.
Dassault Aviation has developed FalconWays, an innovative tool for optimizing flight plans, which was awarded the Aviation Week Laureate Award in November 2023. The proven reductions in fuel consumption achieved are up to 7%.
Our other contributions to optimizing air traffic operations include advances in flexibility, avionics, flight controls and the FalconEye Combined Vision System (CVS).
In addition, Dassault Aviation is a major corporate sponsor of the Maubuisson forest in the Val-d’Oise department of France. Thanks to the planting of a million trees of thirty different species on an unused lowland plain, this 3,300-acre forest will benefit the 100,000 inhabitants of the seven neighboring towns as well as twelve million people living in the Greater Paris region.
Our energy efficiency plan, launched at the end of 2022, began to produce significant results in 2023. Our consumption of energy (electricity, gas, fuel oil) fell by 13.5% compared with 2019 levels.
We are one of the European companies that have achieved the greatest reductions according to the Financial Times’s Europe’s Climate Leaders 2023 ranking.
Our careful approach to waste management means that we have achieved a recovery rate of 86%, and our efforts are ongoing. For instance, we are pioneers when it comes to the recycling of composite waste materials.
Sustainable Aviation Fuels, energy efficiency
