EU Certification

Expand your access to the EU biofuel market

The EU biofuel market represents a significant opportunity for Canadian canola. Canadian canola is already a qualified feedstock for use in EU biofuels thanks to the CCC’s past efforts, but exporters and growers need to be certified if they choose to take advantage of this opportunity. This certification is necessary to meet the EU’s market access requirements, which are outlined in the Renewable Energy Directive (RED).

Learn more about:

Getting certified
Assessment-ready checklist
RED requirements
How certification works

Getting certified

If you decide this program is right for your farm, follow the easy process below. Each certifying grain handler has its own distinct program and they are best equipped to answer your questions and walk you through these steps:

STEP 1

Review the
Requirements

Use the Assessment-Ready Checklist to ensure you qualify. Contact your grain handler with any questions about requirements or to discuss your eligibility.

STEP 2

Complete the
Questionnaire

Your grain handler will provide a short questionnaire (paper or online) and guide you through the certification process.

STEP 3

You are
Now Certified

Your certification is valid for one year and can be easily renewed the following year. A small, random sample of growers will be assessed as part of the certification process.

STEP 4

Expand your Market Access

Congratulations — you have greater access to exclusive market opportunities like the Europe biofuel industry.

The following grain handlers are signing up growers for export to the European biodiesel market:

Contact your local Cargill representative

Contact G3’s facilities

Viterra’s sustainability program

Contact Viterra’s facilities

To learn more, watch our webinar on EU certification, recorded August 22, 2019.

Assessment-ready checklist

The assessment-ready checklist is intended to provide a high-level summary of the sustainability requirements that canola growers need to meet in order to get certified under this voluntary program. Specific questions on the requirements and the documentation needed to prepare for an assessment should be directed to your local grain handlers. With each company having its own program, they are best placed to respond to your question and help you decide whether this program is right for you.

STEP 1: Land Clearance Declaration

To be certified under this export program, all land (owned and rented) that you use for growing all crops and pasture land must have been in production or pasture since January 1, 2008. If you have cleared land since 2008, you will not be able to be certified under this export program. This includes any land area that was in forest, wetlands, peat lands, etc. as of January 1, 2008. The clearance of minor areas such as a shelter belt or along an access road (not including forest, wetlands and peat lands) should not disqualify a grower from the program.

If you meet this requirement, sign a declaration form and submit it to your delivery point.

Declaration forms are available from your local delivery point. Signing and submitting this form is a pre-condition to participating in this export program.

STEP 2: Review Practices and Documents Required

To be prepared for an assessment, you must have these important documents organized and readily available:

  1. Copy of signed Land Clearance Declaration that no new land was cleared after January 1, 2008
  2. Legal description of all land owned or rented
  3. Copies of land title documents confirming ownership and copies of any land rental agreements or other documents as evidence of land rental
  4. List of crops and acres grown on each parcel of land for this crop year and the previous two years, and which parcels were fallow, if any (crop insurance or other similar documents can be provided if available)
  5. A document describing the soil zones for the land farmed (crop insurance or other similar documents can be provided)
  6. Records of fertilizer and pesticide applications, including:
    • Legal Land Description or GPS coordinates
    • Dates of the application (day/month/year)
    • Trade name of product applied, type of fertilizer
    • Rate of application
    • Application equipment used
  7. Contracts with company for delivery of canola
  8. Weighbridge tickets from delivery point for each truck of canola delivered
  9. Contracts with any sub-contractors – e.g., custom application pesticides, fertilizer, etc.
  10. Payroll records for any employees
  11. List of courses or training attended on pesticide and fertilizer use (if any)

Ensure you have access to information showing evidence of the following farm practices. This could be part of the assessment:

  1. Tillage
    • Be prepared to show evidence of no-till (if used), or to describe how soil erosion is minimized.
  2. Stubble
    • If stubble is burned, be prepared to show that it is legally permissible in your area.
  3. Water
    • Ensure that water use meets all regulations.
  4. Soil
    • Be prepared to have assessors looking for any areas of significant soil damage from compaction.
  5. Fuel storage
    • Be prepared to show that you have legally compliant tank storage for gasoline/diesel. Be sure the area is clean and safe.
  6. Fertilizer
    • Be ready to show that:
      • Storage area is not close to water, is not at risk of contaminating water sources, and has some type of impenetrable floor
      • Application equipment is accurate (calibrated) and properly maintained
      • Application procedures are safe and do not contaminate groundwater
      • Fertilizer is only applied on absorptive soils (not on frozen or waterlogged areas)
      • Application rates are used to maintain and improve soil nutrient levels
  7. Pesticides
    • Be prepared to show that you followed instructions and regulations regarding pesticide use:
      • Only products registered in Canada
      • Safe and secure storage area
      • All products stored in their original containers
      • Safety gear and protective clothing on site, clean and maintained
      • Clear procedures for any tank washing or disposal of surplus pesticides to ensure groundwater is not contaminated
      • Safe and efficient handling procedures for any pesticides mixed on site
      • Safe procedures for loading pre-mixed herbicides and disposal of surplus product
      • Spill response kit handy, in a fixed location, with absorbent material (sand), floor brush, dustpan and plastic bags
      • Containers triple-rinsed, and procedure can be described
      • Knowledgeable about re-entry times to fields required on the pesticide label to ensure that no one is on the fields after a spray application
  8. Employment conditions
    • Be prepared to discuss that your farm is in line with the following:
      • Provides equal opportunity of employment
      • Does not have any discriminatory employment policies
      • Has no forced labour on the farm
      • Does not prevent workers from joining labour organizations or organizing one themselves to collectively bargain, as guaranteed by law
      • Does not use child labour;  if minor members of a family work on the farm, the work is legal and not taking away from school time

RED requirements

  • Criteria must be met by the entire value chain, from growers to the biofuel processors.
  • A certificate of sustainability must be attached to all canola exported for the RED market.
  • All growers who choose to supply canola for this market must be certified.

The Canadian canola industry uses two internationally sustainability certification schemes, the International Sustainability and Carbon Certification (ISCC) and the Biomass Biofuel, Sustainability Voluntary Scheme (2BSvs), for its certification.

How certification works

Assessments are conducted of the entire supply chain, including growers, crushing facilities, primary elevators, export terminals and the supply chain in Europe. ISCC and 2BSvs train and approve the independent assessors.

All growers participating in this export opportunity must be “assessment ready” – but only a small random sample of growers will actually be assessed each year.

If you are one of the growers selected for an on-farm assessment, it’s very important that you pass. If you don’t pass the assessment, you’ll have 40 days to rectify the deficiency. If you don’t rectify the deficiency, you will be disqualified from further participation in this export opportunity.