Bridges Trade BioRes • Volume 12 • Number 4 • 22nd February 2012

Biofuels Certifier Endorses Second-generation Bioethanol

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The first ever company has been awarded a commercial certification by the Roundtable on Sustainable Biofuels (RSB), a Lausanne-based multi-stakeholder initiative. The Australian firm, the Manildra Group through its subsidiary Shoalhaven Starches Pty Ltd, has developed a means of producing bioethanol from starchy wastewater generated by their wheat-processing facility.

The RSB’s Global Sustainability Standard and Certification for the production of biofuels audit was carried out by NCS International, one of three RSB-accredited certification agencies. The agency underscored the importance of the occasion.

“This is a significant achievement by Shoalhaven Starches to become the first company in the world to gain certification against the RSB requirements,” said Greg Jewson, CEO of NCS International.

According to RSB standards, Manildra’s certification offers, “tangible evidence that sustainable biofuels may be efficiently and economically produced at a large scale while adhering to ambitious social and environmental standards.” The refinement of a pre-existing by-product of industrial processes into a viable biofuel minimises many of the criticisms of the first generation of biofuels whose life-cycle GHG emissions and competition for crop supplies have come under increasing scrutiny (see Bridges Trade BioRes, 8 November 2010).

In a press release, Heather Brodie congratulated Manildra on behalf of the Australian Biofuels industry.

“It is very exciting that an Australian company is the first in the world to achieve this benchmark and it will provide impetus for other companies to do the same,” she said.

Following Manildra’s certification, Peter Ryus CEO of RSB Services Foundation underscored that the certification is only the beginning of a longer process.

“Several other operations around the world are currently in the audit process and are expected to follow Manildra in paving the way towards biofuels that deliver on their sustainability promises,” he said.

These other biofuels currently under audit include companies from Europe, Central America and South America looking to be certified for the production of a variety of different biofuels.

2011 marked the first year for which the RSB Certification System was open for companies to apply for certification. The system, which is relatively new, was only agreed on 5 November 2010 after four years of meetings and consultations. RSB has been in the process of developing a two-tiered system for its standards, the global standard and a consolidated RSB EU RED standard. This consolidated standard meets the additional requirements of the EU’s Renewable Energy Directive (RED) for biofuels entering the EU market. The RBS EU RED standard received official recognition by the European Commission on 19 July 2011.

The RSB Certification System, as a multi-stakeholder initiative, includes over 120 organisations including farmers, fuel refiners, regulators, and NGOs. It is intended to ensure the sustainability of biofuels production practices while streamlining compliance for industry. It allows biofuel producers to demonstrate that their operations comply with ambitious yet practical safeguards, while being able to prove the sustainability of their production methods on a number of issues. Examples include, the protection of natural or rare ecosystems, food security, and the respect of human rights to land, water and decent work conditions, and the management of water resources.

ICTSD Reporting.