Today, the Sustainable Biomass Program (SBP) has launched public consultations on the revised Regional Risk Assessments (RRAs) for British Columbia and Quebec, and the newly developed RRAs for Alberta, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Denmark – Trees Outside Forests, and US – Primary Sourcing Regions.
As a result of the Standards Development Process launched in May 2020, both SBP Standards 1 and 2 were revised, thus triggering the review of all existing SBP-endorsed RRAs and initiating the development of new RRAs. Hopkin Forest Management Consulting (AL, BC, NB, NS), Incos Strategies (QC), B4Trees (Denmark – TOF) and New March Strategies (US – Primary Sourcing Regions) were appointed as the Working Bodies responsible for drafting revised and new RRAs. Those draft RRAs have now been submitted to SBP.
SBP is inviting all stakeholders to participate in the public consultations on the draft RRAs. All comments received from the public consultations, alongside comments from local experts mandated by SBP, will be reviewed by the Secretariat and may lead to changes to the draft RRAs. Updated versions will then be published by SBP (expected Q1 2025) for Biomass Producers to use for certification purposes. At the same time, those versions will be shared with SBP Technical Committee for final review and recommendations for endorsement.
Stakeholders may access the documents via the links below, and are requested to submit comments through the individual feedback platforms set up for the respective RRAs. (Note that feedback platforms might differ between RRAs.) All consultations close on Friday, 6 December 2024.
| Regional Risk Assessment | Feedback Platform |
| Canadian province of Alberta | Link |
| Canadian province of British Columbia | Link |
| Canadian province of New Brunswick | Link |
| Canadian province of Nova Scotia | Link |
| Canadian province of Quebec | Link |
| Denmark – Trees Outside Forests | Link |
| US – Primary Sourcing Regions | Link |
If you have any questions regarding the public consultations or the RRA development procedure, please do not hesitate to contact us at RRA@sbp-cert.org.
RRAs are a key part of SBP’s focus on identifying and managing risks associated with sustainably sourcing feedstock for biomass production. With an RRA covering an entire geographic region, and determining the risks associated with sourcing feedstock from that region, the need for individual Biomass Producers to conduct risk assessments is avoided, leading to an efficient and consistent risk assessment process. RRAs also ensure active engagement with a diverse range of stakeholders in the region.
