SBP accepts Certification Bodies as applicants

SBP has today announced that five Certification Bodies have been accepted as applicants and are now able to progress towards achieving SBP-approved status. The applicant Certification Bodies are: BM Trada, Bureau Veritas Latvia, Control Union, NEPCon and NSF.

The SBP Framework of standards and processes enables producers of woody biomass to demonstrate that they source their raw material responsibly and that it complies with the legal, regulatory and sustainability requirements applicable to European power generators. It also facilitates the carriage of energy and carbon data along the supply chain to the end-user. Under the SBP Framework the Biomass Producer, typically a pellet mill, is certified by a SBP-approved Certification Body and is responsible for ensuring that its feedstock meets the SBP standards.

To become SBP-approved, a Certification Body must first provide evidence that it meets the SBP requirements regarding its existing accreditations and it must also demonstrate that it has sufficient resources and competence to manage the certification programme.

The next step for an applicant Certification Body is to satisfy SBP of its competence to undertake an audit of a Biomass Producer against the SBP standards in a real-life situation. The first assessments are expected early next year.

Peter Wilson, Executive Director of SBP commented: “We have had a lot of interest from Certification Bodies and are pleased to accept BM Trada, Bureau Veritas Latvia, Control Union, NEPCon, and NSF as applicants and look forward to working with each of them as they progress towards SBP-approved status.

“This is a significant step in establishing the SBP Framework as the most efficient way for Biomass Producers to demonstrate they are meeting European legal, regulatory and sustainability requirements, and a milestone in establishing an economically, environmentally and socially sustainable biomass supply chain that contributes to a low carbon economy”

SBP regional risk assessments extended to Estonia and Latvia

In the summer, SBP launched a pilot regional risk assessment in Lithuania to identify potential risks in the supply of sustainable woody biomass from the region. That assessment is now at an advanced stage and the SBP Board has approved the extension of the approach to Estonia and Latvia.

Conducting further regional risk assessments will inform the consideration of wider adoption of the approach.