Deferral of the introduction of fees for Certificate Holders

On 1 April 2016 SBP published two proposed fee schedules, one for Certificate Holders and one for Certification Bodies, which were scheduled to be effective from 1 October 2016.

In September, the SBP Board decided to defer the introduction of fees for all Certificate Holders. The level of interest shown by organisations wishing to become certified is high and the Board considers that it would be more equitable to introduce fees when a greater proportion of the current applicants have successfully completed the certification process. SBP will use the period of deferral to expand its stakeholder engagement and ensure that there is a greater understanding of the SBP certification scheme throughout the biomass supply chain. It is proposed to publish a fee schedule for all Certificate Holders (that is, wood pellet and woodchip producers, and biomass traders) on 1 April 2017 to be effective from 1 October 2017.

The fee schedule applicable to Certification Bodies covers the costs associated with maintaining Certification Body approval. The applicable fee schedule published on 1 April 2016, which is available on the SBP website, will be effective from 1 October 2016.

SBP approves its first 50 certifications

A year on from celebrating the first Biomass Producer certification, the Sustainable Biomass Partnership (SBP) has today announced that 50 organisations have now been certified in accordance with the SBP certification scheme. SBP is a unique certification scheme designed for woody biomass, mostly in the form of wood pellets and wood chips, used in industrial, large-scale heat and power production.

The scheme consists of a set of standards and processes and enables producers of woody biomass to demonstrate that they source their raw material responsibly and that it complies with the regulatory, including sustainability, requirements applicable to generators burning woody biomass to produce heat and/or power.

Carsten Huljus, SBP Chief Executive Officer, commented: “SBP has made much headway since the launch of the certification scheme at the end of March 2015. The scheme is already recognised in the UK and Denmark, and SBP is working towards recognition in Belgium and The Netherlands. On top of that, reaching the milestone of 50 certificates issued – a work rate of nearly one certificate issued per week – firmly establishes SBP as an effective certification scheme for biomass users to demonstrate compliance with regulatory requirements”.

Wood pellet producers, wood chip producers and biomass traders are all amongst the 50 organisations that have been certified to date. A list of Certificate Holders may be viewed at: www.sustainablebiomasspartnership.org/approvals-and-certifications/certificate-holders.

SBP consultation on draft Instruction Documents 5A, 5B and 5C v1.1

SBP has today published the pre-approval drafts of Instruction Documents 5A, 5B and 5C v1.1 for consultation. Interested parties are invited to provide written comments on the drafts.

Following the consultation on draft Instruction Document 5A v1.1 earlier in the year, SBP has been working on revising the document to bring it in line with the developing regulatory requirements and the SBP Data Transfer System that will become mandatory for SBP Certificate Holders from 1 October 2016. To help bring clarity to the multiple functions that the DTS will perform, Instruction Document 5A has been split into three Instruction Documents – 5A, 5B and 5C – each covering a different topic. In addition, three templates have been developed to ensure consistency in data collection and communication.

The draft Instruction Documents 5A, 5B and 5C v1.1 can be viewed at: http://www.sustainablebiomasspartnership.org/documents/consultation-documents/live-consultations. Interested parties are asked to tabulate their responses into three columns headed: Section Number; Comments; and Suggested Solution, and to clearly state to which document or template the comments refer. All written comments should be sent to Melanie Wedgbury at mkwedgbury@sustainablebiomasspartnership.org by the close of business on Friday, 23 September 2016.