The Sustainable Biomass Program (SBP) has issued a formal response to the UK Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC) report Government’s support for biomass, expressing concern over the mischaracterisation of its assurance model.
As the largest certification scheme supporting the sustainable sourcing of biomass for energy, SBP welcomes scrutiny of assurance systems and strongly supports the principles of transparency, rigour, and continual improvement. However, the PAC’s suggestion that biomass generators are effectively “marking their own homework” does not reflect the realities of SBP’s governance or operations.
SBP: Not a self-certification scheme
SBP is an independent, internationally recognised certification scheme governed by a multi-stakeholder Board that includes representatives from Civil Society, Biomass Producers, and End-users. Certification is based on rigorous third-party auditing, not self-reporting or industry self-certification.
All audits are conducted by independent Certification Bodies that are formally accredited to ISO/IEC 17065, the globally recognised standard for product and service certification. These Certification Bodies are accredited by an independent Accreditation Body that is a member of the International Accreditation Forum (IAF) and operates in compliance with ISO/IEC 17011, the standard governing accreditation bodies.
SBP audits cover:
- Sustainability criteria (biodiversity, land use, and social safeguards),
- Supply chain integrity (traceability and legality), and
- Greenhouse gas emissions (full supply chain carbon accounting).
Importantly, audits are not carried out by biomass generators, and all audits are conducted according to the rules transparently set by SBP. Suggesting otherwise risks undermining public trust in independent certification and the broader ecosystem of credible sustainability assurance schemes.
Alignment with UK requirements
Ofgem has benchmarked SBP against the UK’s sustainability criteria and found the scheme to be aligned. SBP welcomes the PAC’s recommendation for DESNZ to conduct a comprehensive review of assurance regimes and stands ready to support this process by providing full transparency into its standards, audit procedures, and enforcement mechanisms.
A call for accurate representation
SBP urges all parties, including public institutions and the media, to ensure accuracy in how sustainability certification schemes are described. Mischaracterisations not only damage the reputation of responsible schemes like SBP, but risk eroding trust in the wider framework of sustainable sourcing.
SBP remains committed to maintaining the highest levels of assurance integrity and welcomes ongoing dialogue with policymakers, regulators, civil society, and industry stakeholders to strengthen and evolve sustainability certification in the biomass sector.
