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A certification system that covers all stages from production through processing
and distribution is referred to as “chain of custody certification” or “COC certification.” One example of such a chain is the processing of ethanol or vegetable oil from
a certified farm, followed by fermentation/extraction and proper delivery to consumers. Since biofuels are liquids, the risk exists that they may become mixed up or
confused in the process of distribution, either with other certified fuels or with an
uncertified fuel. For this reason, measures such as those below have been introduced
for tracking biofuels through the certified product supply chain.
– Identity Preserved (IP): In this system certified biofuels are separated from the
plantation and tracked until reaching the user.
– Segregation (SE): In this system mixing of certified biofuels (batch mixing) is
recognized and tracked.
– Mass Balance (MB): In this system, if a certified biofuel is intended to be mixed
with another biofuel, the quantity of that particular certified biofuel is defined as
a proportion of the total certified biofuel. A manager monitors the mixing proportions, which depend on the fuel’s final use.
– Credit Trading (CT): This system does not involve any tracking, tracing, or monitoring of the biofuel itself. Instead, it enables cultivators and users to trade volume credits online (known as “Book and Claim (BC) in the case of the Roundtable
on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO), Bangun 2011) under the supervision of managers, as done with green electric power, for example.
These kinds of reference standards and indicators and certification systems are
already utilized in the fields of forestry and marine products. Good examples are the
certification system of the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) and the system implemented by the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC). (See the FSC and MSC
websites.)
The features of standards and indicators and certification systems based on them
are outlined below (UNCTAD 2008; UNEP 2009; Scarlat 2011).
A. Diverse Principles, Standards, and Indicators Can Be Defined to Address
the Various Environmental, Social, and Economic Impacts of Biofuels
In addition to dealing with principles concerning the reduction of greenhouse gas
emissions, taking into account product life cycle and factors such as land use
change, many certification systems currently being developed also deal with other
important issues. These may include environmental considerations, such as biodiversity conservation and land use change; social considerations, such as food security and social well-being; and economic considerations, such as productivity. In
addition, these systems can also incorporate local viewpoints by recognizing the
particular interpretations of individual countries, as in the case of the RSPO. They
can also establish an international system, like the sustainability standards for bioenergy now under consideration by the International Organization for Standardization
(ISO), and incorporate global-scale, unified standards and indicators in alignment
with international agreements such as the UN Framework Convention on Climate
Change and WTO treaties.
S. Arai and H. Matsuda
A certification system that covers all stages from production through processing
and distribution is referred to as “chain of custody certification” or “COC certification.” One example of such a chain is the processing of ethanol or vegetable oil from
a certified farm, followed by fermentation/extraction and proper delivery to consumers. Since biofuels are liquids, the risk exists that they may become mixed up or
confused in the process of distribution, either with other certified fuels or with an
uncertified fuel. For this reason, measures such as those below have been introduced
for tracking biofuels through the certified product supply chain.
– Identity Preserved (IP): In this system certified biofuels are separated from the
plantation and tracked until reaching the user.
– Segregation (SE): In this system mixing of certified biofuels (batch mixing) is
recognized and tracked.
– Mass Balance (MB): In this system, if a certified biofuel is intended to be mixed
with another biofuel, the quantity of that particular certified biofuel is defined as
a proportion of the total certified biofuel. A manager monitors the mixing proportions, which depend on the fuel’s final use.
– Credit Trading (CT): This system does not involve any tracking, tracing, or monitoring of the biofuel itself. Instead, it enables cultivators and users to trade volume credits online (known as “Book and Claim (BC) in the case of the Roundtable
on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO), Bangun 2011) under the supervision of managers, as done with green electric power, for example.
These kinds of reference standards and indicators and certification systems are
already utilized in the fields of forestry and marine products. Good examples are the
certification system of the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) and the system implemented by the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC). (See the FSC and MSC
websites.)
The features of standards and indicators and certification systems based on them
are outlined below (UNCTAD 2008; UNEP 2009; Scarlat 2011).
A. Diverse Principles, Standards, and Indicators Can Be Defined to Address
the Various Environmental, Social, and Economic Impacts of Biofuels
In addition to dealing with principles concerning the reduction of greenhouse gas
emissions, taking into account product life cycle and factors such as land use
change, many certification systems currently being developed also deal with other
important issues. These may include environmental considerations, such as biodiversity conservation and land use change; social considerations, such as food security and social well-being; and economic considerations, such as productivity. In
addition, these systems can also incorporate local viewpoints by recognizing the
particular interpretations of individual countries, as in the case of the RSPO. They
can also establish an international system, like the sustainability standards for bioenergy now under consideration by the International Organization for Standardization
(ISO), and incorporate global-scale, unified standards and indicators in alignment
with international agreements such as the UN Framework Convention on Climate
Change and WTO treaties.
S. Arai and H. Matsuda