Sustainability criteria for biomass fuels

is the entity responsible for achieving the renewable energy target in accordance with national legislation. Such a company may count a specific batch of fuel towards its country’s target or sell the fuel abroad. Therefore, it is required to maintain separate accounting and records for batches allocated to the national renewable energy target (RES) and those sold abroad.

In short, the scope of the final supplier relates to economic operators implementing National Indicative Target (NIT) (biofuel path) and RES targets (solid biomass fuel path).

Biomass suppliers to power plants or combined heat and power plants do not meet the above definition. Therefore, biomass fuel suppliers to these facilities can be certified for “solid fuel producer (from biomass),” trade, first gathering point, or point of origin.

The scheme documents are available on the KZR INiG Scheme website
link https://kzr.inig.eu/en/documents/. Given that the KZR INiG Scheme covers a wide range of certifications (biofuels, bioliquids, biomass fuels), the documents contain requirements for all scopes. Economic operators involved in the solid biomass fuel supply chain are required to implement both the general requirements applicable to all companies and the specific requirements for their own scope.

Based on your own operations and the scheme’s requirements, you need to determine the certification path (biomass fuels) and the scope of certification along with the obligations associated with that scope. This involves conducting an inventory to identify the raw materials to be certified and determining your company’s position within the supply chain.

Examples:

“Point of origin” is the location where biomass is first produced. It does not require an individual certificate but is subject to audit during the audit of the first gathering point.

“First Gathering Point” (FGP) refers to the economic operator sourcing biomass directly from its ponit of origin. It doesn’t matter what type of primary activity the purchasing entity engages in; if a power plant purchases biomass directly from the ponit of origin, it becomes the first gathering point. The KZR INiG Scheme provides detailed guidelines for conducting such audits and defines the obligations of the first gathering point (Dokument System KZR INiG/1 and Scheme Documents/9 and  /10

“Trading” is the certification scope relevant for companies that purchase certified biomass and sell it unchanged to the next entity.

“Energy Producer” refers to the final entity in the supply chain.

GHG Emissions. The greenhouse gas reduction criterion applies to new installations, specifically those that began burning biomass after January 1, 2021. In other cases, this criterion does not apply. Therefore, if a company declares “not applicable,” this is not contested during the audit. The auditor is not tasked with verifying whether the recipient must meet this criterion as well. If a company provides GHG emissions values, it can report actual or default values, depending on the type of biomass. For actual values, they are reported on certificates issued for each batch of goods. The abbreviation DDV stands for “disaggregated default value.” When default values are used, including numerical values on the certificate is prohibited and is considered non-compliance. If a company did not declare GHG emission reporting during the audit (whether standard or actual values) but later wants to include them, it must notify its certification body and undergo an audit in this area. After passing the audit, the certificate can be updated, and only then can the company report GHG emissions on certificates for individual batches of materials. GHG emission requirements are often part of contracts between parties, and KZR INiG’s experience shows that these practices are common. The recipient may define specific conditions (e.g., maximum emissions or the type of values: standard or actual) and require such provisions from their suppliers.

Based on the nature of the supplier and the operations conducted by the company, the certification scope and all raw materials should be defined in the context of their compliance with sustainability criteria.

It’s important to note that the first gathering point, traders, biomass fuel producers, and electricity/heat producers have specific obligations that are verified during the audit. Depending on their operations, each company may have one or more certification scopes.

The implementation of the KZR INiG Scheme requirements within a company’s operations is described in its own procedures, prepared for KZR INiG certification purposes.

Registration in the KZR INiG Scheme is a prerequisite for undergoing an audit. This involves signing an agreement with the Scheme Administrator – the Oil and Gas Institute – National Research Institute.

Prepare procedures, document templates (implementation of requirements), set requirements for suppliers, establish communication rules with suppliers, review contracts in the context of their operation within the KZR INiG Scheme, and set up a mass balance accounting scheme at the facility. If applicable, determine the maximum GHG emissions (KZR INiG Scheme Document/8). Familiarize yourself with the list of control questions (KZR INiG Scheme Document/10, Appendix 1)

Before the audit, it will also be necessary to sign an agreement with the certification body.

The facility becomes a fully certified participant of the KZR INiG Scheme and is allowed to trade sustainable biomass fuels within its certification scope. The facility operates based on the implemented procedures.

Important!

A certificate alone is not enough for the supplier’s product to be considered sustainable. Each batch of sold material must have a POS (Proof of Sustainability, see KZR INiG Scheme Document/7 ) to be recognized as meeting sustainability criteria. All goods in stock that were purchased without a proof of sustainability are considered non-sustainable. Due to the implementation of the ETS Regulation, such biomass must be used by December 31, 2022.