|
|
 |
Biofuels need to demonstrate their sustainability credentials if they are to be taken seriously by consumers and the marketplace.
In the last few years biofuels have begun to carve out a small but significant share of global fuel sales. This has been motivated by a combination of rapidly rising crude oil price, national mandates and price incentives which have made the production and blending of biofuels commercially viable. The main drivers cited for the global development of the biofuel industry are energy security, greenhouse gas emissions reduction and agricultural and rural development. On a global scale, because of record-breaking oil and gas prices, bioenergy is becoming more competitive for all applications – power, heat and transport – which, in turn, are further fueling demand.
With the demand for biofuels destined to rise further, concern is now mounting about the potential environmental & social consequences of unchecked production and refining. To develop the full potential of bioenergy, growth of biofuels has to be managed in a sustainable way to match the economic, social and environmental dimensions of sustainability.
A number of schemes are underway to address these concerns including round tables on biofuels, independent studies, regulatory reporting of carbon and sustainability performance and, most importantly, the development of international sustainability standards. These initiatives are still in their early stages of development. The main sustainability criteria in most schemes are:
- Conservation of carbon
- Conservation of biodiversity
- Soil conservation
- Sustainable water use
- Protecting air quality
- Workers rights
- Protecting land rights
Instead of a number of sustainability standards, a single globally-accepted sustainability standard is urgently needed to simplify the world wide trade of biofuels and biofuels feed stocks. Without such a recognised standard, policy makers may not reach their reduction in carbon emission targets. Unfortunately such a single biofuel sustainability standard is not yet available.
Mandatory Sustainability
Implementing a mandatory sustainability verification system would be an effective tool to exclude biofuels that harm the environment or which have no genuine net contribution to green house gas (GHG) reductions. Yet the exact legal standing of mandatory certification of biofuels under WTO rules is still unclear. Sustainability certification could be considered a trade barrier, as a difference will be made between certified and uncertified biofuels.
The European Commission published its proposal for a Renewable Energy Directive in January 2008, in which a number of sustainability criteria were proposed. The only biofuels that will count toward national targets and be eligible for financial support are those that achieve at least 35% GHG emissions savings. However, establishing a minimum level of GHG savings will be difficult to justify under trade rules since 35% is rather an arbitrary threshold. In commercial terms, any mandatory minimum level of GHG emissions could be considered a barrier to trade. Design of the sustainability requirements according to the WTO rules is essential in order to set up a proper sustainability verification scheme.
Some are questioning whether a GHG savings target is necessary at all. A minimum threshold is considered an ineffective criterion to stimulate increased GHG savings as there is no incentive to go beyond a minimum, once the target is reached. Consequently the driver for biofuels should not be to achieve a single fixed target but to rather to maximise GHG emissions reductions. Policies need to reward biofuels based upon their GHG emissions savings (and smaller carbon footprint) over their complete lifecycle.
Voluntary Sustainability
In the shorter term only a voluntary sustainability certification system is feasible on a large scale. Such systems can only be successful if they are widely accepted, recognised and implemented throughout the biofuel supply chain. Companies in the biofuel supply chain have a key role to play to support these certification programmes.
Today most pressure originates from the consumer. Public opinion is becoming more sceptical where biofuels are concerned, with significant sections of the populous directly blaming them for increased deforestation of virgin forest and rising food prices. The big fear is that we may be investing in fuel security at the expense of food security. There is a spectrum of opinion here, ranging from those who still believe implicitly in the biofuels concept to those violently opposed, but what can be said is that the almost universal optimism of just five years ago has been significantly compromised.
Unsustainable biofuels are no longer being unquestioningly accepted by the market; they are losing their political support base as time goes by. If this continues, it will consequently undermine, or at least slow down, further development of the biofuel industry.
While national governments, the private sector and civil society can take bold measures to promote sustainable production of bioenergy, many challenges are global in nature and cannot be tackled without a concerted international response based on solid data, gathered and set against a fixed baseline.
Conclusion
Ultimately the credibility of all players in the biofuel supply chain will benefit from a sustainability certification system. When sustainability criteria are verified by an independent verification company, such as SGS, this will have an overall positive effect on the credibility of the biofuel industry as a sustainable supplier of cleaner fuels.
First generation biofuels are perhaps not a panacea to global warming, but with a proper sustainability certification scheme – as an individual, national or a global system - it is possible to prove that biofuels will reduce GHG emissions, will create new agricultural outlets, will reduce energy dependence, will contribute to low carbon fuels and will support the implementation of next generation biofuels. There is much hope for biofuels.
The SGS group has been intimately involved in every aspect of biofuel production since the resurgence of interest in the 1990’s. SGS routinely helps monitor all aspects of the supply chain, from plant choice for the farmer, through crop assessment, to monitoring the quality of feedstocks, basic biofuels at the point of production and blending those biofuels into commercially distributed fuels. Our staff, in the field and in the laboratory have looked at all aspects of the various processes, helped to make them more efficient and monitored trade volumes as they pass along through each link in the custody chain.
We have offered our traditional trade transaction services, collateral management services, laboratory analysis and blending and additive formulation services to this developing industry. From the sugar fields of Sao Paulo to the blending plants of Amsterdam, SGS has worked with the industry to add value and find innovative ways to optimise production and distribution of these alternative fuels. Just as with our work on wind and other forms of alternative fuels, SGS seeks to innovate, optimise and improve our partners’ processes, making them as sustainable as possible.
SGS has run seminars on 2nd generation (cellulosic) ethanol, sustainability in the supply chain and other biofuels related topics. As part of this pro-active approach we are now working with our partners on a number of audit based products looking at sustainability. Our certification experts are working with all the stakeholders on supply chain audits to address the concerns that have been raised, with the goal of developing innovative solutions that will allow these concerns to be addresses in an objective and systemic manner.
The alternative fuels team have the experience and detailed understanding of the different stages of the biofuel value chain, from field to fuel. SGS can help to set up, implement and manage sustainability verification programmes on a global scale.
For more information, please email us.
|
