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# ClassNK Issues First Certification Under Asia's Only ICAO-Approved SAF Scheme
- URL: https://review.iffw.sg/classnk-issues-first-certification-under-asias-only-icao-approved-saf-scheme/
- Published: 2026-09-13T00:30:46.000Z
- Updated: 2026-09-13T00:30:45.000Z
- Description: ClassNK issued the first certification under ClassNK SCS, Asia's only ICAO-approved SAF certification scheme, to lumber producer Kowanomori. The certification marks the scheme's entry into full operation, giving regional SAF supply chains a certification pathway toward CORSIA eligibility.
- Author: Editor
- Tags: News, SAF, Aviation, Asia Pacific

Nippon Kaiji Kyokai (ClassNK) has issued the first certification under ClassNK SCS, its sustainable aviation fuel certification scheme, marking the scheme's entry into full-scale operation. The certification was issued by Nippon Kaiji Kentei Quality Assurance Ltd. (N3KQA), acting as the certification body, to Kowanomori Co., Ltd., a lumber producer and member of the Sumitomo Forestry Group engaged in woody biomass utilisation.

### Why an ICAO-Approved Scheme Matters at 

All Under CORSIA, ICAO's carbon offsetting and reduction scheme for international aviation, SAF only counts as a CORSIA Eligible Fuel if every economic operator along its supply chain, from feedstock through to the blending point, has obtained certification from a body operating under an ICAO-approved SAF certification scheme (SCS). Without that chain of certification, a batch of physically identical SAF simply does not qualify for CORSIA compliance purposes, regardless of its actual emissions performance. ClassNK SCS was approved by the ICAO Council in October 2024, becoming the world's third such scheme and the first in Asia, and began operating in August 2025; this first certification is the scheme's first concrete demonstration that the approval translates into an actual, functioning certification chain rather than remaining an approved-but-untested framework.

### What Kowanomori's Certification Actually Covers 

Kowanomori produces lumber and separately promotes cascade use of wood, the sequential reuse of wood residues generated during lumber manufacturing, rather than treating those residues as waste. Its certification under ClassNK SCS positions it as one link in a SAF supply chain: a feedstock-side operator whose woody biomass residues can now be certified as meeting the sustainability requirements needed for onward SAF production and eventual CORSIA eligibility, rather than requiring separate ad hoc verification each time its material enters a SAF supply chain.

### Why ClassNK Frames This Around Regional Fit Specifically 

ClassNK describes the value proposition explicitly as certification "tailored to regional regulations and business environments," positioning ClassNK SCS as an option for Asian and regional supply chain participants to obtain SAF certification through a certification body suited to local circumstances, rather than relying solely on the two pre-existing, non-Asian ICAO-approved schemes. That framing matters for SAF producers and feedstock suppliers across Asia weighing which certification pathway fits their own supply chain and regulatory environment most directly.

### ClassNK's Own Institutional Position 

ClassNK brings more than 120 years of history and operations across 130 locations worldwide as one of the world's largest ship classification societies, a maritime-sector credibility base it is now extending into aviation decarbonisation specifically through certification services, rather than through fuel production, technology development, or any other role in the SAF value chain itself.

### What Remains Ahead 

ClassNK states it will continue expanding its network of certification bodies and applications for certification under ClassNK SCS are being accepted on an ongoing basis, but no additional certifications, target certification volume, or timeline for network expansion beyond Kowanomori's initial certification have been disclosed.

*Source:* [*Nippon Kaiji Kyokai (ClassNK)*](https://www.classnk.or.jp/hp/en/news.aspx?id=15562&layout=1&type=p&ref=review.iffw.sg)*, 8 September 2026.*