COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT Report on the operation of the mass balance verification method for the biofuels and bioliquids sustainability scheme in accordance with Article 18(2) of Directive 2009/28/EC   Accompanying document to the   COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL   Renewable Energy: Progressing towards the 2020 target   {COM(2011) 31 final}
Date: 2011-01-31
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: common strategy, energy policy, energy site, energy supply

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EUROPEAN COMMISSION 

Brussels, 31.1.2011 
SEC(2011) 129 final 

COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT 

Report on the operation of the mass balance verification method for the biofuels and 
bioliquids sustainability scheme in accordance with Article 18(2) of Directive 
2009/28/EC 

Accompanying document to the 

COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN 
PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL 

Renewable Energy: Progressing towards the 2020 target 

{COM(2011) 31 final} 

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1. 

INTRODUCTION 

The EU has introduced the most comprehensive and advanced binding sustainability scheme 
of  its  kind  anywhere  in  the  world.  The  Renewable  Energy  Directive1  sets  out  sustainability 
criteria for biofuels and bioliquids. For biofuels, corresponding criteria are set out in the Fuel 
Quality Directive2. They apply to biofuels and bioliquids produced in the EU and to imported 
biofuels and bioliquids. The sustainability scheme became operational on 5 December 2010, 
the deadline for Member States to transpose the Renewable Energy Directive.  

The sustainability criteria relate to greenhouse gas savings, land with high biodiversity value 
and  land  with  high  carbon  stock.  In  relation  to  the  criteria  there  are  three  elements  which 
Member States need to ask from economic operators: these are that they submit information 
on  the  compliance  with  the  criteria3,  arrange  for  an  adequate  standard  of  independent 
auditing4, and use a mass balance system5. The mass balance system is a key element of the 
sustainability  scheme,  providing  the  method  by  which  a  connection  is  made  between 
information  or  claims  concerning  raw  materials  or  intermediate  products  and  claims 
concerning  final  products.  The  Directives  require  the  Commission  to  report  by  December 
2010 on the operation of this method. This is the report complying with that obligation6. 

2. 

THE MASS BALANCE SYSTEM 

Typically,  biofuels/bioliquids  have  a  production  chain  with  many  links,  from  field  to 
distribution of the fuel. Feedstock is often transformed into an intermediate product and then 
into a final product. It is in relation to the final product that compliance with the requirements 
of the Directives need to be shown. To show this, claims will need to be made about the raw 
material and/or intermediate products used. 

The  method  by  which  a  connection  is  made  between  information  or  claims  concerning  raw 
materials or intermediate products and claims concerning final products is known as the chain 
of  custody.  The  chain  of  custody  would  normally  include  all  the  stages  from  the  feedstock 
production up until the release of the fuels for consumption.  

The method laid down in the Directives for the chain of custody is the mass balance method. 
This requires a physical link between all stages (as opposed to 'book and claim' systems where 
after  feedstock  production  the  sustainability  information7  and  the  raw  material  are  traded 
separately  from  each  other).  However,  the  mass  balance  system  does  allow  sustainable  and 
other8  raw  materials  to  be  mixed  (as  opposed  to  physical  segregation  systems,  also  called 
'track  and  trace'  or  'identity  preservation'),  as  long  as  the  combination  of  all  consignments 

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Directive 2009/28/EC on the promotion of the use of energy from renewable sources and amending and 
subsequently repealing Directives 2001/77/EC and 2003/30/EC, OJ L 140/16 of 5.6.2009 
Directive 98/70/EC as amended by Directive 2009/30/EC 
Article 18(3) of the Renewable Energy Directive; Article 7c(3) of the Fuel Quality Directive.  
Article 18(3) 
Article 18(1) 
Article 18(2) 
E.g. in the form of a certificate 
Not complying with the sustainability criteria or lacking the evidence of compliance.  

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taken out of the mixture has the same sizes for each of the sets of sustainability characteristics 
that were in the mixture. 

2.1. 

The operation of the mass balance system 

Much work has been done by Member States, industry and NGOs in order to implement the 
sustainability scheme. The Commission has given guidance on the mass balance system in its 
Communication  on  voluntary  schemes  and  default  values  in  the  EU  biofuels  and  bioliquids 
sustainability  scheme9.  However,  as  the  sustainability  scheme  became  operational  on  5 
December 2010, little information is yet available on its operation in the market. 

2.2. 

Assessment of verification methods 

The  Directives  require  the  Commission  to  report  on  the  operation  of  the  mass  balance 
verification method and on the potential for allowing for other verification methods in relation 
to  some  or  all  types  of  raw  material,  biofuel  or  bioliquids.  The  factors  in  the  assessment 
concern the need to maintain the integrity and effectiveness of the verification system (i.e. the 
ability of the regime to deliver greenhouse gas and biodiversity impacts) while avoiding the 
imposition of an unreasonable burden on industry.10 

The  Directives  require  in  particular  the  consideration  of  verification  methods  in  which 
information  about  sustainability  characteristics  need  not  remain  physically  assigned  to 
particular  consignments  or  mixtures.  Such  systems  are  also  known  as  'book  and  claim' 
systems where, after feedstock production, the sustainability information and the raw material 
are traded separately from each other. 

The Commission assessed the book and claim system and the mass balance system in 2008.11 
It concluded that the book and claim method has the disadvantage of lower effectiveness and 
that  the  mass  balance  method  is  effective  though  with  somewhat  higher  costs  for  economic 
operators  than  the  book  and  claim  method.  At  this  point  in  time  there  are  no  essential  new 
elements to add to that assessment.  

In terms of integrity and effectiveness, if sustainability criteria using book and claim would 
cover all or most of the production of a particular agricultural commodity – and thus not only 
the relatively small volume used for biofuels and bioliquids – the integrity and effectiveness 
would  be  high.  Such  voluntary  sustainability  criteria  applying  to  agricultural  commodities 
more generally, i.e. not only for the part used for biofuels and bioliquids, are progressing, in 
part  spurred  by  the  Directives.  However,  they  are  either  only  just  at  the  point  of  becoming 
operational12 or their market coverage is growing but not yet sufficiently large13 to dispel the 
concerns about the effectiveness of the book and claim system. 

In  terms  of  administrative  burden,  little  additional  information  is  as  yet  available  from  the 
operation of the mass balance system. 

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OJ C 160, 19.6.2010, p. 1. 
Article 18(2) 
SEC(2008) 85 Vol. II, p. 148. 
e.g. the Better Sugarcane Initiative (BSI) and the Round Table on Responsible Soy (RTRS). 
e.g. the Round Table on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO), which covered a little over 3.4 million tons of 
palm oil in November 2010 compared to world production of over 45 million tons. 

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3. 

CONCLUSIONS 

The  mass  balance  system  is  a  stringent  system.  It  is  clear  that  it  requires  farmers  and 
industries to adapt their practices. In terms of integrity and effectiveness, there is at present no 
potential  to  allow  for  verification  methods  for  the  biofuels  and  bioliquids  sustainability 
scheme  that  are  less  stringent  than  the  mass  balance  system  laid  down  in  the  Directives.  In 
line  with  the  Directives  the  Commission  will  assess  again  by  2012  whether  there  is  such 
potential. 

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