Certification of solid biomass under the SDE++ scheme
Do you use solid biomass to generate electricity and heat and did you receive a subsidy decision before 2024 under the Stimulation of Sustainable Energy Production (SDE++) scheme? In that case, the biomass you use has to comply to the applicable sustainability requirements. This can be demonstrated through certification or verification. On this page, you can find which certification schemes can be used.
Which certification schemes can be used to demonstrate sustainability?
The biomass used in your installation has to be certified. This also applies to your installation itself. Below, you will find an overview of the certification schemes approved by the Minister of Climate Policy and Green Growth (KGG) for the sustainability criteria of the SDE++ scheme.
Would you like to know more about a certain certification scheme? And how to get certified? It is recommended that you contact the owner of the certification scheme for this kind of information.
Which kind of biomass do you use?
There are 5 categories of biomass that have to comply to sustainability criteria (category 1 to 5). Would you like to know which category the biomass you use belongs to? You can find this information in the Verification Protocol. Below you can find which certification scheme is approved for which sustainability requirement and biomass criteria.
Can you use this certification scheme to show compliance with the sustainability criteria?
The latest versions of ATFS’ scheme documents have been evaluated and approved. A list containing the approved scheme documents can be found below.
The sustainability requirements for biomass categories 1 and 2 have been partially approved. An overview can be found below.
The usable claim for ATFS is ‘ATFS certified’.
More information can be found on the website.
Where might the biomass originate from?
ATFS has been approved for biomass produced in the US.
Which CABs have been recognised to issue this certificate?
The following CABs have been recognised for ATFS:
- Bureau vertitas
- NSF
- PwC
Can you use this certification scheme to show compliance with the sustainability criteria?
The latest versions of BB’s scheme documents have been evaluated and approved. A list containing the approved scheme documents can be found below.
The sustainability requirements for biomass categories 1 up to and including 5 have been partially approved. An overview can be found below.
The usable claim for BB is ‘Better Biomass certified’.
More information can be found on the website.
Where might the biomass originate from?
Better Biomass has been approved for biomass from all over the world.
Which CABs have been recognised to issue this certificate?
The following CABs have been recognised for BB:
- QS
- Dekra
Can you use this certification scheme to show compliance with the sustainability criteria?
Since December 2021, the new Bonsucro standard has been published. Certificate holders have been using it since then. This new standard has not been approved by the Minister. Currently, it cannot be guaranteed that the entire supply chain up to the energy producer only uses the old, approved standard (Bonsucro Certification Protocol v5.1). For this reason, Bonsucro can currently no longer be used to demonstrate biomass sustainability under the SDE++ scheme.
A list containing the approved scheme documents can be found below.
The sustainability requirements for biomass category have been partially approved. An overview can be found below.
The usable claim for Bonsucro is ‘Bonsucro EU-RED compliant’ with the addition ‘Bagasse NL’. The document ‘SCH-Bonscuro-additional-requirements-baggase-Netherlands’ is required for the addition to the claim.
More information can be found on the website.
Where might the biomass originate from?
Bonsucro has been approved for biomass from all over the world.
Which CABs have been recognised to issue this certificate?
There are currently no CABs which have been recognised to issue certificates for Bonsucro.
Can you use this certification scheme to show compliance with the sustainability criteria?
Recently, FSC International has published multiple updated versions of approved scheme documents, which certificate holders have been using since then. These updated scheme documents have not yet been approved by the minister. Currently, it cannot be guaranteed that the entire supply chain, up to the energy producer, only uses the old, approved scheme documents. For this reason, FSC International can currently no longer be used to demonstrate biomass sustainability under the SDE++ scheme.
A list containing the approved scheme documents can be found below.
The sustainability requirements for biomass categories 1 and 2 have been partially approved. An overview can be found below.
The usable claims for FSC International are ‘FSC 100%’ and ‘FSC Controlled Wood’.
More information can be found on the website.
Where might the biomass originate from?
The claim ‘FSC 100%’ has been approved for countries found on the FSC V5-lijst. Be aware that the scope of the scheme in a FSC V5 country can be applicable to plantations, natural forests or both. This scope can be found on the above-mentioned FSC V5 list.
The claim ‘FSC Controlled Wood’ has been approved for biomass from all over the world.
Which CABs have been recognised to issue this certificate?
The following CABs have been recognised for FSC International:
- NEPcon (also known as Preferred by Nature)
- Control Union
- SCS
Can you use this certification scheme to show compliance with the sustainability criteria?
Recently, FSC USA has published multiple updated versions of approved scheme documents, which certificate holders have been using since then. These updated scheme documents have not yet been approved by the minister. Currently, it cannot be guaranteed that the entire supply chain, up to the energy producer, only uses the old, approved scheme documents. For this reason, FSC USA can currently no longer be used to demonstrate biomass sustainability under the SDE++ scheme.
A list containing the approved scheme documents can be found below.
The sustainability requirements for biomass categories 1 and 2 have been partially approved. An overview can be found below.
The usable claim for FSC USA is ‘FSC 100%’.
More information can be found on the website.
Where might the biomass originate from?
FSC USA has been approved for biomass produced in the USA, with the exception of Alaska and Hawaii.
Which CABs have been recognised to issue this certificate?
The following CABs have been recognised for FSC USA:
- NEPcon (also known as Preferred by Nature)
- Control Union
- SCS
Can you use this certification scheme to show compliance with the sustainability criteria?
Recently, FSC South Africa (SGS Qualifor) has published multiple updated versions of approved scheme documents, which certificate holders have been using since then. These updated scheme documents have not yet been approved by the minister. Currently, it cannot be guaranteed that the entire supply chain, up to the energy producer, only uses the old, approved scheme documents. For this reason, FSC South Africa (SGS Qualifor) can currently no longer be used to demonstrate biomass sustainability under the SDE++ scheme.
A list containing the approved scheme documents can be found below.
The sustainability requirements for biomass categories 1 and 2 have been partially approved. An overview can be found below.
The usable claim for FSC South Africa (SGS Qualifor) is ‘FSC 100%’.
More information can be found on the website.
Where migth the biomass originate from?
FSC South Africa (SGS Qualifor) has been approved for biomass produced in South Africa. The approval applies only to wood from natural forests.
Which CABs have been recognised to issue this certificate?
The following CABs have been recognised for FSC South Africa:
- NEPcon (also known as Preferred by Nature)
- Control Union
- SCS
Can you use this certification scheme to show compliance with the sustainability criteria?
The latest versions of GGL’s scheme documents have been evaluated and approved. A list containing the approved scheme documents can be found below.
The sustainability requirements for biomass categories 1 up to and including 5 have been partially approved. An overview can be found below.
The usable claims for GGL are ‘GGL certified (RBA)’, ‘GGL-certified’, en ‘GGL-controlled’.
More information can be found on the website.
Where might the biomass originate from?
GGL has been approved for biomass from all over the world.
Which CABs have been recognised to issue this certificate?
The following CAB has been recognised for GGL:
- Control Union
Can you use this certification scheme to show compliance with the sustainability criteria?
The latest versions of SBP’s scheme documents have been evaluated and approved. A list containing the approved scheme documents can be found below.
The sustainability requirements for biomass categories 1 up to and including 5 have been partially approved. An overview can be found below.
The usable claims for SBP are ‘SBP compliant biomass’, and ‘SBP controlled biomass’ with the market-specific status’ ‘NL SDE+ compliant’ and ‘NL SDE+ controlled’.
More information can be found on the website.
Where might the biomass originate from?
SBP has been approved for biomass from all over the world.
Which CABs have been recognised to issue this certificate?
The following CABs have been recognised for SBP:
- NEPcon (ook bekend als Preferred by Nature)
- Control Union
- SCS
- DNV GL
Can you use this certification scheme to show compliance with the sustainability criteria?
The latest versions of SFI’s scheme documents have been evaluated and approved. A list containing the approved scheme documents can be found below.
The sustainability requirements for biomass categories 1, 2 and 5 have been partially approved. An overview can be found below.
The usable claims for SFI are ‘SFI certified forest content’, ‘SFI 2022 Chain of Custody Standard (SFI CoC)’ and ‘SFI recycled content’.
More information can be found on the website.
Where might the biomass originate from?
The claim ‘SFI certified forest content’ has been approved for biomass produced in the US. The claims ‘SFI CoC’ and ‘SFI recycled content’ have been approved for biomass from all over the world.
Which CABs have been recognised to issue this certificate?
The following CABs have been recognised for SFI:
- Bureau Veritas
- NSF
- PwC
- KPMG
Can you use this certification scheme to show compliance with the sustainability criteria?
In the beginning of 2024, ISCC has published multiple updated versions of approved scheme documents, which certificate holders have been using since then. These updated scheme documents have not yet been approved by the Minister. Currently, it cannot be guaranteed that the entire supply chain, up to the energy producer, only uses the old, approved scheme documents. For this reason, ISCC can currently no longer be used to demonstrate biomass sustainability under the SDE++ scheme.
A list containing the approved scheme document scan be found below.
The sustainability requirements for biomass categories 1 up to and including 5 have been partially approved. An overview can be found below.
The usable claims for ISCC Solid Biomas NL is ‘ISCC Solid Biomass NL Compliant’.
More information can be found on the website.
Where might the biomass originate from?
ISCC Solid Biomass NL has been approved for biomass from all over the world.
Which CABs have been recognised to issue this certificate?
To this day, there are no CABs recognised for the ISCC Solid Biomass scheme.
Legal basis
Would you like to know the legal basis of the recognition of schemes and CABs? The Staatscourant publications with official announcements are linked on the page In de wet: erkenning van certificaten en CBI’s voor biomassa (in Dutch).
Scheme managers
Only certification schemes that are fully or partially approved by the Minister of Climate Policy and Green Growth (KGG) may be used to demonstrate the sustainability of biomass. As a scheme manager, you may submit an application for approval. This can be done by sending an email to: duurzaamheidbiomassa@rvo.nl.
The Advisory Committee on the Sustainability of Biomass for Energy Applications advises the Minister on the approval of certification schemes. On their website, you will find more about this procedure, which is an important part of the approval process.
Which CAB should you choose?
To get issued a certificate you need a Conformity Assessment Body (CAB). They are also needed to get issued a verification statement based on the requirements of the Verification Protocol and to get issued a conformity year statement based on the requirements of the Verification Protocol. For the sustainability framework as applied here, only certificates and statements issued by CABs that are officially recognised by the Minister of Climate Policy and Green Growth (KGG) are considered valid.
The websites of the recognised CABs can be found below:
For CABs
As a CAB, you may apply for the recognition of a certification scheme and/or for performing the activities related to the Verification Protocol. You can do this by sending an email to: duurzaamheidbiomassa@rvo.nl.
The basic condition for obtaining this recognition is that you must hold accreditation for activities related to an approved scheme and/or the Verification Protocol. In case of accreditation for the activities related to the Verification Protocol, accreditation can be requested from the Dutch Accreditation Council (RvA). In case of activities relation to the approved certification scheme, the corresponding accreditation is also assessed as part of the recognition procedure. The conditions for the recognition of the CAB are laid down in chapter 2 of Besluit conformiteitsbeoordeling vaste biomassa voor energietoepassingen.
- Ministry of Climate Policy and Green Growth
- Ministry of Climate Policy and Green Growth
