• Trilateral agreement once again helps promote decarbonisation in the industry.
• Over 30,000 liters of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) were purchased to reduce the emissions produced by the transportation of flowers for Mother’s Day peak season on the Bogota-Miami route.
  
  

Bogota / CO, May 9, 2024 – Kuehne+Nagel, LATAM Cargo Chile and Elite Group reached a new milestone to reduce carbon emissions produced by the transportation of flowers for Mother’s Day. There sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) purchased together totalled 34,615 liters, which is equivalent to the CO2 reduction of 70 tons of flowers during the peak season from Bogota, Colombia to Miami, United States. This volume reflects the transportation of more than 1.6 million flower stems.

Kuehne+Nagel has made reducing emissions in the logistics industry a central element of its strategic Roadmap 2026 and Vision 2030. Yngve Ruud, Executive Vice President Air Logistics at Kuehne+Nagel, comments: “It is crucial to drive actions in the industry that emphasize the importance of establishing a sustainability strategy. Based on long-term collaboration, the impacts of the initiatives developed increase over time. The decarbonisation challenges faced by logistics companies are ambitious, and the only way to achieve them is by leading the conversation and actions around the ESG agenda at a global level”.

Andrés Bianchi, CEO of LATAM Cargo Chile, comments “With this endeavor, we are making progress in the LATAM group’s commitment to mitigate climate change, with which we challenge ourselves to achieve net zero emissions by 2050. Collaboration between the different actors in this industry is fundamental to advance at the pace necessary to achieve our goals. We hope that examples like this will help to generate more solutions that contribute to decarbonization and encourage the development and use of this type of fuel in South America, where there is great potential”.

For Elite Group, a well-known company in the floral world, “this initiative aligns perfectly with our broader environmental, social, and governance (ESG) objectives, underscoring our goal of net zero emissions while maintaining a positive impact on the environment and the communities in which we operate. Adopting SAF protects our environment and enhances the reputation of air transport, ensuring the longevity of numerous jobs throughout our supply chain. As a leader in our field, we remain steadfast in our mission to unite innovation with responsibility, driving progress while upholding our commitment to the planet and our global community”, adds Galo Sánchez, Executive Vice President Elite Group.

One of the particularities of SAF, is that it helps to reduce up to 80% of the carbon footprint when compared to conventional fuel. The SAF was produced from used cooking oil, which, after being treated, is mixed with traditional jet fuel.

In the current context of limited SAF production worldwide, these collaborative agreements are of the most significant relevance. This is the second collaboration between the cargo subsidiary of LATAM group, Elite Group, and Kuehne+Nagel in less than 12 months in reducing the carbon footprint of their joint operations as part of a long-term sustainability agenda. It is expected that over time the parties will continue to strengthen agreements of this type.

 

About Kuehne+Nagel
With approximately 81,000 employees at almost 1,300 sites in close to 100 countries, the Kuehne+Nagel Group is one of the world’s leading logistics providers. Headquartered in Switzerland, Kuehne+Nagel is listed in the Swiss blue-chip stock market index, the SMI. The Group is the global number one in air and sea logistics and has strong market positions in road and contract logistics. 

Kuehne+Nagel is the logistics partner of choice for 400,000 customers worldwide. Using its global network, logistics expertise and data-based insights, the Group provides end-to-end supply chain solutions for global companies and industries. As a member of the Science Based Target Initiative (SBTi), Kuehne+Nagel is committed to sustainable logistics by reducing its own environmental footprint and by supporting its customers with low-carbon logistics solutions.


About LATAM Airlines                                                                                                    LATAM and its subsidiaries are the leading airline group in Latin America, with presence in five domestic markets in the region: Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru, as well as international operations within Latin America and to Europe, Oceania, Africa, the United States and the Caribbean.

The Group has a fleet of Boeing 767, 777, 787, Airbus A321, A321neo, A320, A320neo and A319 aircraft. LATAM Cargo Chile, LATAM Cargo Colombia and LATAM Cargo Brazil are the cargo subsidiaries of the LATAM group, and in addition to having access to the group subsidiaries’ passenger aircraft holds, they have a combined fleet of 20 freighter aircraft. These cargo subsidiaries have access to the group’s passenger aircraft and operate within the LATAM group’s network, as well as on international routes exclusively for cargo transport. In addition, they offer modern infrastructure and a wide range of services and support options to meet the needs of their customers.

More financial information at www.latamairlinesgroup.net


About Elite Group
Elite Group’s history, with its beginnings in Elite Flower, dates back to 1991, when floral industry pioneer Peter Hannaford planted a few acres of roses in Colombia with the support of his wife and some relatives. Elite Group, now with more than 35 business units around the world, continues to cultivate revolutionary advances in automation, logistics and processing to ensure maximum freshness without compromising its sustainability practices. Today, a team of floral experts guides Elite Group in its full blossoming into the largest and most innovative floral group in the world.