Browse and filter SAF sustainability criteria across the four major frameworks. Click any row for the full requirement, evidence expected by auditors, and which conversion pathways it applies to.
Framework▲ | Principle↕ | Category↕ | Summary↕ | Requirement | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RSB | Legality P1 | Legality | Operations comply with all applicable laws and international treaties in the country of operation. | Operator must identify and demonstrate compliance with all applicable national, regional, and local laws, plus relevant international obliga… | RSB-STD-01-001 — Principle 1 |
| RSB | Air quality P10 | Air quality | Air pollution from operations is minimised along the supply chain. | Open-air burning prohibited; emissions of NOx, SOx, particulates from facility operations must comply with applicable air-quality standards. | RSB-STD-01-001 — Principle 10 |
| RSB | Use of technology, inputs and waste management P11 | Chain of custody | Use of technologies and inputs minimises risk to people and the environment; waste is managed responsibly. | GMOs allowed only under host-country law and with risk assessment; pesticides must follow IPM principles; waste tracked and disposed of lega… | RSB-STD-01-001 — Principle 11 |
| RSB | Land rights P12 | Land-use change | Operations respect existing land rights and obtain Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) where applicable. | All land use is based on legal title or recognised customary rights, with FPIC obtained from indigenous and local communities for any new la… | RSB-STD-01-001 — Principle 12 |
| RSB | Planning, monitoring & continuous improvement P2 | Legality | Sustainable operations are planned, implemented, and continuously improved through an open, transparent, and consultative impact-assessment process. | Operator must conduct an Environmental & Social Impact Assessment (ESIA), implement a management plan, and review it on a defined cycle with… | RSB-STD-01-001 — Principle 2 |
| RSB | Greenhouse gas emissions P3 | GHG threshold | Biofuels achieve a substantial lifecycle GHG reduction versus the fossil fuel baseline. | Lifecycle GHG emissions of the biofuel must be at least 50% lower than the fossil fuel baseline, calculated using the RSB GHG methodology (o… | RSB-STD-01-001 — Principle 3 |
| RSB | Human and labour rights P4 | Social & labour | Operations do not violate human rights and respect ILO core labour conventions. | No forced or child labour, freedom of association, non-discrimination, safe working conditions, fair wages, and grievance mechanisms in line… | RSB-STD-01-001 — Principle 4 |
| RSB | Rural and social development P5 | Social & labour | Operations in regions of poverty contribute to local social and economic development. | In low-income contexts, operator demonstrates positive contributions to rural development — local employment, training, infrastructure, or s… | RSB-STD-01-001 — Principle 5 |
| RSB | Local food security P6 | Food security | Operations in food-insecure regions improve, rather than undermine, local food security. | Operator must assess local food security context and ensure feedstock production does not displace food crops or raise local food prices in… | RSB-STD-01-001 — Principle 6 |
| RSB | Conservation P7 | Biodiversity | Operations avoid negative impacts on biodiversity, ecosystems, and conservation values. | No conversion of land with High Conservation Value (HCV) or High Carbon Stock (HCS) status after the RSB cut-off date. Operator must identif… | RSB-STD-01-001 — Principle 7 |
| RSB | Soil P8 | Soil | Operations implement practices that maintain or enhance soil health. | Best management practices for soil conservation, erosion control, and maintenance of soil organic carbon must be applied. | RSB-STD-01-001 — Principle 8 |
| RSB | Water P9 | Water | Water-use rights are respected and water quality and quantity are maintained or enhanced. | Operator must respect prior formal/customary water rights, avoid depletion of surface/ground water, and prevent water contamination from ope… | RSB-STD-01-001 — Principle 9 |
| ISCC EU | System basics — scope and applicability 201 §2 | Chain of custody | Defines the scope of ISCC EU certification: biomass, bioliquids, biofuels, RFNBOs, and recycled carbon fuels under EU RED II/III. | All economic operators in the supply chain — from point of origin (farm/collection point) through processing and trading to the final fuel p… | ISCC EU 201 — System Basics §2 |
| ISCC EU | Auditing — annual surveillance 202 §4 | Chain of custody | Certified operators must be audited annually by an accredited ISCC certification body. | Annual on-site audit covering all certified scopes; non-conformities classified as major or minor with defined corrective-action timelines. | ISCC EU 202 — Auditing & Certification Procedure §4 |
| ISCC EU | Land with high biodiversity value 203 §2.1.1 | Biodiversity | Biomass must not be sourced from land that had high biodiversity value status in or after January 2008. | No biomass from primary forest, highly biodiverse forest, areas designated for nature protection, or highly biodiverse grassland — based on… | ISCC EU 203 §2.1.1 — Land use criteria |
| ISCC EU | Land with high carbon stock 203 §2.1.2 | Land-use change | No biomass from wetlands, continuously forested areas, or peatland as of January 2008. | Excludes biomass from land that was wetland, continuously forested area (>1 ha with >30% canopy cover), or peatland on or after 1 Jan 2008 u… | ISCC EU 203 §2.1.2 — High carbon stock land |
| ISCC EU | Good agricultural practice 203 §2.2 | Soil | Agricultural biomass production must follow good agricultural and environmental practices. | Operators must apply soil protection, water management, biodiversity protection, and appropriate pesticide/fertiliser handling consistent wi… | ISCC EU 203 §2.2 — Agricultural practices |
| ISCC EU | Social and labour requirements 203 §3 | Social & labour | Operators must respect human rights, labour rights, and land-use rights of local communities. | Compliance with ILO core conventions (forced labour, child labour, discrimination, freedom of association), legal employment, OHS, and respe… | ISCC EU 203 §3 — Social requirements |
| ISCC EU | GHG emissions calculation 204 §3 | GHG threshold | Lifecycle GHG emissions calculated per EU RED methodology; thresholds depend on installation start date. | GHG reduction vs fossil baseline: ≥50% for installations operating before 5 Oct 2015; ≥60% for installations 5 Oct 2015–31 Dec 2020; ≥65% fo… | ISCC EU 204 §3 — GHG calculation |
| ISCC EU | Use of default vs actual GHG values 204 §4 | GHG threshold | Operators may use disaggregated default GHG values, actual calculated values, or a combination. | When using actual values, all inputs and processes must be documented and auditable; defaults must be the correct ones for the pathway and f… | ISCC EU 204 §4 — Default & actual values |
| ISCC EU | Mass-balance chain of custody 205 §5 | Chain of custody | Sustainable and non-sustainable material may be mixed if quantities and characteristics are tracked through a closed mass-balance system. | Mass-balance period of max 3 months per site; volumes in and out reconciled; ISCC EU Proofs of Sustainability (PoS) issued for each outgoing… | ISCC EU 205 §5 — Mass balance |
| ISCC EU | Traceability and Proofs of Sustainability 205 §6 | Chain of custody | Each delivery of certified material is accompanied by a Proof of Sustainability with full origin, GHG, and category data. | PoS must identify supplier, recipient, biomass type, country of origin, GHG value, sustainability scheme, and whether material qualifies as… | ISCC EU 205 §6 — Traceability |
| ISCC EU | Waste and residue verification 205 §7 | Chain of custody | Annex IX Part A/B feedstocks must be verified at point of origin with self-declarations and audits. | Point-of-origin (POO) operator must declare feedstock as waste/residue per RED definitions; ISCC group certification may be used for many sm… | ISCC EU 205 §7 — Waste & residue handling |
| EU RED III | RFNBO — GHG methodology Art 25 + DR 2023/1185 | GHG threshold | Renewable fuels of non-biological origin (RFNBOs) must achieve ≥70% GHG reduction using the Delegated-Regulation methodology. | RFNBO lifecycle emissions calculated per Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2023/1185, including additionality, temporal correlation, and… | Directive (EU) 2018/2001 Art. 25 + CDR (EU) 2023/1185 |
| EU RED III | Social and economic monitoring Art 29(1) | Social & labour | Commission monitors the social and economic impacts of biofuel demand on food security and ILO core conventions. | While RED III does not impose direct social criteria on operators, Member States and the Commission monitor impacts on food prices, land ten… | Directive (EU) 2018/2001 Art. 29(1) & recitals |
| EU RED III | GHG savings — biofuels & bioliquids Art 29(10) | GHG threshold | Lifecycle GHG reduction thresholds vs the fossil baseline tightened across installation cohorts. | ≥50% reduction for installations operating before 5 Oct 2015; ≥60% for installations starting 5 Oct 2015–31 Dec 2020; ≥65% for installations… | Directive (EU) 2018/2001 Art. 29(10) |
| EU RED III | Agricultural biomass — residue monitoring Art 29(2) | Soil | Monitoring or management plans required to address soil-quality and soil-carbon impacts of agricultural biomass production. | For agricultural biomass, operators must demonstrate that monitoring plans are in place to address soil quality and soil carbon — particular… | Directive (EU) 2018/2001 Art. 29(2) |
| EU RED III | Land with high biodiversity value Art 29(3) | Biodiversity | Biofuels and bioliquids must not be made from biomass from land with recognised high biodiversity value (status January 2008 or later). | No biomass from primary forest, highly biodiverse forest, areas legally designated for nature protection, or highly biodiverse grassland (na… | Directive (EU) 2018/2001 Art. 29(3) |
| EU RED III | Land with high carbon stock Art 29(4) | Land-use change | Biofuels and bioliquids must not be made from biomass obtained from land with high carbon stock as of January 2008. | No biomass from wetlands, continuously forested areas (>1 ha, trees >5 m, canopy >30%), or land that was forested with canopy 10–30% — unles… | Directive (EU) 2018/2001 Art. 29(4) |
| EU RED III | Peatland exclusion Art 29(5) | Land-use change | Biofuels and bioliquids cannot be made from biomass obtained from land that was peatland in January 2008. | Excludes peatland-sourced biomass unless evidence is provided that cultivation/harvesting of the raw material does not involve drainage of p… | Directive (EU) 2018/2001 Art. 29(5) |
| EU RED III | Forest biomass — sourcing legality Art 29(6) | Legality | Forest biomass must originate from countries with national/sub-national laws ensuring legal harvesting, regeneration, and biodiversity protection. | Forest biomass must be sourced from jurisdictions that enforce: legality of harvesting, forest regeneration, protection of high-conservation… | Directive (EU) 2018/2001 Art. 29(6) |
| EU RED III | Forest biomass — LULUCF & carbon accounting Art 29(7) | Land-use change | Source country must have LULUCF accounting commitments consistent with the Paris Agreement. | Country of origin must be a party to the Paris Agreement and have submitted an NDC covering land-use emissions, with national law ensuring c… | Directive (EU) 2018/2001 Art. 29(7) |
| EU RED III | Mass-balance verification Art 30 | Chain of custody | Compliance with sustainability and GHG criteria is verified through a mass-balance chain-of-custody system. | Member States or recognised voluntary schemes verify operator compliance via a mass-balance system allowing consignments with differing char… | Directive (EU) 2018/2001 Art. 30 |
| CORSIA SCS | Legality of operations Cross-cutting | Legality | CEF operators must comply with all applicable laws in the country of operation. | Operator demonstrates compliance with national/sub-national laws governing the operation — land, labour, environment, taxation, business reg… | ICAO Doc 05 — Cross-cutting requirement |
| CORSIA SCS | Chain-of-custody traceability ICAO Doc 03 §5 | Chain of custody | CORSIA-eligible fuels must be tracked through the supply chain via an Approved Sustainability Certification Scheme. | Operators must use mass-balance chain-of-custody managed by an ICAO-approved SCS (e.g., RSB CORSIA, ISCC CORSIA). Each batch must be traceab… | ICAO Doc 03 — Eligibility Framework & Requirements §5 |
| CORSIA SCS | GHG emissions reduction Theme 1 / Criterion 1 | GHG threshold | CORSIA Eligible Fuels (CEFs) must demonstrate a net lifecycle GHG emissions reduction versus the fossil jet baseline. | Phase I (pilot): ≥10% reduction vs 89 gCO₂e/MJ fossil jet baseline. Phase II (from 2024): some implementations require ≥50% — operators shou… | ICAO Doc 05 — Theme 1, Criterion 1 |
| CORSIA SCS | Carbon stock — land-use change Theme 1 / Criterion 2 | Land-use change | CEFs from biomass produced on land converted after 1 January 2008 from high-carbon-stock land must include direct land-use change (DLUC) emissions in the GHG calculation. | If land was primary forest, wetland, or peatland on 1 Jan 2008 and was converted thereafter for biomass feedstock production, DLUC emissions… | ICAO Doc 05 — Theme 1, Criterion 2 |
| CORSIA SCS | Water — quality and availability Theme 2 / Criterion 1 | Water | CEF production must respect water-use rights and maintain water quality. | Operators must comply with applicable water-use laws; conduct water-balance assessments where production may affect community water rights;… | ICAO Doc 05 — Theme 2, Criterion 1 (Water) |
| CORSIA SCS | Soil — health and erosion Theme 2 / Criterion 2 | Soil | CEF production must maintain or enhance soil health through best practices. | Best management practices for soil conservation, erosion control, and nutrient management must be documented and implemented; soil organic c… | ICAO Doc 05 — Theme 2, Criterion 2 (Soil) |
| CORSIA SCS | Air — open burning prohibition Theme 2 / Criterion 3 | Air quality | Open-air burning of biomass residues for CEF production is prohibited except where required by law for pest/disease control. | No open-air burning of biomass except where mandatory under national phytosanitary regulations; emissions from processing facilities must me… | ICAO Doc 05 — Theme 2, Criterion 3 (Air) |
| CORSIA SCS | Conservation — biodiversity & HCV areas Theme 2 / Criterion 4 | Biodiversity | CEF production must protect areas of high conservation value and not threaten endangered species or ecosystems. | No CEF feedstock production in protected areas (IUCN categories I–IV) or areas legally designated for conservation; rare, threatened, and en… | ICAO Doc 05 — Theme 2, Criterion 4 (Conservation) |
| CORSIA SCS | Waste & chemicals — responsible management Theme 2 / Criterion 5 | Chain of custody | Waste and chemicals used in CEF production must be managed to minimise risk to human health and the environment. | Hazardous waste tracked and disposed of legally; chemicals applied per manufacturer/regulatory guidance; integrated pest management principl… | ICAO Doc 05 — Theme 2, Criterion 5 (Waste & chemicals) |
| CORSIA SCS | Human and labour rights Theme 3 / Criterion 1 | Social & labour | CEF production must respect human and labour rights consistent with ILO core conventions. | No forced labour, no child labour, freedom of association, non-discrimination, fair wages, safe working conditions — consistent with ILO Dec… | ICAO Doc 05 — Theme 3, Criterion 1 |
| CORSIA SCS | Land-use and water-use rights Theme 3 / Criterion 2 | Land-use change | Existing land-use and water-use rights — including customary and indigenous rights — must be respected. | Operator must obtain and document formal/customary land and water rights and conduct Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) where applicabl… | ICAO Doc 05 — Theme 3, Criterion 2 |
| CORSIA SCS | Local food security Theme 3 / Criterion 3 | Food security | In food-insecure regions, CEF production should support — not undermine — local food security. | In regions identified as food-insecure (per FAO data), operators must assess potential impacts on local food availability, access, and price… | ICAO Doc 05 — Theme 3, Criterion 3 |