Dear Ladies and Gentlemen,

We herewith inform you about updates and clarifications in the ISCC System. Please share this information with all relevant members of staff.

1. Updated and New ISCC Documents

ISCC EU Material List

Table 1 “Raw material”

The following raw materials were added:

• Olives
• Tiger nuts / Chuffa
• Transesterification residues (TER)

Table 2 “Intermediate and final products”

The following products were added/amended:

• Liquid dextrose (LDX)
• Sugar cane juice
• Thick juice (Information was added: “Intermediate product from sugar beet processing”)

ISCC  PLUS Material List

Table 2 “Intermediate and final products”

The following products were added:

• Biaxially oriented polyethylene (BOPE)
• Biaxially oriented polypropylene (BOPP)
• Butandiol
• Plastic cellulose fibre composite
• Polyester
• Fertilizer
• Fibres were added to “Fabrics / Scrims”
• Liquid biogenic CO2
• Sheets
• Trichloroethane

Please note that both ISCC lists of materials can be amended. In case a material should be certified which is not listed yet, please note that ISCC must be contacted prior to the issuance of the certificate via info@iscc-system.org.

The current versions of the ISCC EU lists of materials (as of 13 April 2020) and the ISCC PLUS lists of materials (as of 13 April 2020) are available here in the client section of the ISCC website (login required) (LINK).

ISCC PLUS Self-Declaration for Post-Consumer Material

ISCC has developed a new self-declaration template for Points of Origin providing post-consumer material under ISCC PLUS. Post-consumer material is generated by households or by commercial, industrial, and institutional facilities in their role as end-users of the product which can no longer be used for its intended purpose. This includes returns of material from the distribution chain. The feedstock must be specified on the self-declaration according to the wording of the ISCC EU or PLUS material lists. For further information, please see ISCC PLUS Document, page 13.

The template is available here in the client section of the ISCC website (login required).

ISCC Template for a LUC Statement and Biodiversity Assessment

ISCC has updated the Template for a LUC Statement and Biodiversity Assessment. The name of the specific farm/plantation for which the LUC and biodiversity assessment has been carried out has now to be stated on the first page of the template. Additionally, it is now required to state the GHG emissions calculated for LUC in the table on the first page of the template.

Please note that the template must always be submitted to ISCC together with the certification documents if the question on LUC after 2008 (00.07.06) is answered with yes for an audited farm/plantation (individually certified or part of a sample). If the answer to this question is yes for more than one farm/plantation, a separate template is required for each farm/plantation.

The template is available for certification bodies here in the client section of the ISCC website (login required).

Amendment of the ISCC EU and PLUS Chain of Custody Procedure Version 4.2

Question 00.05.04 now asks again for the date of the initial operation of the processing unit. Additionally, some chapter headings have again been supplemented with the information whether the chapter is relevant for main audits or sample audits.

The amended version of the ISCC EU and PLUS Chain of Custody Procedure Version 4.2 is available here in the client section of the ISCC website.

2. Clarification on the Certification of Storage Facilities

Economic operators storing sustainable material (i.e. raw materials, intermediate products or final products) must always be covered by certification. Three different options for storage facilities (includes warehouses, silos, tanks etc.) can be applied:

First, storage facilities can become individually certified under the scope “Warehouse”. These storage facilities are audited with regard to management system, traceability and chain of custody requirements and receive a certificate upon a successful audit. Individually certified storage facilities can chose to store own sustainable material and sustainable material of any certified third party.

Second, storage facilities can become certified as part of a group under the scope “Logistics centre”. Logistics centres are economic operators that operate and manage groups of storage facilities under one legal entity at different geographical sites but with one corporate management system. Storage facilities that are part of a Logistics centre must be audited on a sample basis. The certificate is issued to the Logistics centre upon a successful audit and the annex to the certificate states all storage facilities belonging to the Logistics centre. Each storage facility can be considered as individually certified and can chose to store own sustainable material and sustainable material of any certified third party.

Third, storage facilities can be covered by the certification of a third party (e.g. first gathering points, collecting points, processing units or traders with storage). ISCC differentiates between internal and external storage facilities. Internal storage facilities are owned by the third party and are also directly located on-site at the address of the third party. External storage facilities can either be independent or owned by the third party and are located at a different address than the third party. All external, non-certified storage facilities used by third parties must be audited on a sample basis. Internal, non-certified storage facilities are checked during the on-site audit of the third party to be certified. Storage facilities covered by third party certification cannot be considered individually certified and can only store sustainable material owned by the certified third party.

Please note that the construct of “dedicated tanks”, as applied for the old ISCC EU System, cannot be applied anymore under the re-recognized ISCC EU System and the current ISCC PLUS System. Therefore, we would like to emphasize once again that all non-certified storage facilities which are located at a different address than the certified third party (external), must be taken into account for the calculation of the sample size and audited on a sample basis. Please note that the requirements regarding traceability and chain of custody apply for every storage facility. Hence, as a general rule, certified third parties and Logistics centres must always keep a separate mass balance for every external storage facility where sustainable material is stored, irrespective of whether the storage facility is considered individually certified or non-certified.

Please note, that the information and requirements provided in the ISCC System Documents (e.g. 201 “System Basics”, 203 “Traceability and 206 “Group Certification”), as well as additional System Updates must be taken into account.

3. Mandatory ISCC PLUS Training – Circular Economy and Bioeconomy

Given the rising demand and complexity of the circular economy and bioeconomy, the participation in the ISCC PLUS Training will become mandatory for ISCC PLUS auditors as of 1 July 2021. From this date onwards, audits in the circular economy and bioeconomy may only be conducted by auditors who have previously attended an ISCC PLUS Training – Circular Economy and Bioeconomy.

The next ISCC PLUS Training – Circular Economy and Bioeconomy will take place live in the form of an interactive webinar from 22 – 23 September 2020. You can register for the training here on the ISCC website. Further dates for the ISCC PLUS Training – Circular Economy and Bioeconomy will be announced soon.

4. New Nabisy Application Forms 

The Federal Office for Agriculture and Food (BLE) has published new applications and amendment application for the web application nabisy as a producer or as a trader pursuant to §§ 23 and 24 Biokraft-NachV and BioSt-NachV. The forms made available on the ISCC website now have a text field on the page header where ISCC is indicated as used certification system. Additionally, the application to cancel a proof of sustainability due to invalidity pursuant to § 20 Biokraft-NachV and BioSt-NachV was revised.

Please note that from August 2020 applications for which the old form was used will no longer be accepted. We recommend using the new application and amendment application to access nabisy as well as new application to cancel a proof of sustainability with immediate effect.

The new applications forms are available here in the client section of the ISCC website.