RSB General Assembly opens with approval of new low iLUC risk standard

Geneva, 1 June 2015 – The Roundtable on Sustainable Biomaterials (RSB) kicked off its annual General Assembly meeting with a delegation vote on the new “Low iLUC Risk Biomass Criteria and Compliance Indicators”. The standard was approved by consensus and will be an ‘optional module’ for operations undergoing RSB certification.

Members commented on the new indicators being a key step forward for RSB-certified operators that comply as they will be entitled to an extra “low iLUC risk” on-product claim. Producers will be able to demonstrate that biomass was produced with low indirect land use change iLUC) and therefore minimal impact on food production or biodiversity.
The standard is based on a methodology developed in collaboration with World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) and Ecofys.

The RSB Annual General Assembly allows RSB’s diverse membership to come together to take stock of the organization’s progress and plan for the future. Public sessions on 2 and 3 June will feature debates and workshops attended by: The Coca-Cola Company, Nestlé Research Center, Boeing, Tetra Pak, SunChem, UNCTAD, WWF, SkyNRG, UN Sustainable Energy For All, European Bioplastics, and many others.

Achim Steiner, United Nations Environment Programme Executive Director said, “I am fully confident that this event will further showcase to the larger community of biomaterials producers, users, regulators, and other influential stakeholders, the unquestionable value of strong sustainability standards to be applied across value chains and uses, worldwide.”

“RSB had a successful business meeting and made the necessary decisions for the next moves as we work with biomaterial industries for a sustainable future,” said Barbara Bramble, RSB’s Board Chair.

“It is fantastic to see the enthusiasm and dedication of RSB members for a global standard and certification system that ensures respect for food security, the environment and social justice in biofuel and biomaterial production,” said Rolf Hogan.

RSB’s 2015 General Assembly members-only meeting on the first day of a three day program, also resulted in the reelection of various Board of Directors. The Assembly elects individual directors for a term of two years. For the biographies of the current directors please see here.

On June 1, the Assembly elected or re-elected the following individuals as directors:

Bildschirmfoto 2015-06-05 um 12.52.38

About RSB

The Roundtable on Sustainable Biomaterials (RSB) is a global movement to ensure the sustainability of biomaterials production through a comprehensive certification system. The RSB brings together a diverse coalition of over 100 organizations around the world including large and small farmers, companies, NGOs, experts, governments, and UN agencies. RSB certification provides user-friendly tools for industry to demonstrate compliance and validates sustainable production including greenhouse gas emission reductions, respect for human rights, protection of biodiversity and water and maintenance of food security. RSB is a full member of the ISEAL Alliance and is rated the best performing sustainability certification system in recent reports published by WWF, IUCN, and NRDC.