The Sustainable Biomass Partnership (SBP) has today announced the appointment of Carsten Huljus as its new, full time Chief Executive Officer.

Mr Huljus, currently Managing Director of GFA Certification, will take up the appointment on 1 May 2016. He brings with him a wealth of experience and detailed understanding of forest management and chain of custody certification schemes.

Following the launch of the SBP Framework in March 2015 the remainder of last year focused on the Framework’s implementation. The appointment of SBP’s first, full time CEO marks the transition of SBP into a fully operational entity. Joining SBP at this important time in its development, Mr Huljus will be responsible for the leadership and management of SBP, including engagement with its many stakeholders, such as biomass supply chain actors, policy makers and environmental NGOs.

The current Executive Director, Peter Wilson, will take up the new post of Standards Director with continued technical input from Simon Armstrong & Associates.

Thomas Dalsgaard, Executive Vice President of DONG Energy and SBP Board Member, who led the search and selection process on behalf of the SBP Board, commented: “I am delighted that Carsten has accepted the role of CEO. SBP has a critical role to play in ensuring the legality and sustainability of woody biomass used in large scale energy production and I believe Carsten is the right person to drive this agenda forward”.

Welcoming Mr Huljus to the role, Dorothy Thompson, Group Chief Executive of Drax and Chairman of SBP, said: “I am very pleased to welcome Carsten as CEO of SBP. My fellow Board members and I look forward to working with him at this exciting time in the development of the organisation”.

Also commenting on the appointment, Julia Marton-Lefèvre, Chair of the Advisory Board to SBP said: “The appointment of Carsten will strengthen the work of the Advisory Board in its delivery of knowledge-based advice to SBP as the Advisory Board prepares for its second meeting, which is to be held in April 2016.”

Carsten Huljus commented: “I am very much looking forward to my role as the new CEO of SBP. The organisation has achieved so much in a very short period of time and I am pleased to be in a position to influence its further development over the coming years. All stakeholders need the assurance that the bioenergy sector is acting responsibly and to that end my aim is to ensure that SBP and its Framework are both robust and credible”.