SURE-EU
With the directive on the promotion of the use of energy from renewable sources (Directive (EU) 2018/2001 – RED II and RED III), the share of bioenergy in meeting our energy needs is increasing significantly.
To ensure that the biomass used for this purpose has been produced sustainably, the European Member States have agreed on binding criteria. These must be complied with and documented by all economic operators who use biomass or biogas to generate electricity or heat.
Scope
- Biomass from agriculture, including agricultural waste and residues
- Biomass from forestry, including forestry waste and residues
- Waste and residues from biomass
Liquid energy sources such as biofuels or liquid biofuels, as well as liquid or gaseous renewable fuels of non-biogenic origin for the transport sector, are excluded.
For whom
Reliably demonstrating sustainability
Voluntary certification schemes such as SURE-EU offer an objective and reliable way to demonstrate compliance with the sustainability criteria of the current Renewable Energy Directive (RED).
The European Commission examines and recognises such schemes in order to:
- Ensure full compliance with RED requirements,
- to ensure the quality of the certification and
- To create transparency throughout the certification process.
The SURE-EU scheme verifies the sustainable production and use of forest biomass, agricultural raw materials as well as waste and residues from biomass worldwide for use in electricity, heating and cooling generation.
Focus on economic operators
SURE-EU is a voluntary certification system according to RED III that covers the entire supply and processing chain of biomass – from origin to the final product.
- Producers of agricultural and forestry biomass
- First collector of agricultural or forestry biomass
- Establishments in which waste or residues from biomass are produced
- Collection points for waste and residues that are fed into the processing chain
- Conversion plants of all kinds (e.g. biogas plants, pellet plants, biorefineries)
- Suppliers of biomass – both raw materials and biomass fuels
Recognition
Recognition of other certification schemes
SURE-EU recognises sustainability credentials of all voluntary certification schemes approved by the European Commission in accordance with Article 30(4) of RED III. The same applies to national certification schemes with recognition under Article 30(6).
Certificates from systems without EU recognition will not be accepted. The European Commission provides an up-to-date list of recognised systems on its website .
We recommend that all economic operators regularly check the recognition status of the systems in place.
