ISCC, NABCB join hands for SAF certification in India

The International Sustainability & Carbon Certification (ISCC) said it has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Indian National Accreditation Board for Certification Bodies (NABCB) to partner on accreditation of Indian certification bodies (CBs).

The International Civil Aviation Organization requires the ISCC Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA) to implement accreditation to ensure that the CBs verifying compliance possess the necessary competencies.

The CBs accreditation is a crucial step towards increasing the use of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) in India. The South Asian country has set an indicative blending target of 1% SAF to be reached by 2027.

To achieve this goal, NABCB-accredited Indian CBs can now start the process of certifying SAF in accordance with ICAO requirements using ISCC CORSIA certification.

Both NABCB and ISCC are members of the International Accreditation Forum (IAF). NABCB is responsible for accrediting certification, inspection, validation, and verification bodies operating in India.

With the partnership, the two bodies aim to establish an independent, third-party programme to accredit Indian CBs that perform audits in accordance with ISCC certification standards.

The ISCC said the purpose of this MoU is for NABCB to provide accreditation to CBs for compliance with ISO/IEC 17065 while extending the scope to include ISCC CORSIA certification.

This will enable Indian CBs to demonstrate their product and process certification competence under the ISCC CORSIA certification scheme.