With the growing demand for sustainable biomass in Europe, the international biomass exchange Baltpool is expanding its range of products having sustainability certificates. From now on, exchange participants can trade in sustainable biomass that also has a Sustainable Biomass Program (SBP) certificate, which is especially relevant for Scandinavian and Baltic operators.
The SBP certificate, which proves the sustainability of biomass – wood pellets and woodchips – is well-known and recognized worldwide, and it is also widely used in Europe, especially in Scandinavia, where biomass has very high sustainability requirements.
In order to meet the expectations of our customers to the maximum, we have provided the opportunity to trade in biomass products having the SBP sustainability certificate on the biomass exchange. This certificate is increasingly required by biomass buyers from Scandinavia that purchase up to 50 percent of biomass in the Baltic States. Therefore, this solution is beneficial for both Scandinavian biomass buyers and Baltic sellers, noted Andrius Smaliukas, Director of the International Biomass Exchange Baltpool.
The SBP certificate is issued by an accredited third-party body and confirms that biomass is obtained from legal, sustainable sources and that the biomass production plant complies with the established requirements. The SBP certificates are most commonly issued for wood pellets and woodchips used as fuel in industry and energy utilities. Currently, 371 such certificates have been issued in 31 countries.
A key aim for SBP is to facilitate the trade of biomass, whether in the form of pellets or chips, across international markets. The option to trade biomass carrying an SBP claim on the Baltpool exchange opens up another route to market for our Certificate Holders, which over time we trust will be of benefit to them, said Carsten Huljus, CEO of SBP.
In addition to biomass with the SBP sustainability certificate, biomass products having Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) and ENplus certificates are also traded on the platform. Earlier this year recycled wood was added to the portfolio of biomass trading products which already includes woodchips, wood pellets, fuel peat, and lignin.
Furthermore, the option of trading biomass in Baltic Sea ports was also recently added. During 2020, 5.5 TWh of biomass was sold on the exchange and 5 629 transactions were concluded, the total value of which amounted to EUR 54.9 million.
