Sustainable Biomass Partnership suspends PwC as certification body

Sustainable Biomass Partnership has suspended PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP (PwC) from issuing certificates in Canada and the U.S. for not fulfilling an SBP requirement.

According to an SBP statement, PwC did not effectively correct a major non-conformity and demonstrate conformity to the SBP requirements within the required timeframe. The suspension took effect 23 January.

PwC has six months to prove the non-conformity has been corrected "Until the suspension is lifted, PwC shall not enter into new agreements for certification, and may only perform initial certification services with explicit written approval from SBP. PwC shall, however, continue to conduct surveillance audits for existing clients during the period of suspension."

PwC was approved as a third party SBP certification body in May 2016.

The Sustainable Biomass Program (SBP) is a unique certification system designed for woody biomass, mostly in the form of wood pellets and wood chips, used in industrial, large-scale energy production.