Content:

1. ISCC Webinar – System Updates Summary Q3 2024 

2. ISCC EU 

3. ISCC PLUS 

4. EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) Add-on 

5. ISCC Carbon Footprint Certification 


The System Update is mandatory for all ISCC system users,
ISCC auditors and cooperating certification bodies.


1. ISCC Webinar – System Updates Summary Q3 2024 

Don’t forget to register! 
Date: 1 October 2024, 02:00 – 03:00 pm CEST 
 
As an additional service for our system users, ISCC auditors and other stakeholders, we established a new webinar series that is designed to provide an overview of all recent changes. Participants will have the opportunity to ask specific questions about the presented System Updates. 
  
Please note that all ISCC system users, ISCC auditors and cooperating certification bodies are still required to read the System Updates and implement new requirements promptly as some changes and updates are effective immediately or within a narrow timeframe. 


2. ISCC EU 

2.1 Positive Technical Assessment by the European Commission for ISCC EU RFNBO Certification Approach 

We are pleased to announce that our ISCC EU Renewable Fuels of Non-Biological Origin (RFNBOs) and Recycled Carbon Fuels (RCFs) certification approach has been positively assessed by the European Commission (EC). The official assessment note can be found on the EC website.  

As a next step, the EC will start the official recognition process and aims for completion by the end of this year. Once the official recognition is in place, ISCC EU RFNBOs and RCFs certification will be applicable. 

Member States may decide to accept evidence from RFNBOs and/or RCFs certification already prior to the official recognition. For example, the Danish Energy Agency has pre-recognised the ISCC EU certification approach for Renewable Fuels of Non-Biological Origin (RFNBO). More information can be found here on the ISCC website. 

The ISCC EU RFNBOs/RCFs System Documents and corresponding ISCC EU RFNBOs/RCFs Audit Procedure are now published on our website.  

Note for auditors and certification bodies:  

ISCC has already conducted two ISCC RFNBOs Training courses. Auditors who have already participated in one of these training courses are allowed to start conducting audits under the ISCC EU RFNBOs scheme.  

For future training courses, passing the ISCC Auditor test will be mandatory to qualify as an auditor under the ISCC EU RFNBOs. Please note that the successful completion of an ISCC RFNBOs Training course, including the auditor test, is a pre-condition for certifying RFNBOs and RCFs*.  

The next ISCC RFNBOs Training will be held on 20 November 2024. 

* All other relevant training requirements still apply, please see ISCC EU Document 103 “Requirements for Certification Bodies and Auditors” for further information. 


2.2 List of Material Eligible for ISCC EU Certification (“ISCC EU material list”)  

The ISCC EU material list has been updated. The newly added and revised materials are marked in bold. 


2.3. Use of Pending NUTS2 Values in Sustainability Declarations 

We would like to clarify that NUTS2 values are not a direct replacement for DDV values. They can only be used if all feedstock and allocation factors relevant for the supply chain are available to the final biofuel producer so that the conversion to the correct unit (gCO2/MJ biofuel) is possible. See also System Update from 26 August 2024.


3. ISCC PLUS 

3.1 List of Material Eligible for ISCC PLUS Certification (“ISCC PLUS material list”) 

The ISCC PLUS material list has been updated. The newly added and revised materials are marked in bold. 


3.2 Template for ISCC PLUS Sustainability Declarations (SDs) and SD Template Guidance  

The template for ISCC PLUS sustainability declarations (SDs) and the corresponding guidance document (“SD Template Guidance”) have been updated to reflect the changes from the EUDR add-on and the updated material lists.  

The new SD v3.5.4 and the guidance document can be found in the client section of the ISCC website (login required). 


3.3 Ocean-bound Plastic (OBP) Audit  

If a System User is considering OBP certification or a Certification Body is planning an OBP audit, please contact the ISCC PLUS team via the ISCC contact form

The OBP certification requirements are currently being updated in the Audit Procedure System (APS). Meanwhile, the Gap Audit Procedure for OBP and Audit Procedure for OBP sample audits are available in the client section. These procedures supplement the current APS v4.6 and must be used for audits following the new ISCC PLUS OBP Guidance Document until the next APS version is released.  


4. EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) Add-on 

ISCC has developed a certification add-on for ISCC EU and PLUS to support System Users in meeting the requirements of the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR). The EUDR add-on will be available starting in October 2024.  

Please find the fee structure for the EUDR add-on on our website. The fee will be charged per certificate using the EUDR add-on and will be billed by Certification Bodies on behalf of ISCC. 


5. ISCC Carbon Footprint Certification 

We have recently started the development of the ISCC Carbon Footprint Certification (CFC) which enables the certification of product carbon footprints for various products and value chains. 

In this context, we have now developed a new approach for the certification of silicon metal production with reduced carbon footprint due to the usage of renewable electricity and/or biogenic reducing agents. In addition, we outlined certification requirements for downstream entities handling CFC certified material (trader and processing units) to be able to cover further supply chain parts under ISCC CFC. Both new CFC approaches are now incorporated in the updated ISCC CFC system document (V1.2.) as new chapters.  

ISCC is keen to gather feedback from system users, certification bodies and interested stakeholders. The document ISCC Carbon Footprint Certification (V1.2) is open to public consultation until 8 November 2024. Interested parties can download the document and submit their feedback on the ISCC website.