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The characteristics of each region should be considered in assessing the sustainability of companies, since the parameters vary from country to country, both in farming methods as in legislation. The thesis was presented by the European Representative of the Brazilian Sugarcane Industry Association (UNICA), Emmanuel Desplechin, during the 9th Conference GlobalGAP, held in Germany , on October 16, 2008.
Desplechin said that the Brazilian sugarcane industry, with more than 30 years of experience, did not wait for the EU to gain interest in biofuels to push forward the adoption of sustainable actions based on best practices (environmental, social and economic). Thus, according to the executive, the industry initiatives should be recognized within its context. Desplechin recalled that before applying the certification, it is necessary to establish sustainability criteria for biomass production. According to him, the criteria must be set within the forums of multiple stakeholders and be based on objectively measurable indicators and scientific basis, not on hypothetical situations.
The requirements for certification, he says, must also be balanced in accordance with the characteristics of developing countries. Any certification always ends up being more costly when used in the Southern Hemisphere. "These countries require local responses. Therefore, the certificates must be gradual and take time for industry to adapt".
The session on Certification of Sustainable Production of Biomass (in GlobalGAP Conference) had two speakers: Jan Jenk, the German Meo Consult, and Chris Wille, the Rainforest Alliance. Desplechin participated along with others such as Martina Fleckenstein (WWF), Anderson Souza Figueiredo (Vanguardia – Brazil ), Robert Christie ( Malaysia ), and R. Vasuthewan (Mission Biotechnologies). The session was moderated by Rob Vierhout, secretary of eBio, the association of ethanol producers in the EU.
During the debate, WWF representative regretted that discussions regarding the sustainability of biomass production are focused on tropical countries, where there are questions about the sustainability of agricultural production in Europe . About this, Desplechin expressed support for the setting of targets in the Roundtable on Sustainable Biofuels - SBR and the development of more specific criteria such as the ones from Better Sugarcane Initiative (BSI), of which UNICA is a fellow. R. Vasuthewan (Mission Biotechnologies) also warned of possible attempts of EU protectionism to prevent imports from developing countries through the imposition of non-balanced sustainable criteria.
Desplechin attended the event within the scope of the project Apex-Brasil/UNICA, which started in January this year, in partnership with the Brazilian Agency for the Promotion of Exports and Investments (Apex-Brasil), connected to the Ministry of Development, Industry and Foreign Trade. Apex-Brasil/UNICA goal is to promote around the world the image of Brazilian ethanol from sugar cane as clean and renewable energy.