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. ISCC Internal Compliance information is open to the public

Anti-corruption compliance policy

This document establishes controls to ensure compliance with all applicable anti-bribery and anti-corruption regulations and ensure that ISCC´s activities are conducted in a socially responsible manner.

Competition compliance policy

This document sets out ISCC System GmbH´s policy of competing fairly in compliance with competition laws. The policy is designed to provide further guidance on standards of conduct regarding anti-competitive behaviour.

Conflict of interest policy

This document establishes controls to prevent the professional and personal interests of ISCC System GmbH employees from influencing the performance of their duties on behalf of ISCC System GmbH. 

ISCC gender equity plan

This document sets out key principles, objectives and measures to promote equal opportunities for women, men and gender-diverse people.

All documents are available on the ISCC website.

2. Update FAQ About ISCC System Updates

The FAQ section on the ISCC website with clarifications on the strengthened requirements for waste and residue supply chains (communicated in ISCC System Updates on 18 and 28 April 2023) has been updated based on further feedback from stakeholders. Please have a specific look at items 2, 3, 4 and 5 which contain the updates (marked as “adjustment”).

3. Clarification on ISCC template combining UDB and ISCC requirements

Based on recent feedback received from cooperating Certification Bodies (CBs) and System Users, we would like to provide you further clarification on the templates that have been required by ISCC within the last weeks. We would like to emphasise again that the Union Database onboarding process is only relevant for ISCC EU System Users. 

On 22 May we contacted all our ISCC EU System Users with the request to complete and send back to us a template with information about the National Trade Register Identification (NTR) as well as additional data related to their certificates (e.g., secondary sites and type of materials per certification scope). On 09 June, a reminder was sent about the onboarding process and the need to complete send back this template to ISCC. 

On 30 June, ISCC has formally informed the EOs about consequences in case of non-compliance with the UDB onboarding deadline, that further lack of cooperation of system users in this regard should lead to the temporary suspension or permanent withdrawal of the certification. We have pointed out that ISCC EU as a Voluntary Scheme is obliged under Article 28(4) Directive (EU) 2018/2001 (RED II) to ensure that the system users enter accurate information in the UDB. Additionally, we have stressed out that we have to pass the obligation to enter accurate information on our system users according to Article 17(1)(c) of the Implementing Regulation (EU) 2022/996.

On 30 June, ISCC has also sent out a notification to all CBs, informing them about the UDB onboarding deadline for EOs. Additionally, it was pointed out that there is a very serious delay in the UDB onboarding process, and we will have to ask the CBs to initiate the suspension process of those system users that will not meet the deadline for completing the onboarding template. 

In order to facilitate the understanding of the requirements, ISCC provides answers to the most frequently asked questions: 

What is the aim of this template? 

The attached template is required for all certificates valid from May 29th 2023 onwards (for initial and recertification audits) under all ISCC Systems: EU, PLUS and CORSIA/CORSIA PLUS. Through this template, we aim to harmonize existing information, such as lists of sourcing contacts (e.g., restaurants and farms/plantations) and secondary sites (e.g., dependent collecting points and storage facilities). Consequently, the attached template replaces the previous requirement to send separate lists for storage facilities, dependent collecting points and farms/ plantations for all certificates valid from May 29th 2023 onwards.

With the upcoming launch of the new ISCC Registry System (ISCC HUB), we will harmonize all lists of Points of Origin and Farms/Plantations (the so-called Sourcing Contacts), and all Sourcing Contacts lists can be maintained there. 

The ISCC template provided to you has been set up in a compatible format with the Sourcing Contacts List from the ISCC HUB format, so that both our System Users and Auditors are already familiar with the new format. Once System Users have their lists of Farms/Plantations or Points of Origin in this format, it will be easier to upload this list directly into the HUB, reducing future efforts.

Who is responsible to fill in the information in the template? 

It is a responsibility of the System Users to fill in the attached template with up-to-date and accurate data. The template has to be provided to ISCC by the CB together with the audit procedures and any other relevant documents confirming the compliance of the System User with the respective requirements.

Please note that audit packages for ISCC EU which do not include this template will not be accepted unless the template is received. In case you have not yet provided the template in the audit package, please send it to ISCC. 

Please also note that ISCC PLUS and CORSIA audits will be accepted and indicated as valid on the ISCC website, but the certificates and summary audit reports will be only published on the ISCC website after the receipt of the template. 

How to fill in the information in the template?

ISCC has prepared a guide to assist you in filling in the template, which can be found in the annex of this e-mail. Please read it carefully and follow the instructions indicated. Please note that all mandatory fields are marked with an asterisk (*).

Furthermore, based on recent feedback received, ISCC amended the template to avoid entry mistakes, by adding the following features:

• Drop-down for countries

• Updated drop-down for material list

• Drop-down for legal type

• Added “Not applicable” as GHG option 

• Facilitated selection of the NTR type

We kindly ask you to use the updated version of the template, attached to this e-mail.