Roundtable on Sustainable Biofuels
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Bioenergy > Sustainability standards > Initiatives > Roundtable on Sustainable Biofuels (RSB)
| The Roundtable on Sustainable Biofuels | ||
| Note: This RSB-related page is out of date. For up-to-date information on the RSB, see the RSB Website The RSB has released "Version One" of the "Principles on Sustainable Biofuel Production" |  | |
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Secretariat webpage | Steering Board | |
|---|---|---|
| Sustainability Criteria: | RSB principles & criteria (Version 0.0) August 2008 Official Brochure | |
| Working groups | GHG - Greenhouse gas lifecycle efficiency analysis ENV - Environmental impacts SOC - Social impacts IMP - Implementation | |
| Current debates: | Land Use and GHG- GHG emissions from indirect land use changes Soil Management Water Management Air quality Biodiversity Offsets. | |
| Documents: | -RSB launch press release -RSB Flyer (pdf) -RSB Intro to Feedback Mechanisms -Commenting on RSB Drafts Using the BioenergyWiki (PDF File) -RSB Draft Principles - June 5, 2007 (PDF File) | |
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- 'See the new page: RSB Indirect Impacts Expert Group'
The Roundtable on Sustainable Biofuels (RSB) is a key multi-stakeholder initiative to develop standards for the sustainability of biofuels. The Roundtable is an initiative of the Swiss EPFL (École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne) Energy Center. Our hope is to create a tool that consumers, policy-makers, companies, banks, and other actors can use to ensure that biofuels deliver on their promise of sustainability. Since August 2008, the first draft Principles and Criteria (version 0) is available (also in pdf). Consultation and discussions on this version (on the way to version 1) will be open through February 2009. To comment on the version 0, please use the discussion pages or send us an email (rsbatepfl.ch). We look forward to receiving your opinion and recommendations!
- The Roundtable on Sustainable Biofuels is an associate member of the The International Social and Environmental Labeling Alliance (ISEAL).
- You can meet the Roundtable team at the following conferences (please contact us for meeting on site):
- Natur Kongress, Basel, 19 February 2009.
- World Biofuel Market, Brussels, 16-18 March 2009.
- Asian Biofuels Roundtable, Kuala Lumpur, March 23-25 2009).
For information on RSB in the Americas, see the wiki page "RSB outreach in the Americas".
Contents |
News and Announcements
- 12 November 2009: The RSB releases "Version One" of its "international standard for better biofuel production and processing."[2]
- The RSB is recruiting for the position of Head of the RSB Secretariat (PDF file) - Applications are due by 24 April 2009.
- New RSB pages on Guidance for Principles and Criteria and Definitions of Technical Terms in the standard.
- The RSB will participate in the Asian Biofuels Roundtable in Kuala Lumpur (23-25 March 09) and strongly encourage all interested stakeholders to attend it! Special discount for non-profit RSB members!
- The RSB will participate in the World Biofuel Market conference in Brussels (16-18 March 09) and strongly encourage all interested stakeholders to attend it!
- RSB consultation (Version Zero): Stakeholder outreaches in southeastern USA (Durham, North Carolina: 28 January 2009), Western USA (San Francisco, Feb. 4th, 2009), Carribean (Port-au-Prince, Haiti. 12-13 Feb 09), Andean Region (Bogotá, Colombia. 17-18 Feb 09), Iowa (Ames. 3-4 March 09), Washington DC (16 March 09), Southern Cone (Buenos Aires, 18-20 March) and Europe (Brussels, March 19th, 2009). More information
- RSB Brazilian consultation (sept-oct-nov 2008). View the executive summary and full report (also in Portuguese).
- RSB West African outreach (Bamako, Mali, Nov. 2008). View the report and list of participants (also in French).
- The new 'Version Zero' brochure is now available in English, Spanish, French and Portuguese !
- View the report, background documents and presentations of the Workshop on biofuels, deforestation and land-use change, held in São Paulo on the 20th and 21st of November 2008. Presentations included LU case studies from Central and South America, Asia and West Africa, mapping and monitoring of sugarcane expansion in Brazil, and the state-of-the art in terms of LUC modelling.
RSB Newsletters
- To view the January 2009 RSB Newsletter, click here.
Current debates and burning issues
Come and share your views on the following topics:
- New: Tillage practices and GHG
- Land Use and GHG
- Soil Management
- Water Management
- Air quality
- Biodiversity Offsets.
Overview
| Swiss École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne |
| Secretariat |
| Steering board | ||
| GHG | ENV | SOC | IMP |
|---|---|---|---|
| Greenhouse gas lifecycle efficiency analysis | Environmental impacts | Social impacts | Implementation |
Standards
According to the organizers of the Roundtable on Sustainable Biofuels, this initiative aims to develop standards that are:
- Simple - "The standards should be accessible by small producers, inexpensive to measure, and easy to explain."[1]
- Generic - "The standards should be applicable to any crop in any country, and allow comparisons across crops and production systems."[1]
- Adaptable - "The standards should be easy to revise to take into account new technologies and their impacts on relative performance of different biofuels."[1]
- Efficient - EPFL aims "to incorporate other standards and certifications to eliminate duplicative reporting and reduce inspection burdens on producers and processors.[1]
In line with its initial commitment that "All standards development work will be done in an open and transparent way, with ample comment periods", the RSB is now an associate member of the ISEAL, and will keep implementing the ISEAL code of good practice."[1]
Timeline
- After releasing the version 0.0 in August 2008, the RSB aims to coordinate an international dialog in conjunction with non-governmental organizations, companies, governments and inter-governmental groups from all over the world through the Wiki platform, emails, virtual meetings and regional stakeholders meetings. The version 1.0 should be released through March 2009.
History
- Click here to view all the background documents and reports from the RSB discussions between april 2007 and august 2008.
- Click here to see the report and presentations of the 1st RSB stakeholder meeting (28th of November, 2006)!
Events
2009
- 28 January 2009, 8:30am - 5pm
- Southeastern United States RSB Stakeholder Consultation
- Southern Growth Policies Board, 100 Capitola Dr, Suite 100, Research Triangle Park, NC 27713
- Directions: http://tinyurl.com/a58mpa
- 4 February 2009, 12:30pm - 6pm
- Western United States RSB Stakeholder Consultation
- The Moscone Center, 747 Howard St., San Francisco, CA 94103
- Directions: http://www.moscone.com/directions/index.shtml
- 3-4 March 2009
- Midwest US Stakeholder Outreach Meeting
- Ames, Iowa
- To download the agenda, click here (PDF file).
- 16 March 2009, Noon-4 p.m.
- Washington, D.C. Stakeholder Outreach Meeting
- Washington, D.C.
For more information, see the wiki page "RSB outreach in the Americas".
Publications
Contacts
- Opal Charlotte: RSB Coordinator; e-mail:charlotte.opal"at"epfl.ch
- Annie Sugrue: Social Impacts Working Group Coordinator; e-mail: annie.sugrue"at"epfl.ch
- Maryline Guiramand: Implementation Working Group Coordinator; e-mail: maryline.guiramand"at"epfl.ch
- Sébastien Haye: ENV Working Group Coordinator; e-mail:sebastien.haye"at"epfl.ch
- Claire Chappuis: Administrative coordinator; e-mail:claire chappuis"at"epfl.ch
- Matt Rudolf: Americas Coordinator; e-mail:matthew.rudolf"at"epfl.ch - Responsible for RSB outreach in the Americas
Notes
| Roundtable on Sustainable Biofuels
| edit | |
| RSB sustainability criteria: "Version Zero" draft of standards RSB working groups: Greenhouse Gases (GHG WG) Environment (ENV WG) | Implementation (IMP WG) Social Impacts (SOC WG) RSB launch press release | RSB Intro to Feedback Mechanisms | Commenting on RSB Drafts Using the BioenergyWiki (PDF) RSB outreach in the Americas | RSB Current Debate on Land Use Recent changes to BioenergyWiki related to the RSB | ||
| Sustainability standards | edit | |
| Organizations/Initiatives: Better Sugarcane Initiative | Forest Stewardship Council | Roundtable on Sustainable Biofuels | Responsible Commodities Initiative | EU: GAVE | LowCVP
Policy proposals: Green Biofuels Index | ||
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