30-Day Public Stakeholder Consultation for Sustainable Biomass Program (SBP) Regional Risk Assessment (RRA) of Primary Biomass Sourcing Regions of the United States – November 5 – December 6, 2024

30-Day Public Stakeholder Consultation for Sustainable Biomass Program (SBP) Regional Risk Assessment (RRA) of Primary Biomass Sourcing Regions of the United States – November 5 – December 6, 2024

• Nov 06, 2024

30-Day Public Stakeholder Consultation for Sustainable Biomass Program (SBP) Regional Risk Assessment (RRA) of Primary Biomass Sourcing Regions of the United States – November 5 – December 6, 2024 

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.  

This notification is for a 30-day public consultation on the draft RRA of Primary Biomass Sourcing Regions of the United States as required by the SBP RRA procedure and SBP Standard. The draft RRA is available for public consultation by the Working Body, New March Strategies and the SBP Secretariat.  With this notification, stakeholders and interested or affected parties are encouraged to review the draft RRA and submit information and/or comments relevant to the determination of risk associated with conformance to applicable SBP standards defining sustainable sourcing of fiber from the Primary Biomass Sourcing Regions of the United States.   

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.  SBP Standards for sustainable sourcing include compliance with all applicable laws and regulations, biodiversity protections, ecosystem functions, and maintaining carbon stocks.  

The draft RRA is available at the following website: 
https://newmarchstrategies.com/rra 

Comments may be submitted via the following methods: 

Written Comments  

Feedback form for providing comments: 

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/SBPRRAcomment

The form can also be downloaded as an Excel spreadsheet here.

Comments may also be submitted via: 

Email: info@dovetailinc.org with “SBP RRA US” in the subject line 

US Postal Service: Attn: SBP RRA US, c/o Dovetail Partners, 528 Hennepin Ave, Suite 303, Minneapolis, MN 55403 USA 

Online Listening Sessions  

These online sessions will include an overview of the RRA development process and draft risk ratings, along with proposed mitigation for indicators of specified risk.  

Friday, November 15, 2024, at 9am CST – Register here  

Thursday, November 21, 2024, at 1pm CST – Register here  

Consultation begins as of 5 November 2004, and consultation will close on 6 December 2024 . All relevant comments received during the 30-day consultation period will be recorded and considered.