Dear RSB Stakeholder,

We would appreciate ten minutes of your time to answer a few questions relating to our RSB Standard for Bioproducts.

The RSB Standard for the Certification of Bioproducts is a supplement to the RSB Principles & Criteria and enables producers of bio-chemicals and bioproducts supply chains to receive RSB certification and to demonstrate sustainable practices throughout the supply chain. The scope of the RSB Standard for the Certification of Bioproducts is global and covers the full supply chain of bioproducts which include plastics, textiles, packaging, tableware, cosmetics, nutritional supplements, and many others.

The RSB Standard is constantly evolving as our world evolves. As new technology, research and sustainability issues emerge, the RSB works with its stakeholders to adapt the RSB Standard.

The survey includes seven questions and your response is of great value to the RSB.

Thank you very much for your contribution.

Kind regards,
Elena Schmidt
RSB Standards Director

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* 1. Thresholds: The current RSB Standard requires a bio-based carbon content of 25% minimum for all bioproduct categories. Given that the correct statement of a measurable bio-based content would still be required, should RSB exempt any of the following product categories from the minimum threshold:

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* 2. Fluctuations: Operators who mix bio-based and fossil feedstock in a process may have fluctuations in the bio-based content of their products over time. How should the RSB standard address these fluctuations?

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* 3. Mass Balance: Mass balance approaches are based on calculation and attribution and do not relate to a physically measurable biobased content. Mass balance based on-product claims can refer to the replacement of fossil feedstock by renewable material in the production site.

See here how mass balance works

Should RSB allow Mass Balance approaches and on-product claims for products with a physical bio-based content which can potentially be zero?

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* 4. Methods: The current RSB standard requires a bio-based carbon content threshold of minimum 25%, and its determination is based on ASTM D6866 or CEN/TS 16137.

As an alternative, should RSB also allow the threshold to be achieved with bio-based content and therefore allow the method “radiocarbon analysis and elemental analysis” (EN 16785-1)?

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* 5. Methods: The current RSB standard requires a bio-based carbon content threshold of minimum 25%, and its determination is based on ASTM D6866 or CEN/TS 16137.

As an alternative, should RSB also allow the material balance method to establish the bio-based content (EN 16785-2)?

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* 6. GHG threshold: The current RSB Standard does not require final bio-products to achieve a GHG emission saving compared to fossil materials. Do you have input for the following topics:

a. Which fossil reference scenarios shall bio-products be compared to?
b. How to address temporary storage of CO2 and end-of-life scenarios given that country specific waste management options influence the result of the calculation (e.g. landfill, combustion or recycling)?

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* 7. Please provide the following details:

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