KWE and Shell Aviation Forge Agreement to Accelerate Sustainable Aviation

In a significant move toward decarbonizing the air Freight Industry, Kintetsu World Express, Inc. (KWE), a leading global freight forwarder, announced on August 13, 2025, that it has entered into a new agreement with Shell Aviation to facilitate the use of Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF). This partnership marks a crucial step in KWE's sustainability strategy, leveraging Shell's innovative digital platform, Avelia, to make the environmental benefits of SAF more accessible and verifiable.

Under the new agreement, KWE will adopt Shell Aviation's Avelia platform. This technology-driven solution is designed to address a key challenge in the SAF market: physical availability. Avelia provides KWE with access to the environmental benefits of SAF even if the fuel is not physically available at the specific airports where their cargo flights operate. The platform uses a transparent, secure, and credible blockchain system to ensure traceability and, critically, to prevent double-counting of emissions reductions. This digital approach ensures that the environmental claims are legitimate and verifiable for KWE's clients, who are increasingly seeking low-carbon transportation options.

Tatsuya Narasaki, Managing Officer at Kintetsu World Express, emphasized the company's commitment to environmental stewardship. "To mitigate the environmental impact of our global operations, we are working to reduce CO2 emissions not only in Japan but also around the world. We are pleased to announce that our near-term and long-term net-zero emissions reduction targets have been formally approved by SBTi." Narasaki highlighted that SAF is a core element of KWE's concrete efforts and that the collaboration with Shell Aviation represents a "significant step forward" in achieving these ambitious goals.

Doris Tan, Head of Shell Aviation, Asia Pacific and Middle East, echoed this sentiment, underscoring the value of their long-standing relationship with KWE. "We value our collaboration with KWE since the early days of the Smart Freight Centre’s market-based measures pilot," she said. Tan noted that Avelia's purpose is to "accelerate SAF adoption and provide companies like KWE with a clear, scalable pathway to credible life cycle GHG emissions reductions* from aviation." This agreement, she concluded, is "another important step in making low-carbon Air Transport a reality for cargo stakeholders in Asia and beyond."

The collaboration builds on a foundation of joint efforts, including their participation in the Smart Freight Centre's market-based measures framework pilot demonstration program in 2023. Since then, both companies have been working to create a robust and convenient system for aviation stakeholders, including freight forwarders and shippers, to utilize the environmental advantages of SAF in their air cargo activities.