Globe and Mail Profiles Buyers Alliances, Highlights Their Role Driving Investment into Low and Zero-carbon Fuels

A recent article published by Toronto’s The Globe and Mail highlighted the groundbreaking work of GMA and our partners in standing up buyers alliances and running collective procurements to help decarbonize hard to abate heavy transport and industrial sectors. Innovation reporter Pippa Norman focused in particular on the Zero Emission Maritime Buyers Alliance (ZEMBA), for whom GMA provides technical support, and the Sustainable Aviation Buyers Alliance (SABA), of which GMA is Secretariat. Both alliances have effectively engaged with climate-ambitious global brands to channel new investment to sustainable fuels, starting with SABA’s first-of-kind procurement for sustainable aviation fuel certificates in 2023.

A key takeaway from the article: emissions from sectors like aviation and maritime are not on track to meet 2050 net zero goals, and buyers alliances have an important role in pooling demand to create a clear market signal, connecting shippers and air travelers with nascent low and zero carbon alternatives, and helping accelerate the transition away from carbon intensive fuels.

GMA CEO Kim Carnahan was among the sources quoted in the article, including the following excerpt:

Kim Carnahan, the president and CEO of the Center for Green Market Activation, which works with and operates buyers’ alliances in five different sectors in partnership with non-governmental organizations, said the effectiveness of these groups is evident through the procurements that have been run by SABA, which she also helped found.

In its first procurement, she said, SABA had seven participants, requested 2.5 million gallons of sustainable aviation fuel but was only able to facilitate purchases for 850,000 gallons. In its second procurement, it had almost 20 participants, requested 100 million gallons and secured commitments for about 50 million. This year, she estimates, the alliance could hit $1-billion in total investment.

“It’s not enough. The overall aviation market needs vastly more investment. But having increases year on year that are as significant as those is certainly a sign of real progress and a sign that the initiatives we’re running work,” she said.

Ingrid Irigoyen, CEO of ZEMBA, described the process and benefits associated with the buyers alliance model as applied to the maritime sector:

“It’s a way of facilitating or enabling demand from all over the world, regardless of the physical freight flows of the company, aggregating that demand and channeling it into the available best deal solutions,” she said.

The full article is available here.

To learn more about how GMA and our partners are helping implement buyers alliances across a range of heavy transport and industrial sectors, or to explore membership, connect with us.