In the recent past, the production of energy from biomass has often been associated with land-use competition, increasing commodity prices and deforestation of rainforest. Until today, the international markets for agricultural commodities and bioenergy have not come up with a label for food, liquid biomass or biofuels from sustainable production. Thus, buyers do not have the possibility to choose between sustainable and non-sustainable products. The price is what makes a product successful. The market offers no incentives for sustainable producing farmers and bioenergy producers. To overcome this deficit, policy has launched initiatives to avoid unwanted ecological and social side effects of the expanding biomass production.

Certification is an instrument to distinguish sustainable products from non-sustainable ones on the market. It puts buyers in the position to opt deliberately for sustainability and greenhouse gas reduction. Hence, certification supports responsible farms and processing companies and reduces the risk of unsustainable production. ISCC is such a certification system allowing a differentiation of sustainable products from non-sustainable ones including information on the greenhouse gas emissions at the different stages of the supply chain.