Flying on used oil

The flight coincided with the UN Climate Summit that was taking place in New York. According to Finnair, the biofuel mixture powering the flight to New York was provided by SkyNRG Nordic, which is a joint venture between SkyNRG and Statoil Aviation. The mixture is partly manufactured from cooking oil recycled from restaurants, and represents a good example of a biofuel alternative to ordinary jet fuel that significantly reduces net greenhouse gas emissions while also being sustainable in its own right. Along with its partners, Finnair is also investigating the possibility of establishing a biofuel hub at Helsinki airport. Finnair has said that it is active in the Nordic Initiative for Sustainable Aviation, a group of airlines, airport operators, manufacturers and government ministries working to accelerate the development of sustainable biofuel for aviation in the Nordic region.

Separately, The Carbon Disclosure Project has awarded Finnair a position on The A List: The CDP Climate Performance Leadership Index 2014, for actions taken to reduce carbon emissions and mitigate the business risks of climate change. Finnair is the only airline to have been awarded an A grade for its climate performance, earning a position on this global ranking of corporate efforts to mitigate climate change.

The index presents 187 listed companies identified as demonstrating a superior approach to climate change mitigation. The A List is compiled by CDP, an NGO that provides the only global environmental reporting system at the request of 767 investors who represent some US$92trn in assets, or more than a third of the world's invested capital. Information provided by nearly 2,000 listed companies has been independently assessed against CDP's widely-respected scoring methodology and ranked accordingly.