Sustainability criteria into NWE ETBE assessment

Platts seeks feedback on introducing sustainability criteria into its European ETBE assessment processes. Platts proposes to reflect in its European assessments products that are lawfully sourced within the marketplace.

The European Union introduced regulations pertaining to sustainability of biofuels in the form of a directive which came into force in December 2010.

Platts will take steps to integrate provisions of these regulations into its assessment process once they are widely transposed into national legislation of member states. In the meantime, Platts proposes to consider bids, offers and transactions where, upon buyer's request, the seller shall exercise reasonable efforts to provide documentation describing:

1) the ETBE feedstock type and percentage of each feedstock in the case of blendstocks

2) the country of origin of the feedstock

3) a declaration of land use on which the feedstock was grown on or after January 1, 2008.

Upon buyer's request, the seller should allow the buyer the right to audit the sustainability documentation for the sole purpose of determining the validity and veracity of these documents.

Platts will not consider ETBE in its assessment process that is in violation of the ILO's Minimum Age Convention 1973, and the ILO's Abolition of Forced Labor Convention 1957.

Please direct any feedback or queries to ilana_djelal@platts.com or maria_gradobitova@platts.com, copy petchems@platts.com and pricegroup@platts.com.