UCO Due Diligence: What Auditors Should Actually Test – Insight 3
A supplier certificate is important – but it is not enough. For Used Cooking Oil, effective due diligence should test whether the physical supply chain and the paperwork tell the same story. 1. Points of Origin Do the Points of Origin exist? Does their activity genuinely generate the type of material being claimed? A restaurant, […]
Category 1, 2 and 3 Animal Fats: Why theClassification Matters – Insight 2
Similar-looking materials can receive very different regulatory treatment. Animal fats provide one of the clearest examples of why feedstock classification matters in renewable-fuel compliance. Category 1, Category 2 and Category 3 animal fats can appear physically similar, but they do not receive identical treatment under renewable-fuel frameworks. Under Annex IX Part B, Category 1 and […]
UCO and Annex IX Feedstocks: Where Waste Classification Goes Wrong – Insight 1
Why the origin and use of a waste oil matter as much as the certificate that accompanies it. Used cooking oil, animal fats and food-processing wastes are increasingly important renewable-fuel feedstocks. But their regulatory treatment depends on something deceptively simple: how the material is classified. That classification can affect sustainability evidence, renewable-fuel treatment and commercial […]
RED III and the Union Database (UDB): Legal Context, Transposition Status and Practical Readiness
Introduction RED III introduces the Union Database (UDB) as a tool to support EU-wide traceability of renewable and recycled carbon fuels used in transport. Its purpose is to strengthen transparency and reduce the risk of double counting within national renewable fuel quota systems. However, the legal enforceability of UDB-related obligations depends on national transposition of […]
The Hidden Costs of Failing a Biofuel Audit and How to Avoid Them
Sustainability audits play a central role in demonstrating compliance with national renewable fuel quota systems implementing RED requirements, including the UK RTFO. In practice, compliance is usually demonstrated through certification under recognised voluntary schemes such as ISCC-EU or RSB-EU. While audits are often treated as routine, failures can have consequences that extend well beyond corrective […]
Europe’s biofuels industry is under strain: cancellations, shutdowns and tighter margins
Europe’s biofuels sector has faced a string of setbacks. BP has decided not to proceed with a standalone biofuels plant in Rotterdam, signalling a pivot towards lower-risk co-processing in existing refineries and away from an earlier 2030 biofuels target. Days earlier, Shell concluded that completing its Rotterdam facility would not be competitive and chose to […]