The group is hosted by the Energy Center of EPFL, one of Switzerland’s foremost technical universities.
The RSB Certification System includes environmental, social and economic principles and criteria and features a unique set of online tools aimed at taking the complexity out of compliance and streamlining certification.
The certification system covers the major issues of concern in bio-fuels’ production, including their contribution to climate change mitigation and rural development; their protection of land and labor rights; and their impacts on biodiversity, soil and water pollution, water availability and food security.
Among those that played a key role in establishing the new voluntary standard was the National Wildlife Federation, which has been publicizing the initiative through its web site.
“It’s one thing to say your product is sustainable and another to prove it,” said Barbara Bramble, Senior Advisor for the International Climate and Energy Program at the National Wildlife Federation. “This new system makes it easy to differentiate between bio-fuels that are environmentally destructive and bio-fuels that deliver on the promise of sustainability.”
Bramble, who has served on the Steering Board of the RSB since it was created, and was elected Chair of the RSB’s Steering Board in 2009, went on to say that “All bio-fuels are not created equal”.
“Bringing accountability, consistency and transparency to the global bio-fuels market is a giant first step toward stopping those practices that result in tropical deforestation, habitat destruction and increased pollution,” she said.” The RSB is all about enabling bio-fuels markets to reward those producers who protect natural resources and avoid negative impacts on local communities.”
The certification system will be operated by RSB Services, which is the business arm of the RSB, providing access to the certification process, licensing, and auditors’ training among other activities.
The certification program is expected to provide bio-fuel producers with a leg up on their competition by appealing to consumers’ desire for more sustainable energy sources.
For additional information:
