Sustainable Biomass Program (SBP), an international certification scheme designed for woody biomass used in industrial, large-scale energy production, has launched public consultations on the newly developed Regional Risk Assessments (RRAs) for the United States (US – National Forests) and Vietnam.
Regional Risk Assessments (RRAs) are a key part of SBP’s focus on identifying and managing risks associated with sustainably sourcing feedstock for biomass production.
With an RRA covering an entire geographic region, and determining the risks associated with sourcing feedstock from that region, the need for individual Biomass Producers to conduct risk assessments is avoided, leading to an efficient and consistent risk assessment process.
RRAs also ensure active engagement with a diverse range of stakeholders in the region.
Revised SBP standards
As a result of the Standards Development Process launched in May 2020, both SBP Standards 1 and 2 were revised, thus triggering the review of all existing SBP-endorsed RRAs and initiating the development of new RRAs.
The consortium of Incos Strategies and Cambium Consulting with financial support from the US Endowment for Forestry and Communities (US – National Forests) and the Vietnamese Academy of Forest Sciences (Vietnam) were appointed as the Working Bodies responsible for drafting the new RRAs that have now been submitted to SBP.
Open for public consultations
SBP is inviting all stakeholders to participate in the public consultations on the draft RRAs.
All comments from the public consultations, alongside comments from local experts mandated by SBP, will be reviewed by the Secretariat and may lead to changes to the draft RRAs.
Updated versions will then be published by SBP (expected Q1 2025) for Biomass Producers to use for certification purposes.
At the same time, those versions will be shared with the SBP Technical Committee for final review and recommendations for endorsement.
Stakeholders may access the documents – US National Forests, and Vietnam respectively – and are requested to submit comments, via the individual feedback platforms set up for the respective RRAs bearing in mind that the feedback platforms might differ.
Both consultations close on December 13, 2024.
