United Airlines and Darling Ingredients are building a comprehensive sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) marketplace by connecting the entire value chain — from waste fats and oils to finished fuel products.
"Fifteen years ago, a lot of the waste fats were used for just calories in animal feed," explained Ethan Carter, director of sustainability, Darling Ingredients, “They weren't really the nutritional value — they're just calories, essentially. And we were trying to look for what's the best and highest use for these."
"Airlines are thinking about the entire fuel value chain as part of our decarbonization journeys. When it comes to lower carbon fuels like SAF, the feedstocks are an integral part of the product," added Ryan Backman-Flamerich, senior manager, United Airlines Decarbonization team who leads the airline’s SAF procurement efforts.
"We look at our role not just as a consumer and purchaser of SAF, but in many ways, we're also very active in also working towards policy solutions."
At the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Poultry and Eggs (US-RSPE) annual meeting, Backman-Flamerich and Carter will discuss how partnerships between the rendering and aviation industries are advancing decarbonization goals, the role of agriculture in circular economies, and how the poultry sector can become a strategic player in renewable energy.
On November 4-5, the US-RSPE Annual Meeting will unite stakeholders from across the supply chain to advance measurable sustainability outcomes in poultry and egg production. The educational program will be held in collaboration with the 2025 Poultry Tech Summit on November 3-5, 2025, at the Atlanta Airport Marriot in Atlanta, Georgia.
Registration for both events is now open.
Uniting to advance sustainability
Through their joint venture with Valero for Diamond Green Diesel (DGD), Darling processes multiple waste streams — including poultry fats, tallow, used cooking oil, and distillers corn oil from ethanol production — into renewable diesel and SAF.
Carter emphasized the urgency of available solutions: "This is the solution we have now. We can use waste fats and oils, refine them, and we can decarbonize that heavy industry that's really difficult to decarbonize in a short time frame."
He contrasted this with emerging technologies, noting that "when you look at a lot of the things that airlines are working on that are 5, 10, 15 years away for some of the solutions, like e-fuels," waste-based SAF offers immediate impact.
Connecting throughout the value chain
According to Backman-Flamerich: "We at United, we see our decarbonization journey as partly helping to build the solutions that will drive decarbonization in aviation. For SAF, we are building an ecosystem, and that is not going to happen if it is just a one-sided platform. We have to collaborate with others to scale SAF with our ambitions."
Airlines are increasingly moving up the value chain through equity investments, strategic partnerships, and leveraging their fuel subsidiaries, while feedstock producers like Darling have moved downstream through processing ventures.
“Darling is a little bit unique in the feedstock space in that they have the joint venture with Valero for DGD," Backman-Flamerich noted. "In that sense, Darling has moved further down the value chain than probably many feedstock producers."
Beyond decarbonization, SAF production addresses critical energy security concerns. With traditional refineries closing across the U.S. due to reduced demand for petroleum products in other sectors, and refineries unable to operate profitably on jet fuel alone, the industry faces a potential crisis.
Attend the 2025 Poultry Tech Summit
The Poultry Tech Summit will return as an in-person event on November 3-5, 2025, at the Atlanta Airport Marriott in Atlanta, Georgia. The Poultry Tech Summit brings together inventors, researchers, entrepreneurs, poultry industry professionals and established technology providers to discuss challenges and solutions for all aspects of the poultry supply chain. The event focuses on the transition of innovative technologies from researchers and entrepreneurs into commercial applications for the benefit of the poultry industry.
NEW in 2025, Poultry Tech Summit will be held in collaboration with the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Poultry and Eggs (US-RSPE) annual meeting held November 5, 2025.
Registration for the 2025 Poultry Tech Summit is now open. For more information, go to www.poultrytechsummit.com.
