Biofuel Certification Research Articles

At a tipping point? How the debate on biofuel standards sparks innovative ideas for the general future of standardisation and certification schemes

Consumer demand for environmentally and socially responsible products is the driving force behind the expansion of competing certification systems. Paradoxically, this has led to an increasingly crowded marketplace for labels and confusion among stakeholders such as producers, retailers and buyers, rather than providing clear and reliable product information as intended. The situation has sparked a debate about the future of certification schemes and the need for a more streamlined system. This article explores some of the innovative ideas coming from the current discussion regarding biofuel certification and standardisation and outlines how those ideas can be applied to create a global generic standard-setting scheme for natural resources.

A Current Review of Social Impact Assessment on Sustainable Biomass/Biofuel Development

Global production of biomass and biofuel are growing rapidly, due to the increases in the price of fossil fuels, growing environmental concerns, and considerations regarding the security and diversification of energy supply. However, the production of biomass energy crops and removal of biomass residues from forest and agricultural systems for energy production can result negative environmental, economical, or social impact. Therefore, sustainable development of biomass and biofuel are the major issue in order to increase the production of biomass and biofuel. This paper aims to review the current assessment study on sustainable development of biomass and biofuel, especially about social impact which is not widely known comparing with environmental and economical impact. Furthermore, the key factor of social impact assessment on sustainable biomass and biofuel development is analyzed in order to apply the result of assessment for development of biomass and biofuel certification and planning of energy policy.

Biofuels and Biodiversity: Principles for Creating Better Policies for Biofuel Production

Biofuels are a new priority in efforts to reduce dependence on fossil fuels; nevertheless, the rapid increase in production of biofuel feedstock may threaten biodiversity. There are general principles that should be used in developing guidelines for certifying biodiversity-friendly biofuels. First, biofuel feedstocks should be grown with environmentally safe and biodiversity-friendly agricultural practices. The sustainability of any biofuel feedstock depends on good growing practices and sound environmental practices throughout the fuel-production life cycle. Second, the ecological footprint of a biofuel, in terms of the land area needed to grow sufficient quantities of the feedstock, should be minimized. The best alternatives appear to be fuels of the future, especially fuels derived from microalgae. Third, biofuels that can sequester carbon or that have a negative or zero carbon balance when viewed over the entire production life cycle should be given high priority. Corn-based ethanol is the worst among the alternatives that are available at present, although this is the biofuel that is most advanced for commercial production in the United States. We urge aggressive pursuit of alternatives to corn as a biofuel feedstock. Conservation biologists can significantly broaden and deepen efforts to develop sustainable fuels by playing active roles in pursuing research on biodiversity-friendly biofuel production practices and by helping define biodiversity-friendly biofuel certification standards.