AMSTERDAM - AkzoNobel announced the issuance of more than 126,000 carbon credits worth more than $500,000. The credits are the first to be awarded under the company's landmark scheme for the shipping industry, which was developed in conjunction with the Gold Standard Foundation and the Fremco Group.

Launched in 2014, the award-winning program rewards ship owners who convert existing vessels from a biocidal antifouling to a premium, biocide-free advanced hull coating such as AkzoNobel's Intersleek - part of its International^® brand - which is proven to reduce fuel consumption and CO₂ emissions.

On average, each of the 16 vessels included in the first issue achieved savings of just over 1,250 tons of fuel and 4,000 tons of CO₂ per year, resulting in the award of 126,785 credits by the Gold Standard Foundation. That number is expected to increase as more vessels continue to enroll in the program.

Based on the average 10 percent CO₂ savings recorded in this first carbon credits issue, the full fleet of over 4,500 vessels currently using Intersleek have already achieved total annual reductions in carbon emissions of around 17 million tons of CO₂. That figure represents around 1.5 percent of the global emissions from shipping, as estimated by the 3^rd IMO Greenhouse Gas Study.

The issuance of the carbon credits followed a rigorous assessment of the scheme, which included validation and verification of the 16 participating vessels' fuel consumption data by an independent auditor, RINA Services and the Gold Standard Foundation, in line with the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Clean Development Mechanism.

AkzoNobel is currently in discussions with the enrolled ship owners regarding sale and offsetting options for their credits.