8 April 2025

In light of the recent public speculation regarding ISCC EU certifications for waste-based biofuels, ISCC would like to provide clear and factual information following a constructive in-person meeting with the European Commission (EC) on 4 April 2025 in Brussels.

Background

Misrepresented information from a meeting of the EU Committee on Sustainability of Biofuels, Bioliquids, and Biomass Fuels, held on 26 March 2025, has been made public. The meeting’s discussions are confidential, according to its Terms of Reference.

Confirmed current factual situation

In the meeting with the EC on 4 April 2025, the following points were confirmed:

1. The EU Committee met on 26 March to discuss broader issues concerning the certification and promotion of biofuels. The discussion was triggered by a Member State requesting the EC to examine an alleged fraud case related to biodiesel imports from China. ISCC was mentioned in the context of voluntary certification schemes, yet the main focus remained on strengthening the overall certification framework – not on ISCC EU specifically.
2. Contrary to claims made by an individual on social media, no vote took place, and no decisions were made during the EU Committee’s meeting. This misinformation was shared by this individual who did not participate to the EU Committee meeting.
3. Since 2024, ISCC has worked closely with the EC on an action plan of further measures to strengthen certification. These measures go beyond requirements from the EC recognition and were positively acknowledged during our meeting on 4 April 2025. Our collaboration with the EC remains constructive, with both parties committed to restoring market confidence.
4. The Union Database (UDB) will be a further significant step to prevent noncompliances in the value chain. ISCC EU heavily supports the UDB development and has onboarded over 90% of its system users.
5. The EC is working on an amendment of the Implementing Regulation 2022/996 to strengthen the overall sustainability system further, and ISCC will provide feedback from practical operations and ideas of what could be done.

Next steps

Looking ahead, EC and ISCC will continue their close collaboration to assess the impact of the measures introduced by ISCC and explore additional possibilities to strengthen the sustainability certification framework and legal scrutiny further.

It should be noted that recent discussions are only related to ISCC EU for waste-based biofuels.

ISCC remains committed to further intensifying cooperation and supporting authorities in their efforts to uphold integrity and compliance. Whenever ISCC receives credible information about potential wrongdoing, the ISCC Integrity Programme triggers a thorough investigation. This programme is managed by an in-house team of experts and is designed to strengthen our system continuously. It applies lessons learned from internal monitoring, market intelligence, whistleblower reports and integrity assessments.

Closing remark

ISCC encourages all stakeholders to rely on verified, fact-based information only and avoid engaging in speculation. ISCC remains steadfast in cooperating with the European Commission, Member States, authorities and industry partners to ensure the integrity of the biofuels sector.

ISCC is confident that it will continue to provide the highest-level certification scheme, and at the same time is committed to implement whatever it takes to further strengthen the scheme in particular in high-risk value chains with special policy incentives.