Page 134 - Biofuels for a More Sustainable Future

Life cycle sustainability assessment in the energy sector 121

Table 5.1 Sustainability goals identified in the “principles” of ISO 13065 (ISO, 2013a)
Environment ! Reduce anthropogenic GHG emissions
! Conserve and protect water resources
! Protect soil quality and productivity
! Promote good air quality
! Promote positive and reduce negative impacts on biodiversity
! Promote efficient use of energy resources
! Promote responsible management of waste
Economy ! Produce and trade bioenergy in an economically and finan-
cially viable way

Society ! Respect human rights
! Respect labor rights
! Respect land use rights
! Respect water use rights

The main issues identified in ISO 13065 are expressed as sustainability
“principles” for the bioenergy sector, as outlined in Table 5.1. Within each
of these principles, the standard describes metrics that should be assessed to
ensure sustainability of the system under study. For instance, under the
“reduce anthropogenic GHG emissions” principle, an operator who con-
forms to the standard must, at the very least, provide data on the GHG emis-
sions and removals of one life cycle stage. Similarly, under “conserve and
protect water resources” the operator must describe the procedures they
have taken to identify potential impacts on water quantity.
However, while the standard provides a good basis for the consideration
of sustainability in the bioenergy sector, it is targeted at businesses with the
intention of improving their reporting procedures and transparency. Con-
sequently, it is not necessarily suitable for the sustainability assessment of
products and processes. For instance, like many of the standard’s indicators,
the water indicator mentioned before requires the identification of policies,
procedures, and practices within a single business or project. It does not
specify actual measurements associated with a technology, process, or prod-
uct. Moreover, indirect impacts are generally omitted from the standard; in
other words, it deals solely with impacts under the direct control of the oper-
ator. Consequently, it does not follow a life cycle approach (except, option-
ally, in the case of GHG emissions) and therefore cannot truly form a holistic
representation of the sustainability impacts, accounting for all stakeholders
up- and downstream of the production process.