INDICATOR: 302-5

For 2023, EKO SA contributed to the overall reduction of CO₂ emissions in the road transport sector by 200,573.39 tn CO2 due to the use of biofuels with 5% bioethanol content in petrol and 7% biodiesel in diesel. It should be noted that the biofuels used contribute to a greater reduction in CO2 emissions than the minimum thresholds of the RED II Directive (minimum 50% reduction in emissions). The calculation of the annual GHG emission reduction is based on the sustainability characteristics of the different biofuel feedstocks used (i.e. based on the emission intensity in grCO₂/MJ) compared to the average fossil fuel emission intensity value (94 grCO2/MJ) and refers to the percentage of biofuel blended with the fossil fuel. Specifically, the biodiesel contained in automotive diesel contributed to 65.00% GHG emission savings, while the bioethanol contained in UNL95 gasoline, UNL98 and UNL100 contributed to GHG emission savings of 63.46%, 62.92% and 63.48% respectively compared to the reference fossil fuel (and the average CO₂ emission reduction rate for the three types of gasoline is 63.4%). It should be noted that the emission reduction provided by biofuels depends on the feedstock available on the market and the biofuel production route.

In addition to the use of biofuels in the road transport sector, in 2023, HELLENiQ ENERGY also contributed to the reduction of emissions in the aviation sector following the sales agreement between EKO SA and AEGEAN to promote SAF (Sustainable Aviation Fuel) at a volume content of up to 4% in JET A1 aviation fuel for its flights from Thessaloniki airport in 2023, starting from March 2022 with a 2% SAF content in all AEGEAN flights from this airport. The SAF provided is aligned with the principles of the circular economy, made from 100% renewable raw materials of sustainable origin, such as used cooking oil and animal fat from food industry waste processed with hydrogen (HVO) and converted into a renewable product. The SAF used was highly sustainable with an average emission intensity of 11.42 g CO₂/MJ contributing to 87.18% emission savings.

All biofuel shipments in blend with fossil fuels are accompanied by a unique “Proof of Sustainability” certificate, which includes information based on sustainability criteria such as raw material type, quantity, country of origin of raw materials, greenhouse gas emissions, and how emissions are calculated.