Frequently Asked Questions
Audit and Verification
- What do I have to keep in mind for my audit?
- How long do I have to store my records?
- Can I add a warehouse, input material or product to my certification during the certification period?
- Do I need ISCC-certified material before the certification can start?
- Adding new farmers and materials during the certification period
- Adding additional scopes to an existing certificate
- Adding additional material to an existing certificate
- Adding storage facilities to existing certified entities
- What is a surveillance audit and when must a surveillance audit be conducted?
Biodiesel and EU Imports from China
Certification Processes and Requirements
- Which certification is right for me?
- How many certificates do I need?
- Can I get certified under several ISCC systems?
- How can I get ISCC certified?
- Which certification bodies does ISCC cooperate with and do they have auditors in all countries?
- How can I change Certification Bodies?
- How can I change my registration details?
- How long is an ISCC certificate valid?
- How much do I have to pay for an ISCC Certificate?
- How long does it take to receive a certificate?
- How do I become a recognized certification body for ISCC?
- What does ISCC Compliance mean?
- Which materials can be certified under ISCC?
- I would like to certify a material, that is currently not included in the ISCC materials lists. How do I proceed?
- Initial Certification: Handling of sustainable material
- My certificate hasn’t been published on the ISCC website yet, when can I begin selling material?
- Do you recommend certain CBs for specific scopes?
Chain of Custody, Traceability and Mass Balance
- Where do I find information on the requirements related to mass balance?
- What kind of information needs to be forwarded on ISCC PLUS sustainability declarations?
- Can certified and non-certified materials (e.g. if technically equivalent) be stored together in one silo or do they need to be kept separately?
- The maximum of one mass balance period is three months. Does this mean that system users have to sell all certified material within this timeframe?
- Is it allowed to state percentages on sustainability declarations?
- Is it possible to combine several raw material categories on one sustainability declaration?
- Is it possible to sell material prior to receiving the physical material and to receive/acquire/purchase the credits later on?
- How can returns due to e.g. damaged or insufficient quality be handled?
- Does ISCC provide a mass balance template?
- Does the supplier need to provide an LCA analysis and do ISCC PLUS certified companies have to calculate GHG emissions?
- Which chain of custody options are possible under ISCC?
Co-digested Biomass Fuels
- What is the correct method for actual calculations of GHG emissions from co-digested biomass fuels? (29.01.2024)
- Since when is the application of the GHG methodology according to Annex VI, RED II applicable? (29.01.2024)
- Is a calculation of a GHG value per feedstock, as was done in the REDI, still possible? (29.01.2024)
- Can the Annex V method be used, if the biomethane is liquified or converted to methanol and used in the transport sector? (29.01.2024)
- What is the timeframe for the GHG calculation of co-digested biomass fuels?
- How is the Sn factor calculated?
- Is a combination of default values and actual values still possible? (29.01.2024)
- Is it possible to co-digest certified and non-certified feedstocks? (29.01.2024)
- Is it possible to issue multiple PoS for a batch of biogas/biomethane? (29.01.2024)
- How can the PoS data for biomass fuels be entered into national databases such as Nabisy? (29.01.2024)
- Can the information on a PoS be modified after it has been issued by the final biomass fuel producer? (29.01.2024)
- Are traders of biomethane allowed to change the sustainability characteristics (e.g. GHG value) of a batch of biomethane on the PoS? (29.01.2024)
- Is it mandatory to add emissions for compression on a PoS when the final use of the fuel is not known? (29.01.2024)
- Is it necessary to prove capacity bookings when biomethane is transported via the gas grid? (29.01.2024)
- Is it allowed to trade a PoS for biogas/ biomethane without the respective quantity of sustainable material?(29.01.2024)
- Are Guarantees of Origin documents for biogas/ biomethane (GOs) accepted under ISCC EU to document compliance with the ISCC requirements for biogas/ biomethane? (29.01.2024)
General
- What is ISCC?
- What are the benefits of a membership in the ISCC Association and how does my organization or myself become a member?
- Who gets access to the ISCC client section?
- Where do I find the ISCC documents?
GHG Calculations
- Where can up-to-date emissions factors be found?
- Can NUTS2 values be used for GHG accounting on cultivation level?
- At cultivation level, how should organic fertilizer be accounted for?
- How can different forms of electricity be included in GHG calculations?
- Which impact has a material classification as a waste/residue versus a co-product? Why is it important?
- If excess electricity / heat is produced, how can this be integrated into the GHG calculation?
- Is there a GHG Calculator accepted by ISCC?
- When should default or actual values be used?
- When using multiple substrates, how should they be accounted for in biomass fuel production? Can DDV be used for some and not for others?
- When dealing with multiple batches of the same material with different sustainability characteristics, how should these batches be accounted for?
- Does the calculation period always have to be on a 12-months basis? For example if a plant has scheduled turnaround periods or unscheduled production-stops (force majeure), can certain months only be considered for the calculation?
- If one entity in the supply chain uses the disaggregated default value DDV for a component of the GHG formula, are all other entities in the supply chain also limited to DDV for that element (i.e etd)?
- How should transport emissions be calculated if transportation distance downstream of the final processing unit is not known?
- Is it mandatory to pass on GHG values under ISCC PLUS?
Logos and Claims
- Does a company need to be ISCC certified to sell ISCC certified products with an on-product logo?
- Do you have an on-product logo for materials that are linked to both, PCR and bio-attributed ISCC compliant material?
- Is it mandatory to use the ISCC logo or to have an ISCC claim on-pack?
- Does a brand owner need to be certified?
- Is it mandatory to receive approval for the use of the ISCC off-product logo?
Nabisy
- How do I register for Nabisy?
- How do I change the contact data for my Nabisy account?
- What is the status of my Nabisy application and/or my login data?
- How can I contact ISCC regarding Nabisy?
- What is the Nabisy Interface-ID?
- Which parties are involved in Nabisy?
- Which documents must be sent to ISCC?
- How long does it take to process the application?
Scheme Specific Questions
- What is the difference between ISCC CORSIA and ISCC CORSIA PLUS?
- Where can I get more information about the ISCC PLUS certification system?
Trainings and Events
- Which e-mail address do I have to indicate in the registration form?
- In which currency are the invoices issued?
- Will ISCC register on our invoicing platform?
- Whom should I contact if I have more specific questions regarding the payment?
- Does ISCC have a cancellation policy?
- Which platform does ISCC use for online trainings?
- When do I receive the meeting link & training material?
- Do I receive the solutions of the group works?
- How long is my auditor qualification valid?
- Is the Auditor Online Test on the ISCC Academy Platform mandatory?
- How can I access the Auditor Online Test on the ISCC Academy Platform?
- How much time do I have to complete the Auditor Online Test on the ISCC Academy Platform?
- Does the ISCC Online Test for Auditors involve extra costs?
- How do I receive the official attestation for auditors?
- In which time zone ISCC training are being held?
Union Database (UDB)
- What is the UDB?
- Do I have to use the UDB?
- What kind of information must be registered in the UDB?
- Do I have to register myself in the UDB?
- My company is certified under more than one Voluntary Scheme. Do I have to register in the UDB more than once?
- Who is receiving the invitation for lead user in the UDB?
- I am the lead user for more than one company. Do I need a different account for each company?
- How can I connect our internal IT system to the UDB?
- Are there any handbook or training materials for using the UDB?
- In which language can the UDB be used?
- When will the onboarding of Certification Bodies take place?
- How will the UDB be linked to other national databases (e.g., Nabisy, Carbide, etc.)?
- What is the NTR ID and why is it needed?
- Where can I find more information on the UDB?
- How do you set up 2-factor authentication / mobile device?
- How to change company status to “Active”?
- What is the flow / procedure for adding new storage facility during validity of a certificate?
- Will airlines have to register as non-certified EO to meet Refuel EU requirements from 2025? Or is a separate system/module anticipated?
- Can we still use our head office location for back-to-back trades (where we don’t store the material)?
- Can I record in bulk via month-end on UDB? Eg: collected 1 tonne in day 1, 1 tonne in day 10 of the same month.Can I record in bulk via month-end on UDB?
- Can initial stocks be uploaded by Excel sheet?
- Why is it mandatory to enter a company reference number?
- Currently we are not able to report Internal transfer via eDelivery service. Could you provide an estimate on when this will be resolved?
- When using e-Delivery for transactions, will an economic operator be able to transact with other voluntary scheme operators? For example, ISCC to RedCert sale.
- How will communication from the UDB support team to Economic Operators using eDelivery be ensured when new update features are uploaded?
- How can we receive a buyer transaction for biogas sourced from UK via the grid? We have understood that those volumes will not be included in the UDB.
- When will there be any guidelines for the gaseous value chain on how to use UDB?
- Will it be possible to use NUTS2 codes for Romanian sustainable raw materials into UDB or only DDV is available in the UDB?
- When mode of transport and transport distance are filled within the transaction sheet, does UDB automatically calculate the Transport emissions (Etd)?
- PoO and farms can be certified themselves and directly deliver into conversion, without the need of FGP and CP in between. I heard that this feature will be added. When will it be ready?
- Are all EO who will perform an initial stock registration required to perform it as of the 1st Jan 2024, or can EO choose a different date?
- The amount of initial stock registration will be verified and confirmed by auditor in the subsequent audits carried out by CB. What if auditor finds incorrect amount?
- Can you provide a clearer definition of the stock that we are registering? Is it a truckload, shipment, or the current inventory at that location?
- What is the location for the initial stock?
- For initial stock registration, the Mass Balance duration allows selection of 1/2/3/12 months. I thought/understood that a 3-month MB period is now mandatory for traders with storage.
- If the blue PoS received can only be registered in UDB at the start of next MB period, how can we supply the PoS within 30 calendar days, as required?
- Will UDB replace the mass balance document?
- How is it possible to record sales transactions in UDB with a negative mass balance within the mass balance period (which is allowed by RED II)?
- What in case there is sustainable and non sustainable stock should both be registered or only sustainable stock?
- How will mass balance adjustments be recorded?
- Can we convert the raw material into final product with the audited annual conversion factor or do we have to use the one for each batch/day/week/month?
- How can we do the material processing if we produce one batch with different suppliers?
- Is there a way to process multiple product at the same time with a excel file by example?
- Annex 9a (d) included different materials dependent on member state. How to deal with in UDB?
- If holding Nabisy POS in a mass balance, will mapping of Nabisy POS codes to UDB material codes be provided? Will Annex IX status align with member state lists?
- How will the link between UDB and Nabisy be done at the transaction level? Did you take into account the possible difference of granularity?
- Some buyers may require PoS via Nabisy. Will the seller both register the transaction in UDB or issue PoS via Nabisy?
- Not all the National Schemes are registered yet, eg., Sweden. How do we make sure that these tonnages are compliant and entered into the UDB?
- After UDB is fully established after 21st November, do we still need to issue PoS via Nabisy? Or we need to double handling, enter both system?
- Once the UDB is fully operational, will it still be necessary to issue SDs and PoS outside the UDB, or will it be enough to only issue SDs and POSs within the UDB?
- Will a POS be sent directly to the buyer’s UDB account, or will the buyer be able to collect the PoS from the seller’s account?
- Can an Auditor see all the sourcing contacts of every user in UDB or only those who he is auditing?
- Who is responsible for uploading and managing sourcing contacts in the UDB?
- Do we have to renew the default NTR number for sourcing contacts every 3 months?
- Is entering new farmers is valid only for 3 months? FGP may change farmers each year, so the possibility to add new supplying farms should be available all the time.
- Do we have to create a sourcing contact each time that we have a delivery from a farmer? What is the deadline to do so?
- Please explain the 72 hours rule for transactions?
- Can we see summed up quantities in UDB. For example how much rapessed oil we have at the moment registred on our stocks?
- Is there an easy way on how to do inter-companys or do they need to be done like normal sell / purchase?
- Is it necessary to make a record for each delivery or can it be aggregated over a period?
- Do I have to check the delivery and the data in the UDB within 72 hours after the supplier has made the entry? And accept or reject the delivery?
- How can fuel suppliers remove biofuel from their stocks when this fuel has been used against, for example, SAF mandate?
- Why does only the buyer have the ability to determine the destination? Sometimes, the seller handles delivery, and the buyer may not be registered on UDB.
- All the examples have been registered in a future date (8/04/2024). Can we register a transaction made in the past?
- As Trader, when materials are stored in an independent ISCC certified warehouse, how can we register transactions indicating location of materials as ISCC certified warehouse?
- How could we handle it when ISCC stock was sold to non-ISCC contract/buyer?
- Can you save a transaction as a draft?
- If the lead user’s access to UDB is removed due to inactivity, what should the lead user / EO do in this case and whom should be contacted, ISCC or UDB?
- An EO handles several sites with individual certification and lead users. Can the EO have multiple accounts in UDB instead of only 1 account and 1 lead user?
- Can a company have several users registered to work on the UDB?
- While logging into my UDB account, I can see FORBIDDEN error. What should I do?
Updated ISCC EU documents V.4.1 (valid 1 Jan 24)
- What is the reason for the recent update of the ISCC EU system documents?
- When are the new ISCC EU System Documents applicable? Is there a transition period?
- Where can I find the updated ISCC EU System Documents?
- Where can I find a summary of changes of the updated ISCC EU System Documents?
- What are the ISCC EU gap audit procedures? How do I use them?
- When do I need to include the new information added to the Sustainability Declarations/Proofs of Sustainability?
- If an emission factor (EF) is no longer included in the Annex I of the updated ISCC EU System Document 205 “Greenhouse Gas Emissions” (version 4.1), can I use the value from the previous System Document 205 (version 4.0)?
- Can an alternative emission factors be used even if there is a suitable emission factor in the Implementing Regulation (EU) 2022/996 ?
- How do I fill in the updated Sustainability Declaration section on the waste or animal by-product number?
- How do I fill in the updated Sustainability Declaration section on the support schemes received?