Fifth Annual Forum: Joint Forum on Bioenergy Sustainability and Lifecycle Analysis

May 28-30, 2008
Sacramento Convention Center
1400 J St.
Sacramento, CA

The California Biomass Collaborative held its fifth annual forum in Sacramento May 28-30 2008 at the Sacramento Convention Center. The event was jointly sponsored by the Collaborative along with the California Energy Commission, the California Institute for Food and Agricultural Research, the Center for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Technologies, the California Air Resources Board, and the University of California, Davis.

This year's forum brought together an international group of over two hundred researchers, policymakers, and industry leaders to share their work on sustainability criteria and lifecycle analysis methodologies for transportation fuels and bioenergy, and also highlighted industry efforts in the area of sustainability, incentives, and approaches to certification.

Program and Proceedings

Day One—Producing Biomass and Bioenergy Sustainably

• Opening and Welcome—Forum logistics, agenda, and forum survey, Bryan Jenkins, California Biomass Collaborative
• Overview of California Policy in the Context of Sustainability, Moderator: Bryan Jenkins, California Biomass Collaborative
• Bioenergy Action Plan, AB 1007, and AB 118, Commissioner Jim Boyd, California Energy Commission
• AB 32 and the Low Carbon Fuel Standard, Chair Mary Nichols, California Air Resources Board

Session 1—The Rationale for Sustainability: Why it's needed, what it is, and the potential for practical application
Moderator: Bryan Jenkins, California Biomass Collaborative

• Principles of Sustainability, Dan Kammen, Energy and Resources Group, UC Berkeley
• The Roundtable on Sustainable Biofuels: Ensuring that Biofuels Deliver on their Promise of Sustainability, Charlotte Opal, Roundtable on Sustainable Bioenergy
• Sustainable Biofuel Production, A US-DOE Perspective, Alison Goss Eng, DOE Biomass Program

Session 2—International Panel on Sustainability Criteria and Standards
Moderator: Bryan Jenkins, California Biomass Collaborative

• The United Nations Environment Programme's Approach to Bioenergy, Martina Otto, United Nations Environment Programme [Unable to attend and present]
• Sustainability Criteria for Biofuels, Ariane de Dominicis, European Commission
• Brazilian Ethanol Industry: Sugarcane's Sustainability Today and Tomorrow, Joel Velasco, Unica
• Lunch and Keynote Speaker—Sustainable Biomass in the European Union, Axel Friedrich, Umweltbundesamt Germany

Session 3—Domestic Panel on Sustainability Criteria and Standards
Moderator: John Shears, Center for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Technologies

• Bioenergy Sustainability and Lifecycle Analysis, Alan Hecht, US EPA-Office of Research and Development
• California Initiatives in Sustainability and Renewable Energy, Andrew Schwartz, California Public Utilities Commission [Presented without slides]
• Sustainability Issues for Bioenergy in the Northeast, Michelle Manion, NESCAUM

Session 4—Domestic Panel on Sustainability Criteria and Standards (continued)

• Sustainability Objectives of the NGOs, Danielle Fugere, Friends of the Earth
• 25x'25 Sustainability Presentation, Nathan Rudgers, 25x'25
• Biomass Energy and Agricultural Sustainability, Steve Kaffka, California Biomass Collaborative
• Wrap-up, Bryan Jenkins, California Biomass Collaborative

Day 2—Lifecycle Analysis and Sustainability Implications

• Opening—Forum logistics, agenda, Enrique Manzanilla, US EPA
• Welcome and Keynote Speaker—Developing Sustainable Biorefineries, Robin Jenkins, DuPont

Session 5—Land Use Issues
Moderator: Rob Williams, California Biomass Collaborative

• Global Land Use Issues, Keith Kline, DOE-Oakridge
• Modeling Land Use Impacts on Greenhouse Gas Performance Thresholds, Robert Larson, US EPA-National Vehicle and Fuel Emissions Lab
• Food versus Fuel: When Scarcities Collide, Don Smith, McGill University
• Lifecycle Analysis of Biofuels and Land Use Change, Bruce Dale, Michigan State University

Session 6—Lifecycle Analysis Methodologies: Scope and limitations, data needs, policy application
Moderator: Anil Prabhu, California Air Resources Board

• Lifecycle Analysis of Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Biofuels, Alissa Kendall, UC Davis
• GREET Model and Applications to Bioenergy, Stefan Unnasch, Life Cycle Associates
• Sustainable, Environmentally Friendly, and Cost-Effective Production of Biofuels in California, Johan Six, UC Davis
• BESS Model: Biofuel Energy Systems Simulator, Ken Cassman, University of Nebraska

Session 6—Lifecycle Analysis Methodologies (continued)
Moderator: John Courtis, Air Resources Board

• Fuels Lifecycle Issues in Generic Studies and Within a Regulatory Framework
  Jean Francois Larive, CONCAWE
• Technological, Climate Change, and Sustainability Aspects of Future Transportation Fuels, Sabrina Spatari, UC Berkeley
• British Columbia: Climate Change and Energy Policy, Paul Wieringa, B.C. Ministry of Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources
• Lifecycle Management of Municipal Solid Waste: Perspectives and Tradeoffs, Keith Weitz, RTI International

Session 7—Moderated Discussion of Lifecycle Analysis Methodologies
Moderator: McKinley Addy, California Energy Commission

• A Framework for Defining, Measuring, and Certifying Sustainability for an Energy System, McKinley Addy, California Energy Commission
• How to Best Assess Sustainability Within the Framework of LCA, Panel of the day's speakers
• Wrap-up, Diana Schwyzer, California Energy Commission

Day 3—Standards, Industry Certification, and Policy Implications

• Opening—Forum logistics, agenda, Sharon Shoemaker, CIFAR
• Welcome and Keynote Speaker, Secretary AG Kawamura, California Department of Food & Agriculture

Session 8—Certification
Moderator: Val Tiangco, California Energy Commission

• Overview of Sustainability Certification, Barbara Bramble, National Wildlife Federation [Presented without slides]
• Sustainability of Sustainability Policy—Low Carbon Fuels, Rahul Iyer, Prima Fuel
• The Process of Independent Certification, Susan Harris, GreenTick [Presented by Martha Gildart, California Biomass Collaborative]
• The Market Value of Sustainability and Certification, Harry Simpson, Crimson Renewable Bioenergy

Session 9—Current Industry Practices
Moderator: Sharon Shoemaker, CIFAR

• Sustainable Practices and Feedstock Production, Ralph Sims, IEA & Massey University
• Growing a Robust Biofuels Economy, Mark Downing, DOE-Oakridge
• Biotechnology: New Tools for Sustainable Biofuels Production, Brent Erickson, BIO
• Lunch and Keynote Speaker, Commissioner Karen Douglas, California Energy Commission

Session 10—Shaping State Policy for Sustainable Energy
Moderator: Tim Olson, California Energy Commission

Session 10—Shaping State Policy (continued)

• Moderated Panel Discussion, Conclusions and Recommendations for State Actions, Panel of the above speakers
• Forum wrap-up, Bryan Jenkins, California Biomass Collaborative