Round-table talks aim to slow climate warming by transforming agriculture.

The principle is seductively simple: to reduce carbon emissions, leave tropical forests standing. But a widely heralded approach in which rich nations would pay poorer ones to keep their forests intact has proved trickier to deploy than many had hoped. Now a consortium of scientists, environmentalists and industries is expanding the focus from preserving forests to tackling the main driver of deforestation: agriculture.

The United Nations forestry initiative — known as REDD, for Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation — was originally seen as a way of changing frontier economics by attaching a monetary value to standing forests, which take up carbon dioxide and stabilize the climate. Carbon payments would make it easier for landowners to earn a living without clearing more land. But despite years of negotiations and several billion dollars in commitments, little money has filtered down to those who live and work at the forest frontier. Where money has changed hands, it has happened mostly among governments, says Daniel Nepstad, a US ecologist who heads the international programmes for the Amazon Environmental Research Institute (IPAM), headquartered in Brasilia. As a result, he says, scepticism is rising among those who are supposed to benefit most.

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Seminario Caña de Azúcar Sostenible
23 y 24 de Abril
Lugar: Sala Calilegua, Ingenio Ledesma, Jujuy, Argentina

Fundación Solidaridad, Fundación  ProYungas y Bonsucro tienen el agrado de invitarlos al Seminario de Caña de Azúcar Sostenible a realizarse en la Sala de Calilegua, ubicada en la Localidad de Calilegua, Provincia de Jujuy, perteneciente a Ledesma s.a.ai."

El seminario representa una oportunidad única para conocer las estrategias de sustentabilidad y políticas de abastecimiento responsable de las empresas que demandan productos derivados de la caña de azúcar en Argentina. La gestión del riesgo social y ambiental es importante para productores, procesadores, comerciantes y empresas de alimentos debido a los nuevos escenarios comerciales y demandas de la sociedad. En esa dirección el seminario facilitara la comprensión e implementación del estándar Bonsucro en Argentina como una herramienta orientada a alcanzar metas de certificación específicas para el sector.

Destinatarios: Grandes compradores de azúcar y sus derivados; Ingenios azucareros interesados en procesos de certificación, Autoridades del Sector Productivo y Ambiental, Instituciones técnicas de apoyo, Organizaciones intermedias.

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When: 26th and 27th April 2012
Where: Fundacion Moises Bertoni
Calle Procer Carlos Arguello, 208 Asuncion/Paraguay

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Certification

Bonsucro Appoints Executive Director

London 8 August 2011, Bonsucro Board of Directors, appoints Nick Goodall to lead the organisation into its next phase. Chairman, Kevin Ogorzalek commented "We are very excited to have Nick join us at such a key stage in the development of sugar cane sustainability.  With our Certification System now recognised by the European Commission and the first certified sustainable sugar cane products on the market, Bonsucro certified volumes are set to grow.  Several new members in recent weeks reflect this trend and the organisation is looking forward to welcoming many more participants from across the sector at its 2011 Annual General Meeting this November in Brisbane, Australia". Nick Goodall added "Sustainable sugar cane is now readily achievable. We're committed to working with everyone who is interested in helping to transform the sugar cane industry."
Nick Goodall was formerly the Chief executive of the UK Renewable Fuels Agency, the body responsible for administering the renewable transport fuels obligation (RTFO) and setting sustainability criteria for bio-fuels in the UK. Previously he led a number of organisations in energy and sustainability, including the Energy Networks Association, Renewables East and the British Wind Energy Association. Bonsucro, the global multi-stakeholder non-profit organisation developed a Production Standard that assesses the biodiversity, ecosystem and human rights impacts of sugarcane production and demands legal compliance and continuous improvement throughout the production process. This is assessed against key indicators, such as energy consumption, greenhouse gas emissions and water consumption. Sugarcane mills are required to be members of Bonsucro and certificates are valid for three years, with annual audits.

Media Alert: 19th July 2011

EU recognition ‘a significant milestone for the import of sustainable Ethanol’, says Bonsucro®

The European Commission has today (Tuesday 19th July, 2011) announced that Bonsucro’s certification scheme, used to certify the sustainable production of sugarcane, has been formally recognised by the European Union. Bonsucro certified ethanol, which demonstrates compliance with requirements of the Renewable Energy Directive (RED) and the EU Fuels Quality Directive (FQD), will count for the national targets 27 EU Member States have to reach by 2020, under the RED.

Commenting on the developments, World Wildlife Fund’s, Kevin Ogorzalek, Bonsucro Chairman, said:

“Bonsucro® EU certification will not only show compliance with the Union’s sustainability rules, but also guarantees environmental and social performance criteria that exceed EU requirements. Sugarcane ethanol is a clean and renewable fuel that reduces GHG emissions by more than 70% according to the EU legislation. It will help the EU to meet its 2020 environmental target by reducing Europe’s carbon footprint in the transport sector while improving energy security.”

“EU recognition is a big milestone for the social and environmental sustainability of sugarcane biofuels imported into Europe. It will enable our members to demonstrate their commitment to continuous improvement while giving customers confidence that their biofuel products have been produced sustainably.”

Bonsucro’s Production Standard is the world’s first-impact based Standard, it specifically addresses; legal compliance, biodiversity and ecosystem services, labour standards, and continuous improvement throughout the production process. This is assessed against key indicators, such as energy consumption, land use, greenhouse gas emissions and water consumption. The Bonsucro® EU Production Standard effectively addresses the real-on-the-ground challenges.

“The Standard is the conclusion of more than five years of collaboration between the world's biggest sugarcane producers, corporations and influential NGOs. This robust system positions the Bonsucro® Certification System at the forefront of global sustainability metrics and provides a system against which the sustainability of sugarcane derived products can be verified by consumers, companies, governments and NGOs,” said Bonsucro Chairman , Kevin Ogorzalek.

In June, Bonsucro® announced that the world’s first impact based Standard had been used to certify the sustainable production of sugarcane. The sugarcane was produced at a Raízen mill in Sao Paulo, Brazil. 

Ends  -

For more information or to arrange an interview contact Natasha Schwarzbach on +44 (0) 208 341 0060 or +44 (0) 7813 930 347, or email: natasha@bonsucro.com.

Notes to editors:
About Bonsucro

Bonsucro® formerly known as the Better Sugarcane Initiative, is a multi-stakeholder initiative set up to develop a sustainability standard and certification system with the aim to reduce the environmental and social impacts of sugarcane. Members of Bonsucro  include; Asocana,  Addax Bioenergy, Azunosa, Bacardi Limited, Bayer Crop Science, BP, Braskem, British Sugar, Cargill, Cevesa, The Coca-Cola Company, Consorcio Azucarero Central, Cosan, EID Parry, ED & F Man, Ethical Sugar, Ferrero, Greenergy, International Finance Corporation, Kenana Sugar Company LTD, Kraft Foods, Mitr Phol, Neltec Denmark, North Sea Group, Pepsico, Procana, Rabobank, Raízen, Reef Catchments, Renuka, Shell, Solidaridad, Suiker Unie, Syngenta, Tate & Lyle Sugars, Terrain Natural Resource Management, Toyota Tsusho Group, UNICA, Unilever, Union de caneros Guabira  and the World Wildlife Fund.  For further information and to view the Production Standard, please visit www.Bonsucro.com.  Bonsucro is an Associate member of ISEAL.

Facts
Around the world, approximately 30 million hectares are farmed for sugarcane. This is expected to increase to approximately 51 million hectares in 2020 as demand for sugar and ethanol increase. Global ethanol production is expected to increase from 40 billion litres in 2010 to 70 billion litres in 2020.
Brazil is the largest sugar producing country in the world.

EU gets tough on dirty biofuel, pledges more action

646 words
19 July 2011
15:45
Reuters News
LBA
English
(c) 2011 Reuters Limited
* EU energy chief names 7 biofuel green certification schemes
* Oettinger promises to tackle indirect impacts of biofuel
By Pete Harrison and Alysha Love
BRUSSELS, July 19 (Reuters) - Europe's energy chief announced seven green certification schemes for biofuels on Tuesday and promised in future to tackle the unwanted side-effects of turning food into fuel.

Guenther Oettinger said biofuels' indirect impacts were dangerous for the planet's carbon balance and food supply.

"It is a real concern ... particularly in the big producing countries, southeast Asia and in South America," Oettinger told reporters. "This is an evolution which we cannot accept."

The European Union agreed three years ago to get 10 percent of its road fuels from biofuels -- at a time when such fuels were widely regarded as good for the environment -- but since then controversy has raged in Europe over the target.

Oettinger took a first step towards limiting biofuels' impact on the environment on Tuesday, launching a green standard to prevent companies from clearing forest, peatlands or grassland to grow biofuels for the European market.

The European biofuel market is expected to grow to about $17 billion a year and is being eyed by European farmers as well as growers of sugarcane in Brazil and palm oil in southeast Asia.

Oettinger named seven certification schemes, including Bonsucro and Greenenergy for Brazilian sugarcane, and the Round Table on Responsible Soy Association.

DEFORESTATION
But environmentalists were unimpressed, including activist lawyers ClientEarth, which sued the Commission in May for more details of its selection process.

"The way that this has been handled underlines the Commission's practice of shutting out meaningful public participation in the development of its biofuels policy," said ClientEarth lawyer Janet Pritchard.

Critics say the EU's biofuel target creates an incentive for farmers to hack directly into forests to create space to grow fuel crops -- known as direct land use change.
But they also charge that even biofuel crops planted in Europe can send shock waves through global food markets and indirectly promote deforestation -- indirect land use change.

Recent research shows that when more food is needed, the majority of new farmland, possibly as much as 80 percent, comes from burning down forests.

"That would be dangerous for the CO2 balance if valuable rain forests no longer exist, and it can also be a problem in terms of ensuring that there is sufficient food in the region in question, in order to avoid famine," Oettinger said.

Many biofuels are now thought to be worse for the climate than the fossil fuels they are intended to replace.

The European Commission's own research shows it may lead to an indirect one-off release of around 1,000 megatonnes of carbon dioxide -- over twice the annual emissions of Germany.

The industry argues that the science is still too uncertain to challenge the law.

"We can't quantify it," Oettinger said, adding that a new European strategy on the issue would be launched this year.

Research commissioned by Oettinger shows the biggest indirect impact comes from biodiesel from European rapeseed, Asian palm oil and South American soybeans.

A Greenpeace report on Tuesday showed those biofuels at sale at fuel stations around Europe.

The EU's farming commissioner argues against redrawing the investment map overnight, and the Commission looks set to cushion the biodiesel industry.

But not all farmers favour the growth of biofuel.

Some agriculture ministers meeting in Brussels demanded a review on concerns that biofuels were pushing up the price of animal feed and, in turn, meat.

"A review of the EU policy on biofuels due to its relation to the increase of feed prices was requested by some delegations," said notes from a discussion of the beef sector.

(Additional reporting by Charlie Dunmore, editing by Rex Merrifield and Jane Baird)
EU-ENERGY/BIOFUEL
Reuters Limited
Document LBA0000020110719e77j000sw

2nd UPDATE: EU OKs Biofuel Certification; Land Use Debate Goes On

By Alessandro Torello and Caroline Henshaw
Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES

BRUSSELS (Dow Jones)--The European Union Tuesday approved seven voluntary schemes designed to ensure biofuels used in the bloc are environmentally sustainable and don't undermine global biodiversity.

Biofuels are an integral part of the EU's effort to reduce carbon emissions by 20% by 2020 because much of this cut has to come from using more renewable energy in transport, mainly biofuels.

"We need to make sure that tropical forests and carbon rich peatlands are not turned into oil palm or sugarcane plantations," the Commission said. "We also have to guarantee that compared to fossil fuels biofuels used in the EU deliver tangible greenhouse gas savings."

But critics said the move will have little impact as the Commission, the EU's executive arm, has ducked the key issue of indirect land use change--the idea that converting land to grow biofuels can release more carbon than they save by displacing arable crops into other areas.

EU reports leaked last week claimed using Asian palm oil, South American soybeans and EU rapeseed to make biodiesel has a bigger overall impact than conventional diesel on climate change, partly because wetlands and forests are then converted to grow food.

"The Commission claimed the certification scheme for biofuels will certify the sustainability of these biofuels but if the [indirect land use change] is not taken into account them how can they say they are sustainable?" said Greenpeace spokesman Sebastian Risso.

The schemes authorized Tuesday will certify the environmental compatibility of biofuels, including that fuel crops aren't produced by converting carbon-storing forests or wet lands into plantations. They will allow only biofuels that emit at least 35% less greenhouse gas than fossil fuels from production to use. This threshold will rise to 50% in 2017 and to 60% in 2018.

But the decision on indirect land use change will be delayed until later in the year, the Commission said. Originally the decision was due in December.

"We don't want a situation where on a field where you used to grow food, you are now growing biofuels," Energy Commissioner Guenther Oettinger said during a press conference. "This is an evolution that we cannot accept."

The systems that commission recognized Tuesday are ISCC, Bonsucro EU, RTRS EU RED, RSB EU RED, 2BSvs, RSBA, and Greenergy. They will cover both biofuels produced in the EU and those outside.

But biofuels supporters said the current scheme should be enough to ensure that Europe's targets are environmentally sustainable while preserving the bloc's $17 billion biofuels market.

"A truly level-playing field is the best guarantee to avoid potential indirect land use effects," said secretary general of pro biofuels lobby group ePure, Rob Vierhout. "We don't need contentious ILUC science when we already have such practical solutions at our disposal."

-By Alessandro Torello and Caroline Henshaw, Dow Jones Newswires; +32 2 741 14 88; alessandro.torello@dowjones.com [ 19-07-11 1051GMT ]
Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
Document DJI0000020110719e77j000s3

EU OKs First Schemes To Certify Biofuel Climate Sustainability

World’s First Certified Sugarcane Hits the Market

London, 21 June 2011 – Bonsucro™ today announced that the world’s first impact based Standard has been used to certify the sustainable production of sugarcane. The sugarcane was produced at a Raízen mill in Sao Paulo, Brazil, and the first certified sugar has been purchased by The Coca Cola Company’s bottling system. This marks the arrival of Bonsucro Certified products on the global market.

The Bonsucro environmental and social sustainability standard was used to certify the production of sugarcane at Raízen’s Maracaí mill in Sao Paulo, Brazil.  Over 130,000 tons of sugar and 63,000 cubic metres of ethanol were certified against the Bonsucro Production Standard by independent certification body SGS.

Bonsucro’s Production Standard assesses the biodiversity, ecosystem and human rights impacts of sugarcane production and demands legal compliance and continuous improvement throughout the production process. This is assessed against key indicators, such as energy consumption, greenhouse gas emissions and water consumption. Sugarcane mills are required to be members of Bonsucro and certificates are valid for three years, with annual audits.

“This first certification is the conclusion of five years collaboration between the world's biggest sugarcane producers, corporations and influential NGOs such as WWF. We are determined to promote the environmentally and socially responsible production of sugarcane. This robust certification system positions the Bonsucro Production Standard at the forefront of global sustainability practices and provides a standard against which the sustainability of sugarcane derived products can be assessed by consumers, companies, governments and NGOs,” said David Willers, General Manager, Bonsucro.

“Bonsucro’s  Principles and Criteria are an important recognition of our commitment to sustainability in our operations, adding more value to our products, and encouraging Raizen’s leadership in the biofuels market and sugar in Brazil and in the world”, said Luiz Eduardo Osorio, Vice President for Sustainable Development and External Relations, Raizen

“As a member of Bonsucro, we congratulate our Brazilian supplier, Raízen, for achieving the very first sugarcane mill certification. This is an important step in advancing more sustainable production practices. We're also delighted that a bottler from the global Coca-Cola system is the first in the world to purchase Bonsucro certified sugar.” Jacob Robbins, Managing Director, Global Sweeteners, The Coca-Cola Company.

Sugarcane is one of the most sustainable crops. But, as with other agricultural commodities, the industry faces social and environmental challenges related to biodiversity, ecosystems, human rights and production and processing. The members of Bonsucro™ believe that an independent mainstream certification programme is an important tool which can be used to measure and help to transform the social, environmental and economical challenges of the sugarcane industry.

“This will change the sugarcane industry forever,” said Kevin Ogorzalek, Program Officer, World Wildlife Fund and Chairman of the Bonsucro Board. “Certification will drive the industry to greater sustainability, thereby preserving natural resources while upholding human and labour rights. Today marks a new standard in the sugarcane industry and the agriculture sector, proving that scientific, market-based collaboration can achieve powerful results.”

Sugarcane is used as a table sugar, but also in the production of foods, sweetened beverages, livestock feed, molasses and rum. Sugarcane is also being used in the production of biofuels.

Bonsucro followed the ISEAL Best Practice Guidance for the development of the standard. It was also the focus of a two-year multi-stakeholder global consultation process, involving growers, producers, NGOs and governments. In parallel, pilot audit tests in Brazil, India, South Africa and Australia, informed the design of the standard.

About Bonsucro™

To view a short film www.bonsucro.com/certification_video.html

Bonsucro™ was originally called the Better Sugarcane Initiative and was a body set up to develop a Production Standard with the aim to reduce the environmental and social impacts of sugarcane. Initially established as an industry initiative it has worked for the last five years to develop the certification system.  The initiative has now done its work and the organisation that will deliver the certification programme to the marketplace is the registered trademark Bonsucro™ ™.  Members of Bonsucro™  include; Asocana,  Addax Bioenergy, Azunosa, Bacardi Limited, Bayer Crop Science, BP, Braskem, British Sugar, Cargill, Cevesa, The Coca-Cola Company, Consorcio Azucarero Central, Cosan, EID Parry, Ed & F Man, Ethical Sugar, Ferrero, Greenergy, International Finance Corporation, Kenana Sugar Company LTD, Kraft Foods, Mitr Phol, Neltec Denmark, North Sea Group, Pepsico, Procana, Rabobank, Raízen, Reef Catchments, Shell, Solidaridad, Suiker Unie, Syngenta, Tate & Lyle Sugars, Terrain Natural Resource Management, UNICA, Unilever, Union de caneros Guabira  and the World Wildlife Fund.  For further information and to view the Production Standard, please visit www.Bonsucro.com

Facts

Around the world, approximately 30 million hectares are farmed for sugarcane. This is expected to increase to approximately 51 million hectares in 2020 as demand for sugar and ethanol increase. Global ethanol production is expected to increase from 40 billion litres in 2010 to 70 billion litres in 2020.
Brazil is the largest sugar producing country in the world.

About ISEAL

The ISEAL Alliance is the global association for social and environmental standards. Working with established and emerging voluntary standard systems ISEAL develops guidance and helps strengthen the effectiveness and impact of these standards.  ISEAL works with companies, non-profits and governments to support their referencing and use of voluntary standards. ISEAL members are leaders in their fields, committed to creating solid and credible standard systems that give business, governments and consumers the ability to choose goods and services that have been ethically sourced but most of all help the environment and guarantee producers a decent living.

Media Contacts:

Natasha Schwarzbach, for Bonsucro™ , +44 (0) 208 341 0060 or +44 (0) 7813 930 347, natasha@bonsucro.com

Exciting invitation to sugarcane producers in Brazil

13 June 2011 – 12.00 – 17:00
Hosted by - The Coca-Cola Company
Praia de botafogo, 374 - Botafogo, Rio de Janeiro, RJ

Bonsucro cordially invites you to hear at first-hand from important end-user and producer companies about their sustainability strategies and responsible sourcing policies. This seminar is a unique opportunity to provide you with insight into the business reasons to adopt more sustainable production and processing practices. Managing social and environmental risks is important for growers, processors, traders and food companies owing to regulatory pressures as well as shareholder and consumer expectations.

THE COCA-COLA COMPANY, DENISE KNIGHT, DIRECTOR OF SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE AND BONSUCRO BOARD DIRECTOR
Coca-Cola is the world’s largest producer of beverages and is the world’s largest beverage company with more than 500 brands and 3,500 products, including sparkling beverages, juices and juice drinks and ready to drink teas and coffees. The Coca-Cola Company is in a key position to establish market leadership on sustainability issues and set an example on responsible sourcing.

KRAFT, NEIL LA CROIX, DIRECTOR OF SUSTAINABLE SUPPLY CHAINS
Agriculture is under increasing pressure from demographic trends, competition for land use, climatic changes and water availability among others. As the World’s second biggest food company Kraft Foods is developing strategies to ensure long term supply of ingredients through working with farmers associations, NGOs, national and supranational organisations.

PEPSICO, GABRIEL GUZMAN, DIRECTOR OF INTERNATIONAL SWEETENERS
As the World’s second largest food and Beverage Company, PepsiCo’s Performance with Purpose is aligned with sustainability principles and its sourcing practices are designed to support responsible sourcing initiatives.

UNILEVER, ERNANI WOOD, AMERICAS COMMODITIES MANAGER
Unilever Sustainable Living Plan - Half our raw materials come from farms and forests. For Unilever, sustainable sourcing means meeting the needs of people today without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs. In practice this means working closely with our suppliers to help them improve their farming practices and minimise their environmental impacts.

SYNGENTA, ADRIANO BOAS, GLOBAL MARKETING HEAD SUGARCANE
Syngenta is the world’s largest agricultural input company, investing more than USD 1billion in R&D to develop breakthrough technologies that will help address the Food Security challenges. We have recently launched an integrated technology that reduces costs and brings simplification and sustainability to sugarcane planting, showcasing our strong commitment to helping farmers grow more from less by increasing yields while efficiently using natural resources.

SGS, VANDA NUNES, MARKET DEVELOPMENT MANAGER
SGS will outline the technical aspects of the Bonsucro Certification System and requirements for certification.

RAÍZEN, DAVI ALENCAR DE ARAÚJO, CORPORATE HSSE MANAGER
Raízen’s commitment to Bonsucro and sustainability.

Download pdf

Certification

A Compilation of Bioenergy Sustainability Initiatives

Over the past few years, numerous initiatives have been developed to address the environmental and socio-economic impacts associated with the production of biofuels or
of specific biofuel feedstocks. These initiatives include regulatory frameworks, voluntary standards/certification schemes, and scorecards. Some of them cover the entire supply chain, while others deal only with parts of it. 

The BEFSCI project reviewed seventeen of these initiatives. A portion of them are still under development or are being tested, while others are already in operation or implementation. A few of these initiatives were completed but never adopted.

The seventeen initiatives reviewed by the BEFSCI project are catalogued here. For each initiative, a description is provided, followed by a table listing all of the initiative’s provisions to address a set of sustainability aspects/issues. In order to allow for comparisons among this diverse set of initiatives, a standardized format and set of sustainability aspects/issues are used.

Additional initiatives are currently being reviewed and might be included in an updated version of this compilation.

View the overview table or click on the text below to open the file on each initiative below. Visit BEFSCI website to view article.

REGULATORY FRAMEWORKS

• Biomass Sustainability Order (BioNachV) - Germany
• EU Renewable Energy Directive (RED)    
• Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation (RTFO) - UK         
• Social Fuel Seal - Brazil     
• Testing Framework for Sustainable Biomass ("Cramer Criteria") - The Netherlands

VOLUNTARY STANDARDS/CERTIFICATION SCHEMES

• Basel Criteria for Responsible Soy Production        
• Bonsucro (Better Sugarcane Initiative)    
• Council on Sustainable Biomass Production (CSBP)        
• Global Bioenergy Partnership (GBEP)       
• Green Gold Label 2: Agriculture Source Criteria (GGLS2)
• International Sustainability & Carbon Certification (ISCC)
• Roundtable on Responsible Soy (RTRS)   
• Roundtable on Sustainable Biofuels (RSB) 
• Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO)
• SEKAB Verified Sustainable Ethanol Initiative

SCORECARDS

• IDB Biofuels Sustainability Scorecard        
• WB/WWF Biofuels Environmental Sustainability Scorecard

The Name and Brand – our new Identity

Bonsucro FAQ's