25 June 2025
On 3 June, the ISCC Regional Stakeholder Committee – Europe brought together a diverse group of stakeholders in Brussels to gather input for a position paper and discuss pressing topics in the biofuels industry. We are pleased to announce the publication of said paper, “Strengthening RED Certification for Waste- and Residue-Based Biofuels.” It outlines our commitment to fostering a credible and robust certification system.
Strengthening RED Certification for Waste- and Residue-Based Biofuels
ISCC Position Paper based on the Results of the ISCC Regional Stakeholder Committee Meeting – Europe in Brussels on 3 June, 2025
(1) Safeguarding Market Integrity
The Renewable Energy Directive (RED) approach to certifying biofuel supply chains, is widely regarded as a global benchmark, to which thousands of economic operators worldwide comply, with requirements as set by Voluntary Schemes (VS) recognised by the European Commission (EC).
Waste and residues play an increasingly important role in the European Union’s (EU) climate policy, particularly in the context of the European Green Deal, the RED, and broader efforts to defossilise the economy. Strong focus and incentives for the use of waste- and residue-based biofuels result in significant price premiums for such feedstocks. This, in turn, not only increases their use, but also amplifies the risk of fraud to monetise upon such incentives and premiums. Unclear and non-harmonised material definitions have created regulatory ambiguity. Sustainability Declarations (SD) and Proofs of Sustainability (PoS) could be faked, with consequences merely limited to the withdrawal of certificates by the VS. Such activities by economic operators undermine trust, damage legitimate actors, and create regulatory challenges.
The Union Database for Biofuels (UDB), linked with Member State (MS) databases such as Nabisy, represents a significant step forward in potentially strengthening the overall integrity of the entire RED system. ISCC is actively supporting its system users throughout the UDB onboarding process. Currently, 99.7% of ISCC EU system users have successfully onboarded, with non-participating economic operators subject to suspension.
However, waiting for the full implementation of the UDB is not sufficient, and ISCC has therefore implemented additional verification checks. ISCC has also agreed with the EC on an action plan for the implementation of additional measures, and further actions for continuous improvement.
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