Certifying the circular economy, verification required after new deal [Advocacy Lab Content]

The EU’s new requirements for circularity, renewables and the bioeconomy will require verification if they are to work, after EU legislators came to a hard-fought agreement on revising the union’s legislation covering packaging and packaging waste.

The new regulation which will have direct binding requirements on companies, was subject to intense lobbying because it impacts so many different stakeholders. Those requirements, along with new rules affecting bio-based products, will require certification and verification.

One such certification scheme is the International Sustainability and Carbon Certification (ISCC) scheme, an independent multi-stakeholder initiative which has been certifying products and services as sustainable and climate-friendly around the world since 2006. It covers sustainable agricultural biomass, biogenic wastes and residues, non-biological renewable materials and recycled carbon-based materials.

ISCC EU has already been a key player in the EU’s biofuels strategy as one of the official schemes approved by the European Commission for biofuel producers to ensure they comply with relevant EU sustainability criteria. This includes proving that feedstocks do not come from high-carbon stock land such as forests or wetlands that were converted for feedstock production.

Verification audits

ISCC EU is empowered by the Commission to carry out verification audits at biofuels companies to ensure compliance with EU rules and to check that feedstocks are authentic.

With the adoption of the EU’s Circular Economy Action Plan and updated EU renewable energy rules, ISCC is also certifying sustainability through its broader ISCC Plus certification program. It applies to food, feed, chemicals, plastics, packaging, textiles and renewable feedstock derived from a process using renewable energy sources.

It covers the same certification requirements as ISCC EU but for a broader scope of products which can be customised to meet the needs of different markets or specific applications.

“For ISCC Plus we have a multistakeholder initiative,” ISCC Plus lead coordinator Jiwon Sung explained to Euractiv. “We cover the entire supply chain, and that contributes to the development of the voluntary scheme. The brand owners want to have verified claims. In order to do that they’re using the voluntary certificate schemes.”

Adaptive flexibility

Unlike ISCC EU, ISCC Plus isn’t an officially recognised certification by the EU, which gives it the flexibility to be adapted to to specific market requirements through voluntary add-ons. This modular approach ensures the fulfilment of different market requirements and continuous improvement, Sung says. The tailored version of ISCC Plus for Japan is recognised under the Japanese government biofuels mandate.

But this isn’t to say that adapting to local specificities is easy, Sung adds. “It’s extremely difficult, let me tell you. At ISCC we cover the beginning of the supply chain to the end. That means we have a variety of stakeholders. So finding the consent between them it’s also quite difficult. For instance, we have regional stakeholder meetings to hear regional needs once per year. Then also there are annual technical stakeholder meetings, focused on the technicalities. In addition, very specific hot topics have dedicated working groups.”

This is where the flexibility of ISCC Plus is helpful, she says. “Different states are coming up with different requirements, and they’re looking at us to provide a solution. From our side, for a collaboration between industry and government authorities, we’re happy to provide a solution. For those, we’re trying to develop country-specific requirements.” She points to a recent development when the Korean government was interested in developing an ISCC Plus Korea certificate just for domestic use.

Commercial and government roles

When it comes to circularity and the bioeconomy, it is in the interest of both governments and companies to certify progress, Sung says. She notes that recent legislation in Europe such as the EU Green Claims Directive will make certification even more important for both sides – and for consumers.

Sung remarked: “Companies want to do good things with whatever they’re claiming. Consumers and NGOs want to make sure that what the company is saying is verified. By using a third-party certification scheme it’s a powerful way to verify the claims of the companies are making.”

Progress toward meeting environment and climate targets can also be measured. Sung cites the European goal to reach 30% of recycled content for plastic as one such target that needs measuring.

She explained: “The certificate can help from the policy side to enrich the goals with verified claims that can be submitted by the companies. It’s not that companies just say we reached the goal. By using a certification scheme they can really have a claim to have done this. And from the authorities’ side, they can have more confidence in the monitoring target.”

Although there can be flexibility in non-recognition, Sung says they would welcome ISCC Plus being officially recognised by the Commission. That also requires vigilance by the certifiers. “When policy or regulation changes, then we must also update our standards that can meet the updated regulation.”

The best way to improve the synergy between regulation and certification would be for policymakers to work more closely with various stakeholders to discuss future monitoring, she says. “We’re all together moving toward a more sustainable world – we’re not only talking about certain brand owners but we’re talking about the entire value chain.”

[By Dave Keating I Edited by Brian Maguire | Euractiv’s Advocacy Lab ]

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