As concerns about the environment and climate issues grow, demand is increasing for companies to use certifications to validate the sustainability of their products and supply chains.
The multi-stakeholder International Sustainability & Carbon Certification (ISCC) is a well-recognized certification for fuels such as renewable natural gas (RNG), remediated mine gas, and other renewable fuel feedstocks. Its global recognition makes it the certification standard of choice for most renewable and low carbon fuels looking to access international markets, including Maritime. By going through the organization’s certification process, a company can support claims that its business practices and supply chain are sustainable, traceable, and deforestation-free.
Of the multiple certifications ISCC issues, the most significant are ISCC EU, the scheme most widely used for fuels in regulated EU and UK markets; and ISCC Plus, a voluntary scheme demonstrating sustainable sourcing and traceability in other markets.
Here’s more about ISCC certifications and why they matter, differences between ISCC EU and ISCC Plus, and how the certification audits work. We also explain how, as an ISCC certification body, Anew can provide trustworthy, expert guidance for companies looking to go through the certification process, including for ISCC EU and ISCC PLUS protocols.
What is ISCC Certification?
ISCC certification applies to bio- and other renewable feedstocks and validates the sustainability and lifecycle greenhouse gas performance of a company’s supply chain. Emissions accounting often refers to this as the chain of custody, or the ability to track and quantify how a company’s products are sourced, processed, and shipped in order to verify the environmental impact or attributes of each step.
Since ISCC was established in 2010, the organization has issued more than 13,800 active certifications in more than 134 countries through 65 certification bodies.
ISCC certification standards require companies to adhere to six principles, to:
- Protect land with high biodiversity or high-carbon stock
- Protect soil, water, and air
- Provide safe working conditions
- Comply with human and labor rights and responsible community relations
- Comply with land rights, laws, and international treaties
- Follow good practices for management and continuous improvement, good record keeping and the ability to keep improving
For ISCC certification purposes, the feedstock supply chain starts at a point of production for purpose-made feedstocks, and the point of first collection for waste agricultural feedstocks. For used cooking oil, it starts at restaurants or other collection points, and continues through processing, trading, storage, distribution, and sale of the product. For an individual company, the starting point of certification depends on its business: for a farm producing biofuel feedstocks, it could be in the field, but for a fuels or feedstock trader, it could begin at the point of trading and storage.
What’s the Difference Between ISCC EU and ISCC Plus?
Both ISCC EU and ISCC Plus certify a company’s role in a fuel’s supply chain, necessitating that every entity in the chain be certified for sustainability and lifecycle greenhouse gas performance. Beyond that, the certifications have several major differences.
ISCC EU. The ISCC EU certification verifies that renewable fuels and biomass-based electricity, heating, and cooling comply with EU legal requirements for sustainability and greenhouse gas emissions savings criteria. The requirements are set out in the third revision of the Renewable Energy Directive (RED III), which applies to all EU member states and is widely seen as the global benchmark for biofuel supply certification. The European Commission recognized ISCC EU under RED III in 2025.
In addition to stating greenhouse gas emission values along the supply chain, ISCC EU RED III guidelines explain the options, methodology, rules, and guidelines for calculating and verifying GHG emissions and emission reductions. It also details a minimum level of greenhouse gas savings for final biofuels, bioliquids, and biomass fuels required to meet RED Annexes V and VI regulations and describes how companies can calculate actual and default greenhouse gas emissions values. Key documents issued in an ISCC EU certification are proof of sustainability (POS), and self-declaration for incoming feedstock.
ISCC Plus. ISCC Plus is a voluntary certification for companies operating in markets not regulated by EU RED III guidelines that nevertheless want to show how they are making their production sustainable, which may include reducing or removing greenhouse gas and other emissions from their operations or supply chain. The ISCC PLUS certification is widely recognized by buyers, brand owners, and supply-chain partners.
ISCC PLUS applies to bio- or other renewable feedstocks, and the traceability of sustainable materials in the circular economy, in the following industries:
- Alternative transportation fuels, including biodiesel, sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), and alternative marine fuels (AMF)
- Plastics and packaging
- Textiles made from alternative feedstocks, including fibers and raw materials that originate from agriculture, forestry, or recycled fossil-based resources
- Recycled and bio materials
- Food and feed, including raw agricultural materials
- Electricity, heating and cooling feedstocks, including bioliquids, biogas, and solid biomass
Since launching ISCC Plus in in the early 2010s, ISCC has issued more than 6,568 of the certifications worldwide, according to ISCC officials speaking at a November 2025 conference. Key documents issued in an ISCC PLUS certification are a sustainability declaration (SD).
ISCC recently introduced a voluntary regenerative agriculture add-on for ISCC EU and ISCC Plus that provides for a structured, auditable approach to improving regenerative farm practices. The add-on spells out measurable actions farmers can take, such as planting cover crops, rotating crops, and protecting habitat that supports biodiversity.
To be certified, companies must be able to document their renewable fuel feedstock practices and supply chain. Companies opt to contract with a third party such as Anew Climate to shepherd them through the steps of getting certified. The steps include:
- Picking the appropriate certification scheme: ISCC EU, ISCC PLUS, or both.
- Choosing and contracting with a registered eligible certification body to facilitate an ISCC certification audit. ISCC works with 65 organizations worldwide that hold valid accreditations or are formally recognized to administer its certifications. According to the ISCC, the certification body is a company’s main point of contact during the audit and certification process and issues a certificate if an audit is successful.
- Registering at the ISCC website and working with their chosen certification body to create and review an application.
- Preparing and going through an audit. The certification body will review relevant data, records, and documentation. The audit includes an on-site inspection of relevant sites and operations. Depending on the type of business, an audit could take up to three days.
- Addressing any issues an audit reveals within 40 days. Common issues include conflicting feedstock quantities reported by the company and point of origin or missing documentation.
- Receiving the certification, which ISCC uploads to a publicly accessible database, minus any proprietary information.
Where RNG Fits In
Companies can apply ISCC certifications to verify that their use of RNG and Bio-LNG complies with sustainability and greenhouse gas emissions savings criteria.
RNG fits into both ISCC EU and ISCC PLUS schemes.
As part of ISCC EU, RNG counts toward EU RED transportation targets and obligations. RNG injected into the EU interconnected gas grid is mass-balanced under Delegated Regulation (EU) 2023/1640. The molecule need not be physically tracked, but certified volume-in must equal certified volume-out. ISCC EU enforces RED Annex IX Part A/B categorization for feedstocks, including caps, multipliers, sub-targets and crop caps. As of Jan. 1, 2026, ISCC EU requires biomethane producers to include compression emissions in the greenhouse gas calculation on the proof of sustainability by default. Producers cannot omit them when the final use of the fuel is unknown, including when the biomethane is injected into the grid. One exception applies: where biomethane is liquefied into Bio-LNG under a processing unit scope, compression emissions at filling stations may be excluded from the Bio-LNG POS. Carbon intensity models should reflect both the default requirement and the exception.
Companies can seek ISCC PLUS certification when selling RNG into non-RED markets or as a bio-based product, such as a feedstock for chemicals, or voluntary corporate procurement. In such cases, a company would use physical-quantity accounting rather than energy-based accounting. ISCC PLUS accepts a broader universe of feedstocks with fewer regulatory caps.
How Anew Can Help
Anew Climate supports organizations going through the pre-ISCC audit process by providing trustworthy, expert guidance to ensure readiness and compliance with certification requirements, including ISCC EU and ISCC PLUS protocols.
Specifically, when Anew works with clients, we help them prepare documents and checklists, conduct an internal audit, train the company on ISCC-defined roles that need to be assigned, collect data, make calculations and models, and ensure general compliance before an audit. We also help facilitate the audit, including scheduling site visits and responding to auditor questions. After the audit, Anew helps address any issues that might arise.
By conducting thorough pre-audit assessments, offering tailored recommendations, and using deep regulatory expertise, Anew Climate reduces certification risk, improves audit efficiency, and helps clients confidently demonstrate the credibility and integrity of their environmental claims and carbon intensity outcomes.
Talk to us about your needs: Contact Our Climate Experts | Anew Climate.