Sustainable Biomass Program (SBP) Regional Risk Assessment (RRA) of Primary Biomass Sourcing Regions of the United States
New March Strategies, a US-based forest sustainability consultancy, has been contracted by the Sustainable Biomass Program (SBP) to conduct the first Regional Risk Assessment (RRA) in the United States.
New March serves as the Working Body. The RRA’s development is undertaken in accordance with the Sustainable Biomass Program (SBP) Regional Risk Assessment (RRA) Procedure and SBP Standard 1: Feedstock Compliance.
The Sustainable Biomass Program (SBP) is a procurement and traceability standard that is designed to assure that biomass is sourced from legal and sustainable sources. The focus of the SBP standard is sourcing practices – it applies to those organizations that purchase forest material, not landowners or forest managers -- the completion of an SBP RRA process does not result in certification of any specific lands or forests. This SBP RRA includes identification of viable risks associated with sustainable sourcing of fiber, along with mitigation pathways for those risks. Sustainable sourcing includes compliance with all applicable laws and regulations, biodiversity protections, ecosystem functions, and maintaining carbon stocks. Any mitigation actions identified would be the responsibility of biomass producers, not the public or private landowners and managers within the sourcing region.
Upon formal approval by SBP, the RRA will be made publicly available via the library of SBP-endorsed RRAs available at the SBP website. A single, comprehensive risk assessment for a regional biomass sourcing area contributes to improved transparency, consistency, and efficiency among biomass producers and stakeholders.
Geography
The geographic scope of the RRA is the primary regions of biomass sourcing in the US, encompassing the states of Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and West Virginia.
Team
New March serves as the Working Body for the RRA’s development and has assembled a team of recognized authorities and leading experts in the forest and biomass space. The assessment team includes globally experienced subject matter experts, researchers and consultants, with practical, extensive working knowledge of the US and the identified sourcing region.
Collaborators:
Kathryn Fernholz and Maria Golden of Dovetail Partners
Dave Bubser of Cambium Consulting
Rickie White of Lost Province Ecological
Dr. Matt Russell of Arbor Custom Analytics
Eric Werner of Far North Consulting
Dr. Bob (Robert) W. Malmsheimer of State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry
Amy Doty of Meetings and Such
Timeline
The RRA development process was initiated in April 2024 and will include stakeholder consultation as the assessment report is drafted. The final SBP RRA endorsement process is expected to be completed in the first half of 2025.
Opportunities to Engage
Engagement of stakeholders and experts is essential to the development of a robust and practical RRA. To promote the inclusion of a wide array of perspectives, we are proactively seeking the engagement of experts and stakeholders from a diversity of communities. To identify potentially affected stakeholders, an analysis was conducted to identify sectors, organizations and individuals that may have a sincere interest in biomass sourcing in US and/or be affected by the RRA.
Summer 2024: To inform the development of the RRA, experts and stakeholders were invited to provide input around key issues in the RRA. Multiple modes of engagement will be mobilized including phones calls, surveys and webinars, which were conducted in early August 2024.
November 2024: A formal 30-Day Public Consultation will be conducted to gather feedback on the draft RRA. Multiple modes of engagement will be provided including written comments, surveys, webinars and potentially in-person meetings.