After 4 years of conception, recruiting, standards development, and institutional build-out the Roundtable on Sustainable Biofuels is launching its biofuel sustainability certification system for commercial adoption on March 22 at the World Biofuels Markets conference. The RSB is an international multi-stakeholder initiative, with over 200 members spanning oil companies, NGOs, biofuel producers, investors, universities, and others. The sustainability standards and the certification system have been determined through member consensus, which represents a significant achievement given the complexity of biofuel sustainability considerations and the diversity of interests and views among RSB members. After much hard work, the biofuel industry, consumers, investors, and regulators will now have access to an international meta-standard for biofuel sustainability.
A widely-recognized, credible biofuel sustainability standard is particularly important in light of the controversies surrounding land use, water use, competition with the food supply, and other aspects of biofuel production. The public – and producers themselves – are grappling with how to define sustainable biofuel production, and how to reward biofuels produced sustainably and discourage the others. Regulations have been delayed, investment has been withheld, and purchases of biofuels have been deferred as a consequence of this ambiguity.
Having participated as an RSB member and member of its Steering Board since 2009, Verno is pleased to see the RSB come to market at this important time for the biofuel industry. We trust that the adoption and ongoing improvement of this standard will serve an important clarifying function in the marketplace, ultimately helping to grow the market for biofuels, and ensuring that those biofuels are produced more sustainably.
For a link to the press release click here.