The Roundtable on Sustainable Biofuels
Ensuring that biofuels deliver on their promise of sustainability
Roundtable on Sustainable Biofuels
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The Roundtable on Sustainable Biofuels
We are an international multi-stakeholder initiative developing principles and
criteria for sustainable biofuels production that will be:
• Simple, accessible and
implemented worldwide
• Generic to all crops
• Adaptable to new information
• Efficient and cheap to measure
• In line with WTO rules
(use ISEAL code)
• 4 Working Groups – GHG, Social, Environment and Implementation
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Version Zero - RSB Standard
Direct
National Law (especially land, labor, water rights)

Community Consultation (especially to determine land rights,
social & environmental impact, idle land, resolve grievances)

Social – biofuels should benefit rural communities and workers

should not contribute to food insecurity
Indirect


GHG - significantly better over lifecycle than fossil fuel


Environmental – conserve and protect soil, water, air

conserve and protect high conservation values

Technology – (esp. biotech) should be used responsibly and
transparently, contribute to income or sustainability

Economic Efficiency
improvement

- economically viable, continuous
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Roundtable on Sustainable Biofuels - Draft Scorecard Concept
Overall Energy and
Greenhouse Gas
Efficiency
Total score for product lifecycle (well-to-wheel)
Consider
able
reduction
of
ecolog./
social
footprint
Small or
no
reduction
on
ecolog./
social
footprint
No or
negative
impact on
ecolog./
social
footprint
Low GHG emissions,
maximize carbon
sequestration (e.g. low-till)
10-90% GHG emissions
as compared to fossil fuel
High N2O emissions from
fertilizers, conversion of
high carbon-stock land
Conservation of Natural Resources
biodiversity
Biodiversity
corridors
Buffer zones
Social Concerns
soil health
air quality
water use
Food
security
Working
conditions
Restore
degraded
land
No sig.
impact on air
quality on
farm or at
processing
facility
No sig.
impact on
local water
quality or
quantity
Use of
degraded or
idle land
Bestpractice
wages and
working
conditions
Moderate
impact on air
quality
Moderate
impact on
local water
quality,
quality
Erosion
protection
Deforestatn.,
habitat
encroachmt.
Roundtable on Sustainable Biofuels
Water
pollution,
significant
reduction in
water
availability
Energy
Hazardous
or illegal
working
conditions
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Categories
1.
2.
3.
4.
Human
5.
Rural
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12. Land rights
Legality
Consultation
Climate
change
&
labor
rights
&
social
development
Food
security
PRINCIPLE
Conservation
Biofuel production shallSoil
optimize
surface and groundwater
resource use,
Water
including minimizing contamination
or
Air
depletion of these
resources, and shall
Technologies
not violate existing formal and
customary water rights.
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Water Criteria
9.a The ESIA outlined in 2a shall identify existing water rights, both formal and
customary, as potential impacts of the project on water availability within the
watershed where the project occurs.

Guidance: Downstream water users or ground water users in the area must be identified.
No modification of the existing rights can happen without the consent of the parties at stake.
9.b Biofuel production shall include a water management plan appropriate to the
scale and intensity of production.

Guidance: Water sources located on the production area must be inventoried and mapped.
Annual amounts of water withdrawn for biofuel production must be recorded.
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Water Criteria
9.c Biofuel production shall not deplete surface or groundwater resources.

Guidance: The use of water for biofuel production must not be at the expense of the daily
basic water needs of local communities. The use and share of water resources for biofuel
production must be defined in agreement with local community and water user committees
shall be consulted where appropriate. Water used for irrigation or biomass processing must
not be withdrawn beyond replenishment capacity of the water table or tank. Water-intensive
biofuel crops and biofuel production systems must not be established in water-stressed areas.
The most efficient use of water must be sought through the use of crops that fit the local
conditions.

9.d The quality of surface and groundwater resources shall be maintained at or
enhanced to their optimal level under local conditions.

Guidance: The optimal level of quality is to be defined through the consultation of local
experts, communities and producers, taking into account local climatic, geologic and ecologic
conditions. Adequate precautions must be taken to avoid run-off and contamination of surface
and ground water resources, in particular from chemicals. Buffer Zones must be set between
production site and surface or ground water resources. Waste water must be adequately
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managed.
Roundtable on Sustainable Biofuels
It’s not too late for your comments too!
See www.bioenergywiki.net
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Contact
Secretariat:
rsb@epfl.ch
http://EnergyCenter.epfl.ch/Biofuels
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