In cooperation with NASA, the 757 ecoDemonstrator flew on June 17, 2015 from Seattle to NASA's Langley Research Center in Hampton, Va., using a U.S.-made blend of 95 percent petroleum jet fuel and 5 percent sustainable green diesel, a biofuel used in ground transportation. Boeing is working with the aviation industry to approve green diesel for commercial aviation by amending the HEFA biojet specification approved in 2011. This would make aviation biofuel more widely available and price competitive with Jet A including U.S. government incentives. Diamond Green Diesel in Norco, La., produced the 757's green diesel from waste animal fats, inedible corn oil and used cooking oil to reduce lifecycle CO2 emissions by up to 80 percent less than petroleum jet fuel.

The green diesel flight to Langley was coordinated with the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration, Pratt & Whitney and Honeywell, among others; EPIC Aviation blended the fuel. In December 2014, the ecoDemonstrator 787 made the first-ever flights with green diesel, which is a different fuel product than "biodiesel." These developments advance the ecoDemonstrator program's mission to accelerate the testing and use of technologies to improve aviation's environmental performance.

Among more than 15 technologies on this 757, Boeing has begun testing solar and thermal "energy harvesting" to power electronic windows, as a way to reduce wiring, weight, fuel use and carbon emissions. Also, on the 757's flight deck, Boeing has installed a 3D-printed aisle stand made from excess carbon fiber from 787 production to re-purpose this high-value material and reduce airplane weight and factory waste.