Neste Oil’s renewable fuel sustainability scheme approved by the Finnish Energy Authority

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The Finnish Energy Authority has officially approved Neste Oil’s renewable fuel sustainability scheme. Approved on 19 June, the scheme covers all the renewable fuels produced and sold by Neste Oil, including renewable diesel and bioethanol. Under the approval, sustainability is considered as having been officially verified since 1 January 2014.

The Energy Authority has approved all the waste and residues currently used by Neste Oil as qualifying for being double counted feedstock in meeting biomandate requirements and in fuel taxation. At the moment waste and residues account for over 60% of the renewable feedstocks Neste Oil uses, and the company produces enough renewable fuel from waste and residue to power over 1 million cars annually.

“Thanks to the renewable fuels produced by Neste Oil, traffic-related greenhouse gas emissions can be reduced significantly,” according to Simo Honkanen, Neste Oil’s Senior Vice President, Sustainability and Public Affairs. “As a result of the approval granted by the Energy Authority, customers can continue to rely on us to ensure that the renewable fuels we produce comply with strict sustainability criteria and that they deliver the greenhouse gas emission reduction that we claim they do.”

Finland’s national sustainability legislation is based on the European Union’s biofuel legislation. All feedstocks must be traced back to where they were grown or where they were generated in the case of waste and residues. Feedstocks must also comply with the strict sustainability criteria covering biofuels, under which forestland cannot be felled and wetlands, peat bogs, or other area rich in biodiversity cannot be cleared for biofuel purposes. Renewable fuels are also required to provide a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions of at least 35% over their entire life cycle compared to fossil fuels.

Finland’s national sustainability legislation came into force on 1 July 2013 and requires that fuel distributors have a sustainability system approved by the Energy Authority in place from the beginning of 2014. Neste Oil’s renewable fuels have complied with EU sustainability requirements prior to this date, as biofuel mandates and fuel tax provisions have required verification of the sustainability of renewable fuels since the beginning of 2011.