The SUSTAINABLE RESOURCES Verification Scheme (SURE) at Mercer Timber Products

The SUSTAINABLE RESOURCES Verification Scheme (SURE) is a certification that offers bioenergy producers the ability to prove that the bioenergy they produce meets the sustainability requirements of the Biomass Sustainability Ordinance (BioSt-NachV).

Mercer Timber Products has deliberately chosen SURE certification as it directly supports and underlines our Mercer value of Sustainability. SURE is a full-scope system, meaning SURE enables the certification of the entire supply chain, starting with biomass production, processing, and transportation, up to the use of biomass for power and heat generation in biomass and biogas plants.

Mercer Timber Products has implemented a process that ensures compliance with SURE requirements. During a certification audit, this process and our documentation were successfully verified for the first time in 2021. Since 2021, we have been SURE-certified and can prove that our biomass fuel has its origin in sustainable forest management. 

Our fuel input

Our production process produces, among other things, residual wood chips, sawdust, and bark. The residual bark is fed to our biomass power plant for energy recovery. Sawdust, crosscut wood, and wood chips can also be used as fuel.

Forest chips, landscape maintenance material, bark, and cross-cut wood are materials we purchase from other producers to add to our fuel supply. As part of SURE, we do not use suppliers who are neither certified nor have submitted a declaration of voluntary commitment. With the help of this self-commitment declaration, the supplier declares that the fuels they supply to us originate from sustainable forest management. 

Group certification according to SURE

SURE provides the opportunity for group certification for the area of forest biomass and waste and byproduct producers. This means that our suppliers who deliver forest biomass to us through a self-commitment declaration are also audited in a supplier audit. For this purpose, the auditor conducts an on-site audit of our fuel suppliers to make sure that our solid biomass meets both the sustainability criteria and the certification requirements.

With SURE certification, Mercer Timber Products is committed to displaying the full supply chain of our fuel, illustrating that the biomass we use comes from sustainable forest management. From a log’s origin to the fuel used in our power plant, we are able and proud to provide complete traceability.