Every action counts

Fancy combining a work trip with a little time to explore? If you extend your stay and go back a couple of days later, you're making the most of a journey you're already taking.

How you travel once you land matters too. Walking, cycling, or using public transport are often simple ways to get around and experience a place more closely.

Lower aircraft weight can help reduce fuel use. Choosing to travel with carry-on baggage only can help reduce the overall weight on board, especially when many travelers make the same choice.

ChangeMakers grows through the people who take part. If you think it’s relevant for family members or friends, feel free to let them know. The more people who take part, the more actions we will see across the community.

How we travel matters. Dispose of waste properly, respect local customs and traditions, and approach people with courtesy and openness. Small gestures, like including tipping in line with local practice, help create positive encounters.

When possible, choose locally owned hotels, restaurants and services. Consider local guides and businesses during your stay. Your choices can help strengthen the communities you visit.

Avoid activities that exploit people, cultures or animals. Be attentive to working conditions, including the risk of child labor, and take care when considering experiences involving wildlife.

Newer aircraft use less fuel and produce less noise. SAS is replacing older models with new-generation aircraft as a core part of reducing emissions across our fleet. We're also involved in partnerships developing the next generation of aircraft technology.

Alternative Aviation Fuel, also known as SAF, is an alternative to traditional jet fuel. Depending on the production pathway, it can be made from renewable or waste-based resources rather than crude oil.

On a lifecycle basis, SAF can deliver lower CO₂ emissions than fossil-based jet fuel, depending on feedstock and production method. During the flight itself, though, emissions from burning SAF are similar to those from conventional fuel.

Today, SAF makes up a small part of our total fuel use, mainly because of price and limited supply. We’re working with fuel suppliers to increase availability over time, and we give our members the option to support additional SAF through EuroBonus ChangeMakers.

We focus on resource efficiency and elements of circular thinking onboard, reducing single-use materials, replacing plastics, and cutting weight wherever we can. Put simply, weight matters: less of it means less fuel. We've updated meal packaging, replaced seat fabrics and carpets on existing aircraft, and switched USB sockets across the fleet: small changes that add up across thousands of flights.

Recycling in aviation is more restricted than on the ground. Rules vary by destination, which limits what we can do. We continue to work within those limits and push for better where we can.

Aviation accounts for roughly 2% of global energy-related CO2 emissions [1]. Beyond direct CO2, IPCC research indicates that non-CO2 effects from contrails and NOx roughly double aviation’s climate impact, although there is still no scientific consensus on the exact conversion factor – which is why SAS itself reports CO2 separately rather than as a combined CO2-equivalent [1][5]. The IPCC identifies SAF - alternative aviation fuel as one of the few near-term levers for long-haul flights. According to IATA, SAF can cut lifecycle emissions by up to 80% versus fossil jet fuel, [2][3]. Globally, SAF still makes up less than 0.5% of jet fuel, but ReFuelEU mandates a blend rising from 2% in 2025 to 6% by 2030 [4]. The amount of SAF you buy is delivered into the fuel system and independently audited – it lowers emissions today and signals the demand producers need to scale.

Sources

1. IPCC, AR6 Synthesis Report (2023)

2. IPCC, AR6 WG III — Chapter 10 “Transport” (2022)

3. ICAO, Sustainable Aviation Fuels

4. IEA, Aviation — Tracking Clean Energy Progress (2024)

Note: NOx is a collective term for nitrogen oxides, formed primarily during combustion at high temperatures.

Around 700 million people still live in extreme poverty, and the UN’s own tracking shows the world is well off the pace to end it by 2030 (SDG 1) [1]. The IPCC documents how unequally climate impacts land: people in the most vulnerable regions have been about 15 times more likely to die from floods, droughts and storms [2]. UNDP and the World Bank both find that targeted cash transfers and child-nutrition programmes are among the most cost-effective ways to reduce poverty [3]. Small individual donations aggregate quickly – during 2025, our members donated 21 million EuroBonus points to charity through EuroBonus ChangeMakers. Donating points converts an unused benefit into direct funding for programmes the UN identifies as essential to SDG 1 and SDG 2 [4].

Sources

1. UN, The Sustainable Development Goals Report 2024

2. IPCC, AR6 WG II — Summary for Policymakers (2022)

3. UNDP, Human Development Report 2023/2024

4. UN, SDG Goals 1 & 2

Food loss and waste account for 8–10% of global greenhouse-gas emissions – and UNEP estimates over 1 billion tons of food were wasted in 2022 [1]. The IPCC lists “avoid food waste” among the demand-side actions with the largest near-term mitigation potential [2], and SDG 12.3 commits UN member states to halving per-capita food waste by 2030 [3]. Reducing food waste is a prioritized area alongside efforts to reduce single use packaging and increase recycling across SAS operations. Meals not loaded can help reduce risk of waste on board, and may avoid some of the upstream emissions associated with producing and transporting ingredients that would never be eaten [4]. While onboard catering represents a small part of overall food waste, reducing unnecessary loading is one way to address it within aviation operations.

Sources

1. UNEP, Food Waste Index Report 2024

2. IPCC, AR6 WG III — Chapter 5 “Demand, Services and Social Aspects of Mitigation” (2022)

3. UN, SDG Target 12.3

4. IPCC, Climate Change and Land — Special Report, Chapter 5 (2019)

Transport accounts for about 15% of global greenhouse-gas emissions, with road vehicles being the largest share [1]. The IPCC AR6 is clear that electric vehicles powered by low-carbon electricity offer the largest lifecycle decarbonisation potential for land transport [2]. Even on today’s average European grid, a battery-electric car emits roughly half the lifecycle CO2 of an equivalent petrol car – and the gap widens every year as grids decarbonise [3]. UNEP also documents real co-benefits in urban air quality and public health [4]. Renting electric reduces emissions on the trip itself and normalises the experience for travelers who don’t yet own one.

Sources

1. IPCC, AR6 Synthesis Report (2023)

2. IPCC, AR6 WG III — Chapter 10 “Transport” (2022)

3. IEA, Global EV Outlook 2024

4. UNEP, Air Quality and Climate Change

No. ChangeMakers is part of EuroBonus, but it does not affect your membership level. Members at any level can take part and complete actions.

Actions count within a calendar year (1 January to 31 December). Each action is counted based on the date you complete it, not when the transaction appears in your account. For example, it’s the day you travel, watch a video, or make a donation that counts. On 1 January, your annual action counter will reset. You can take part again every year.

When you complete 10 actions within a calendar year, you become a ChangeMaker for the remainder of that year and unlock the following rewards.

• A digital ChangeMakers badge for that year

• 5 000 Bonus points and 5 000 Level points added to your EuroBonus account

• Invitations to selected events

You can continue to take actions after reaching 10.

It depends on the action:

Watch a film about our work for sustainable development

Counted once per calendar year, on the date when you have completed watching the video.

Support Alternative Aviation Fuel

Counted on the departure date of the first flight in the booking. All EuroBonus members in the booking will earn 1 action, regardless of how much SAF they bought.

Donate EuroBonus points

Counted on the date the donation is made. Each donation of 5 000 points counts as one action, 10 000 points counts as 2 actions and so on. However, smaller donations don't count toward an action, even if you donate 1 000 points 5 times, for example.

Opt out of an inflight meal

Counted on the departure date of the flight. Your EuroBonus number must be included in the booking and this action can be completed up to 3 times per calendar year.

Rent an electric vehicle

Counted on the rental start date for eligible bookings (minimum rental period applies). Remember that it can take up to 14 days for an action to appear in your profile.

Retroactive registration isn’t possible for SAF contributions. For other actions, you must be logged in to your EuroBonus account or have your EuroBonus number included in the booking at the time the action is taken.

Some actions may appear in your profile in the following calendar year, even if they were completed in the previous calendar year. These actions will count toward the year in which they were completed.

If they bring your total to 10 actions for the previous year, you will still be recognized as a ChangeMaker for that year. You will receive the badge and the associated rewards, even if the new year has already begun.

• Your digital badge appears in your profile once you reach 10 actions

• 5 000 Bonus points and 5 000 Level points will be added to your EuroBonus account automatically

• Invitations to selected events will be sent to you by email