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. Improved Communication and Information-Exchange Between Voluntary Schemes in Case of Certification-Related Issues
In response to the discussions about the European biodiesel market being flooded with vast quantities of Chinese biodiesel with partially doubtful declarations of origin and feedstock, the voluntary schemes ISCC, 2BSvs, KZR Inig, RSB and REDcert have agreed to improve their already established communication channels for exchanging certification-related information.
As all schemes already provide a publicly available and up-to-date list of certificates indicating the status and scope of an economic operator’s certification – including the certification history under the particular scheme – there will be now a systematic and immediate exchange of suspended and withdrawn certificates between those schemes. The sharing of this information will contribute to the common goal of preventing economic operators from ‘scheme hopping’ as a result of suspended or withdrawn certificates. The exchange of such information allows all voluntary scheme to cross-check new applicants’ background, and in particular, their certification history and any related incidents before they are accepted/contracted under a scheme.
The voluntary schemes have also agreed to establish a regular platform for collaboration, where system updates and continuous improvement processes can be discussed and harmonised in a mutual and proactive way.
2. Public Consultation for ISCC Principles 2-6: Forest Biomass
In March this year, we have published the ISCC System Document 202-4 Forest Biomass: Principles 2-6, the relevant audit procedures and self-declaration. These Principles can be already used under ISCC PLUS to demonstrate sustainable forest management.
For the next 60 days, we are eager to hear your feedback on the ISCC Sustainability Principles 2-6 for forest biomass. The ISCC System Document 202-4 is now available for public consultation on the ISCC website until the 17th of September. We highly appreciate your feedback!
3. ISCC Documents
3.1. ISCC EU, PLUS and CORSIA Material List
The ISCC EU, PLUS and CORSIA Material Lists have been updated. Newly added as well as edited materials are marked in bold letters.
Please find the updated Material Lists in the documents section of the ISCC website.
3.2. Appearance Update of Self-declarations
The self-declarations, that can be found in the ISCC client section underwent a visual and format update. With this update, we have introduced the new corporate logo version announced in the System Update of 5 May. Please note that all the arrangements and content of the forms remain the same; only the appearance is different. Therefore, the version number of the documents stayed the same. The update aligns all the self-declarations visually and aligns all the different self-declarations layouts.
3.3. Updated ISCC EU Certificate Template
The ISCC EU Certificate Template has been updated according to the Strengthened Requirements for Waste and Residue Supply Chains announced in the ISCC System Update of 28 April 2023.
With the updated certificate template, the Certification Body has to indicate in the material annex(es) of all certificates which scope(s) handle which sustainable material. This requirement is only applicable if more than one scope is covered by the certificate: in this case, the Certification Body has to add this information for every certified scope. Please note this requirement does not apply to the following scopes: Trader, Trader with storage, Warehouse, Logistic Center, MTBE and ETBE plant. The explanation is also included in the asterisk note of annex I.
The updated ISCC EU certificate template is available for Certification Bodies in the client section of the ISCC website (login required) and is mandatory as of 1st August 2023. You can also find the updated certificate template guidance document next to it.
3.4. Updated ISCC PLUS Certificate Template
The ISCC PLUS Certificate Template has been updated. Annex III is added and is to be used for Final Product Refinement (FPR) group certifications to add the members of this group certification.
The updated ISCC PLUS certificate template is available for Certification Bodies in the client section of the ISCC website (login required) and is valid and mandatory as of 1st September 2023. You can also find the updated certificate template guidance document next to it.
3.5. ISCC Documents for the FSS Add-on
Further documents for the ISCC Food Security Standard (FSS) Add-on have been added to the client section. The ISCC FSS checklist for audit preparation can be found here and the ISCC EU and PLUS self-declaration for the FSS Add-On here in the ISCC client section. The template for the Annex of the FSS Add-on audit results can be found here and the audit procedure for the FSS Add-on here in the certification body section of the ISCC client section.
3.6. Assessment Protocol for New Certification Bodies
ISCC welcomes the application of new certification bodies interested in conducting ISCC certification audits. To streamline the application process, ISCC has developed an assessment protocol template that each new certification body looking to cooperate with ISCC is required to fill out and submit to ISCC. In the assessment protocol, the certification body will need to specify how it meets the different provision laid out in the ISCC EU System Document 103 “Requirements for Certification Bodies and Auditors”.
ISCC will use the information provided in the assessment protocol to assess the certification body’s application and, if successful, will follow up with next steps on setting up the cooperation agreement.
More information on the requirements for certification bodies looking to cooperate with ISCC, including the newly set-up assessment protocol can be found here.