Certifying sustainable feedstock is a very complex issue in a global context. The criteria needs to be internationally agreed upon and flexible enough to accommodate varying local conditions — and yet also quantifiable and verifiable.

The certification schemes should allow a diversity in market entrants, ranging from small local producers to global giants, both in developing and industrial regions. Moreover, the methods should be accurate, and yet costeffective and practical, to facilitate implementation and encourage producers to engage in sustainable production.

Global certification still poses a major challenge to sustainable operations and no broadly accepted common criteria exists. Furthermore, a large biofuel plant needs a huge amount of feedstock, which in some cases is not locally available and needs to be imported from mutliple locations during the lifetime of the plant.