And we Reveal…..(Drumroll Please).. the FIRST Global Third-party Certification System for Sustainable Biofuels

More relevantly, what exactly does this mean for biofuels? Well there are a lot of competing claims, some saying biofuels are sustainable and those who say they aren’t. But as  Barbara Bramble, of the National Wildlife Federation (an organization which played a key role in establishing this standard.) has pointed out, “It’s one thing to say your product is sustainable and another to prove it.” 

So how does the RSB prove whether these biofuels are sustainable? It’s a certification system which takes into account a whole range of criteria : from environmental, to social, to economic. It covers the major issues of concern in biofuels’ production, namely:  their contribution to climate change mitigation and rural development; their protection of land and labor rights; and their impacts on biodiversity, soil and water pollution, water availability and food security. 

We’ll leave you with one last soundbite:  “The  new system makes it easy to differentiate between biofuels that are environmentally destructive and biofuels that deliver on the promise of sustainability. All biofuels are not created equal,” says Bramble. “Bringing accountability, consistency and transparency to the global biofuels market is a giant first step toward stopping those practices that result in tropical deforestation, habitat destruction and increased pollution.”  

 We’d have to agree with that. 

Check out the Press Release for more information

 The Roundtable on Sustainable Biofuels (RSB) has released the first global third-party certification system for sustainable biofuels today.  First, let’s clarify what the RSB is. It’s basically an initiative with  more than 120 stakeholder organizations – which include farmers, refiners, retailers and NGOs – who have worked together to come to this agreement on these standards.