The California Biomass Collaborative

A Statewide Partnership of Government, Industry, Academia, and Environmental Organizations

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 from 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.

Forum Announcement (.pdf)
Forum Attendees (.pdf)
Forum Program (.pdf)
Forum Transcript (A full transcript will be posted as soon as it's available)

Forum Program, with Proceedings when available (all in .pdf):
Day One—Producing Biomass and Bioenergy Sustainably
8:00 a.m.	Registration and continental breakfast buffet
8:30	Opening and Welcome—Forum logistics, agenda, and forum survey Bryan Jenkins, California Biomass Collaborative
8:45	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
9:35	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
10:45	Break
Session 2—International Panel on Sustainability Criteria and Standards
11:00	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
	Discussion and Q&A
12:30 p.m.	Lunch and Keynote Speaker—Sustainable Biomass in the European Union Axel Friedrich, Umweltbundesamt Germany
Session 3—Domestic Panel on Sustainability Criteria and Standards
1:45	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
3:00	Break
Session 4—Domestic Panel on Sustainability Criteria and Standards (continued)
3:15	Moderator: Martha Gildart, California Biomass Collaborative
	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
4:30	Discussion and Q&A
4:50	Wrap-up Bryan Jenkins, California Biomass Collaborative

Day 2—Lifecycle Analysis and Sustainability Implications
8:00 a.m.	Registration and continental breakfast buffet
8:30	Opening—Forum logistics, agenda Enrique Manzanilla, US EPA
8:40	Welcome and Keynote Speaker—Developing Sustainable Biorefineries Robin Jenkins, DuPont
Session 5—Land Use Issues
9:00	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
10:15	Break
Session 6—Lifecycle Analysis Methodologies: Scope and limitations, data needs, policy application
10:30	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
12:30	Lunch
Session 6—Lifecycle Analysis Methodologies (continued)
1:45	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
3:45	Break
Session 7—Moderated Discussion of Lifecycle Analysis Methodologies
4:00	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
5:00	Wrap-up Diana Schwyzer, California Energy Commission

Day 3—Standards, Industry Certification, and Policy Implications
8:00 a.m.	Registration and continental breakfast buffet
8:15	Opening—Forum logistics, agenda Sharon Shoemaker, CIFAR
8:25	Welcome and Keynote Speaker Secretary AG Kawamura, California Department of Food & Agriculture
Session 8—Certification
8:45	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
10:25	Break
Session 9—Current Industry Practices
10:40	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
	Discussion and Q&A
12:30	Lunch and Keynote Speaker Commissioner Karen Douglas, California Energy Commission
Session 10—Shaping State Policy for Sustainable Energy
1:45	Moderator: Tim Olson, California Energy Commission
	The Role of LCA in Characterizing Sustainability Sonia Yeh, UC Davis
	Sustainability and the Low Carbon Fuel Standard Bob Fletcher, California Air Resources Board
	Voluntary Actions Towards a Sustainable Energy Future Hal LaFlash, Pacific Gas & Electric
	Meeting the Needs of the Public for Sustainable Bioenergy: Perspectives of the NGOs Patricia Monahan, Union of Concerned Scientists [Presented without slides]
2:50	Break
Session 10—Shaping State Policy (continued)
3:00	Moderated Panel Discussion, Conclusions and Recommendations for State Actions Panel of the above speakers
3:45	Forum wrap-up Bryan Jenkins, California Biomass Collaborative

California Biomass Collaborative, Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering, University of California, One Shields Ave., Davis, CA 95616-5924
Phone: (530) 752-1421; Fax: (530) 752-2640; Email: