BONSUCRO

Bonsucro is an international not for-profit, multi-stakeholder organization established in 2008 to promote sustainable sugar cane.^[1][2] Its stated aim is to reduce 'the environmental and social impacts of sugarcane production while recognising the need for economic viability' .^[3] It does this through setting sustainability standards and certifying sugar cane products including ethanol, sugar and molasses. As of November 2014, 3.7% of global land under sugar cane was Bonsucro certified,^[4] with member organisations spread over 20 countries.^[5]Bonsucro has 207 members from various countries and sectors across the world. These are predominantly companies and grower associations involved in the sugar cane sector. ^[6]

Bonsucro

Formation	2008
Type	Multi-stakeholder initiative
Focus	Sustainable agriculture, Sustainable biofuels, Sugar cane
Headquarters	London
Website	bonsucro.com
Formerly called	Better Sugar Cane Initiative (BSI)

Bonsucro is one of few certifications to have developed measures for greenhouse gasemissions,^[7] and consequently the European Commission has stated that the Bonsucro standard can be used to demonstrate compliance with the EU Renewables Directive (EU RED) when importing ethanol fuel,^[8][9] although the standard had to be altered to comply fully.^[10] Both Bonsucro and the standards set by the Roundtable on Sustainable Biomaterials have been noted as in practise expanding the EU RED guidelines to include other factors, such as land tenure issues as prescribed by national law.^[11]

EU market access has been labeled as important by Colombian policy-makers, and described as driving the country's national policy aiming for 40% Bonsucro sugarcane.^[12]However, this use of certification in the context of biofuels has caused concern regarding the consequences of intensification in Colombia, although as of November 2014 no mills had yet achieved certification in the country.^[13] The first Bonsucro certified ethanol fuel, from Brazil, was first imported into Europe through the Port of Rotterdam in 2012.^[14][15]

References

1. ^ R.A. Diaz-Chavez; A. Lerrner (3 July 2013). "Certification and Standards for Sugar Cane and Bioenergy". In Francis X. Johnson. Bioenergy for Sustainable Development and International Competitiveness: The Role of Sugar Cane in Africa. Vikram Seebaluck. Routledge. p. 287. ISBN 978-1-136-52955-9.
2. ^ Smedley, Tim (15 September 2014). "Sustainable sugar: Coca-Cola and BP signed up but will it go mainstream?". The Guardian (London). Retrieved 16 November 2014.
3. ^ "A guide to Bonsucro". Bonsucro. Retrieved 2014-08-24.
4. ^ "Bonsucro in numbers". Bonsucro. Retrieved 2014-08-24.
5. ^ "List of Members". Bonsucro. Retrieved 2014-08-24.
6. ^ http://shapingsustainablemarkets.iied.org/bonsucro-better-sugar-initiative
7. ^ Steering Committee of the State-of-Knowledge Assessment of Standards and Certification. Toward Sustainability: The Roles and Limits of Certification (PDF). Resolve. p. 98.
8. ^ European Communities (2011-07-19). "Commission Implementing Decision of 19 July 2011 on the recognition of the ‘Bonsucro EU’ scheme for demonstrating compliance with the sustainability criteria under Directives 2009/28/EC and 2009/30/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council". Official Journal of the European Union. Retrieved 2014-08-24.
9. ^ M Ismail; A Rossi; N Geiger (2011). Compilation of Bioenergy Sustainability Initiatives: Update (PDF). Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN.
10. ^ Christine Moser; Tine Hildebrandt; Robert Bailis (14 November 2013). "International Sustainability Standards and Certification". In Barry D. Solomon. Sustainable Development of Biofuels in Latin America and the Caribbean. Robert Bailis. Springer New York. ISBN 978-1-4614-9274-0.
11. ^ Fortin, Elizabeth; Richardson, Ben (2013). "Certification Schemes and the Governance of Land: Enforcing Standards or Enabling Scrutiny?". Globalizations 10 (1): 141–159. doi:10.1080/14747731.2013.760910. ISSN 1474-7731.
12. ^ Roundtable on Environmental Health Sciences, Research, and Medicine; Board on Population Health and Public Health Practice; Institute of Medicine (2 April 2014). The Nexus of Biofuels, Climate Change, and Human Health:: Workshop Summary. National Academies Press. pp. 119–. ISBN 978-0-309-29244-3.
13. ^ Selfa, Theresa; Bain, Carmen; Moreno, Renata (2014). "Depoliticizing land and water "grabs" in Colombia: the limits of Bonsucro certification for enhancing sustainable biofuel practices". Agriculture and Human Values 31 (3): 455–468. doi:10.1007/s10460-014-9509-3. ISSN 0889-048X.
14. ^ "In the future all sugarcane ethanol will be Bonsucro certified". Solidaridadnetwork.org. Solidaridad. 2012. Retrieved 2014-08-25.
15. ^ "Port of Rotterdam Authority - Argos Energies buys first Bonsucro certified ethanol for the European consumer market". Port of Rotterdam. 2012. Retrieved 2014-08-25.

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