SBP proves supply-chain traceability doesn’t take a decade—or a blockchain
The Sustainable Biomass Program built a fully digital, mandatory volume-control system in just over a year. CEO Carsten Huljus explains why cost, scale and technology were never real barriers—and why FSC’s long delay can’t be blamed on complexity.
When the Sustainable Biomass Program (SBP) started tracing certified wood pellets and chips a decade ago, it had just a few certificate holders. Today it has almost 400 in 36 countries—and every transaction runs through its digital data transfer system, the DTS.
“If the material isn’t logged, it loses its SBP claim,” says SBP’s chief executive, Carsten Huljus. “That rule keeps things simple—and honest.”
While other certification systems are still testing pilots or debating blockchain, SBP’s digital platform has quietly done its job since 2017. “From the decision to go fully digital to launch took just over a year,” says Huljus. “We started small, improved every year, and never looked back.”
“We built a conveyor belt for data”
The goal wasn’t only to count tonnes. “Biomass end-users needed data for carbon reporting—energy values, origin—not just input and output,” Huljus explains. “We built a conveyor belt for data: every time ownership changes, information moves with it and additional data can be added.”
The system now connects producers, traders and biomass end-users such as power companies, lime producers, biorefineries, etc. worldwide, logging transactions on an SAP-based platform hosted on ISO-certified servers in Germany.
False claims? “None.”
Because the system is mandatory and there is no trade of SBP certified material outside of the DTS,false claims simply can’t pass through once correctly logged into the system at the producer level. “If a link in the chain breaks, the claim disappears. That keeps everyone disciplined and there is no magical increase of certified material within the supply chain,” Huljus says.
Auditors still verify invoices and bills of lading as part of the annual audits, but the digital layer does most of the work. “We’ve never had pushback. For everyone involved it’s a no-brainer—it protects their own credibility.”
Members see value, not cost
SBP certificate holders pay a minimum fee of €1,000 a year. This ensures all license fees paid by SBP to different IT service providers are shared across all Certificate Holders, with roughly half of that covering the DTS licence fee. “Certificate Holders love that it works this way,” Huljus says. “We try our best to make the system as user friendly as possible with continuous improvement based on user feedback. Certificate Holders use their DTS data for internal, external and regulatory reporting.”
Off-the-shelf beats building from scratch
SBP chose to license and adapt an existing platform from Global Traceability Solutions, spending around €80,000 to get started in 2016 and €50–80,000 a year on improvements.
“That has been a reasonable investment,” Huljus says. “Building our own digital platform from scratch would have taken years and cost us millions. We focus on developing standards, not software.”
Today the main cost drivers are the annual license fees that are linked to the amount of SBP Certificate Holders and still modest for a global certification scheme. “With scale, licence fee rates can go down. This is up to the negotiation between the scheme and the platform provider.”
Blockchain? “Shooting sparrows with a cannon”
SBP reviewed blockchain several times and passed. “It is probably the best technology that you can get. It’s great if you have millions of daily transactions, like banks or crypto,” Huljus says. “But for what we deal with, it’s overkill. You’d spend millions building it from scratch for very little added value.”
Worse, he adds, making blockchain voluntary—as some schemes have done—defeats the point. “That’s Swiss-cheese integrity: great tech, lots of holes.”
Data integrity without blockchain? “No problem.”
“Integrity comes from rules and compliance, not cryptography,” Huljus says. “The DTS data sits on state-of-the-art secure servers in the EU, every transaction is recorded and the DTS platform is scalable to add many more users in the years to come.. You can get 99% of the benefit for a fraction of the cost.”
“If a small scheme like ours can manage it, larger ones certainly can. Technology isn’t the problem—commitment is.”
Who’s already using volume control—and how it works
Volume control ensures that certified outputs never exceed certified inputs. It’s the sustainability world’s version of double-entry bookkeeping—tracking every certified tonne, bale or litre as it moves through the supply chain.
Here’s how leading certification systems have made it work:
RSPO – PalmTrace (Palm Oil)
- Launched: 2017 (built in <2 years)
- What it does: Records every certified palm oil transaction globally.
- How it works: Under RSPO’s Mass Balance model, certified and conventional oil can mix—but certified shares are digitally tracked, so total certified sales never exceed production.
- Why it matters: Transparent, auditable, and trusted by producers and buyers across continents.
Textile Exchange – Content Claim Standard (Textiles)
- Launched: 2014 (developed in under a year)
- What it does: Tracks the flow of certified fibres—organic cotton, recycled polyester, and more—through every actor in the chain.
- How it works: Each certified company logs certified inputs and outputs; auditors verify the balance.
- Why it matters: Forms the backbone of all Textile Exchange certifications, preventing double-counting and false claims.
Better Cotton Initiative – Better Cotton Platform (Cotton)
- Launched: 2019 (developed in 18 months)
- What it does: Digitally tracks every Better Cotton credit traded along the supply chain.
- How it works: Ensures retailers and brands can’t claim to sell more Better Cotton than licensed farmers produce.
- Why it matters: Covers over 20% of global cotton production with full transaction-level oversight.
Last call to save the FSC?
For three decades, the Forest Stewardship Council has led the charge in responsible forest management, becoming the most successful certification system to date. But as FSC prepares for its 10th General Assembly, it's facing pivotal challenges. Issues of integrity, traceability, and trust threaten its survival. In this series leading up to the GA, we turn to key figures who have influenced and will be shaping the FSC's journey and ask: How can we secure its future?
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