ENplus. ENplus Handbook. Quality Certification Program For Wood Pellets. Version 3.0 First Draft

Transcription

1 ENplus Quality Certification Program For Wood Pellets ENplus Handbook Version 3.0 First Draft December 2014

2 ENplus-Handbook (Version 3.0) - First Draft Publisher: European Pellet Council (EPC) c/o AEBIOM - European Biomass Association Place du Champ de Mars Brussels, Belgium enplus@pelletcouncil.eu Website: 1

3 ENplus-Handbook (Version 3.0) - First Draft PREFACE Wood pellets are a renewable fuel that is produced mainly from saw mill residues and from virgin wood. Wood pellets are used as a fuel for residential heating systems as well as for industrial burners. They are a sensitive good whose properties are altered by each physical handling. Hence, quality management has to cover the whole supply chain from raw material to the consumer. ENplus was originally designed in 2010 by the German pellet association (DEPV) as a quality certification program for wood pellets in the heating market. The focus was set on the supply of a consistent product quality. The main target groups were producers of wood pellets and pellet traders with deliveries to end customers. The implementation of the certification program is managed either by the international management of ENplus or by a national management. The ENplus management works closely together with accredited inspection and certification bodies in order to guarantee a reliable, non-discriminatory and effective quality certification program. In recent years, the pellet market has developed rapidly, experiencing a huge increase in international trade. The industrial and residential pellet markets became linked based on the quality class A1. Regional pellet supply chains have been completed with a global commodity market for wood pellets. The bagging of pellets has been partly separated from the production process with this step now being undertaken by pellet traders or independent service providers. This development comes along with quality risks arising due to wider raw material bases, new logistical processes and new market actors with little experience in wood pellet handling. Additionally, experience from the international management of ENplus presents the need for a new balance between international and national ENplus management. The 3 rd major revision of the ENplus-Handbook establishes a quality certification program that combines product certification, chain of custody certification and quality management certification. Aspects of environmental sustainability are integrated by both tying in with established forest management scheme (FSC, PEFC or equivalent) for raw material sources and monitoring sustainability indicators such as the carbon footprint of pellet production. ENplus provides for the first time a dedicated certification of companies who offer services such as transport, storage, bagging, and customer deliveries of certified pellets without ever being the owner of the pellets. Another important change in the certification program is related to the pellet quality classes. The standard EN has become obsolete and is replaced by ISO The quality classes ENplus A1, ENplus A2 and ENplus B are based on the new standard, but the ENplus product requirements exceed the ISO standard for some pellet properties such as the ash melting behaviour. Each quality class will have a dedicated quality seal that must be displayed on pellet bags. 2

4 ENplus-Handbook (Version 3.0) - First Draft The certification program covers the following essential points according to the reference standards in brackets: Requirements on raw materials and product properties (ISO ) Requirements on quality management in wood pellet production and handling (ISO 9001, EN ) Requirements on control, tracking and declaration from the raw material to the end product delivered to the customer Specifications for internal quality control guarantee that the product requirements are maintained permanently. Requirements on the performance of the technical equipment, operational procedures and documentation are defined, which should lead to a rapid tracking and solving of problems. Requirements on labelling and complaint management assure a high customer satisfaction. Program monitoring will lead to increasing operation standards and thereby improve the overall performance of the certified companies. 3

5 ENplus-Handbook (Version 3.0) - First Draft DEFINITIONS OF TERMS Affiliated Companies The ENplus license may include more than one legal entity in case of Affiliated Companies. Affiliated Companies may be both, subsidiaries and associated companies provided that the legal entity that holds the license rights is entitled to enforce the Affiliated Company to obey both the provisions of the Handbook and requests from the ENplus Management. Board of ENplus The Board of ENplus consists of one representative from each National Licenser. It decides on the provisions of the certification program, on the acceptance and exclusion of a National License. Furthermore, the board serves as objection committee, authorises amendments to the Handbook, and decides on exceptions from the provisions of the Handbook. It may delegate some of this tasks to special groups of experts. Bagged Pellets Pellet bags are a packaging unit for the retail market. Bagged pellets are usually used as fuel for pellet stoves. Bagged pellets may contain up to 30 kg of pellets o the quality classes ENplus A1 or ENplus A2. Wood pellets of the quality class ENplus B are not allowed to be sold as certified bagged pellets.? A trader does not need to be certified if they are just trading already bagged pellets marked with the ID of a different certified company. Certification Seal Every certified producer and trader has a unique Certification seal consisting of the ENplus logo and a unique ENplus ID. The use of the logo without the ID is only possible with the permission of the International Management. When the certificate is issued, the certified company is granted the right to use the Certification Seal to label its products and for advertising purposes. The Certification Seal may only appear on delivery notes and invoices if they are issued exclusively for ENplus certified pellets. The Certification Seal must be displayed on pellet bags. Competent Certification Body The Competent Certification Body is the Certification Body being responsible for the certification of a company in a specific area. This may be a National Certification Body (in case ENplus certification in the respective country is organised by a national association) or a Certification Body which is listed for being active in countries without a National Certification body. Competent Licenser The European Biomass Association AEBIOM has received the licensing rights for the registered mark ENplus (WIPO Nr ) from the developer of the certification program. AEBIOM may pass the licensing rights to member associations of the European Pellet Council (EPC) representing the wood pellet industry in their respective country which will become National Licenser. The Competent Licenser is either AEBIOM or the National Licenser who holds the licensing rights for the country where the applicants business is located. 4

6 ENplus-Handbook (Version 3.0) - First Draft Competent Management The Competent Management is the ENplus Management responsible for a specific area. Qualified companies apply for the right to use the ENplus trademark with the Competent Management. The Competent Management is either the International Management or relevant National Management. ENplus ID Every certified producer and trader is assigned a unique ENplus ID. The ID has five characters. The first two digits indicate the country where the company is located. The three digits after the country code provide the number of the certified company in his country. The numbers 001 to 299 will be assigned to producers, the numbers 301 to 999 to traders. Certified companies must display the ENplus ID on the delivery note of ENplus pellets for both businessto-business and consumer sales. ENplus Logo The ENplus Logo is a registered trademark (WIPO Nr ) and includes the Certification Seal along with the ENplus ID. Producers and traders are not permitted to use the ENplus Logo without including their unique ENplus ID. Handbook The ENplus handbook, referred to as Handbook, defines the rights, responsibilities and obligations of all participants in the ENplus certification program. The Handbook will be revised regularly by an editorial group that is mandated by the Board of ENplus. New versions of the Handbook must be approved by the Board of ENplus International Management The International Management of ENplus is responsible for the certification of companies in countries in which there is no National Licenser in place. It is also responsible for the listing of testing, inspection and certification bodies. Furthermore the International Management publishes amendments to the Handbook, organise trainings on an international level and provide support materials. Listed Body Accredited bodies for certification, inspection and testing guarantee the independency, objectiveness and competence of the certification program. Accredited bodies may apply to be listed by the International Management who will publish all Listed Bodies on the official ENplus website ( All bodies who wish to carry out evaluation services for ENplus must be listed. Listed Inspectors Inspectors who perform on-site or remote inspections for the listed bodies must be listed by name. Only Listed Inspectors may perform inspections related to ENplus. 5

7 ENplus-Handbook (Version 3.0) - First Draft National Certification Body The National Licenser is required to contract a National Certification Body. The National Certification Body must be listed with the International Management. The National Certification Body performs the conformity evaluation of companies and issues all certificates for companies managed by the respective National Management. National Management Each National Management body is responsible for the implementation of ENplus in their country. The relevant National Management is authorised by the respective National Licenser. The National Management may be performed by the National Licenser itself or is assigned to either the National Certification Body or the International Management. National Licenser National Licensers are the associations representing the interests of the pellet sector in their respective countries that have signed a contract with AEBIOM enabling them to grant certified companies the right to use the ENplus mark in their respective country/area. Quality Sign Each quality class has a dedicated Quality Sign that is attached to the Certification Sign. Certified companies are obliged to display the combination of Certification seal and Quality Sign (with the respective quality class: ENplus A1 / ENplus A2) on the label of pellet bags. The combined sign may also be used for marketing purposes. Service provider A service provider is a company that provides certified companies with services related to the handling of pellets. Service providers that fill pellet bags and/or deliver to end-customers must be certified themselves; others can apply for certification on a voluntary basis. By the definition used in this handbook, at no point does the Service Provider become the owner of the pellets they handle. Companies that completely (100%) owned by an ENplus certified company are not considered to be Service Providers but Affiliated Companies. Service Sign Every certified Service Provider has a unique Service Sign including a unique registration number. The certified company is granted the right to use the Service Sign for advertising purposes. Sublicense Contract Sublicensed traders may sell certified pellets in bulk if a certified company grants them the right to use the ENplus seal of the certified company. The basic condition for sublicensing is that the physical handling of the pellets is performed only by certified companies. The Sublicense Contract must be signed by the sublicensed trader, the certified company and the Competent Licenser. 6

8 ENplus-Handbook (Version 3.0) - First Draft NORMATIVE REFERENCES EN : Solid biofuels - Fuel quality assurance - Part 2: Wood pellets for non-industrial use ISO : Solid biofuels - Fuel specifications and classes - Part 1: General requirements ISO : Solid biofuels - Fuel specifications and classes - Part 2: Graded wood pellets ISO 9001: Quality Management Systems Requirements ISO 3166: Codes for the representation of names of countries and their subdivisions Note: National solid biofuel standards, storage standards or requirements for pellet production and use, which are not contradictory with to EN-standards, can be added in the list of normative references by the National Licenser. 7

9 ENplus-Handbook (Version 3.0) - First Draft CONTENT PREFACE... 2 DEFINITIONS OF TERMS... 4 NORMATIVE REFERENCES GENERAL DESCRIPTION Scope of the Certification Program Setup of the Certification Program Coming into Force Chain of Confidentiality PELLET QUALITY Quality Classes Requirements on Wood Raw Materials Requirements on Additives CERTIFICATION Types of Certification Conformity Report Identification Marking ENplus ID Certification Seal Quality Sign Service Sign & registration number for service providers Requirements on bag design Validity of the License and Certificate Affiliated Companies Sublicensing Objection Proceedings SUSTAINABILITY Sustainability on Wood Raw Material Carbon Footprint FEES CERTIFICATION OF PELLET PRODUCERS Scope and Limits of the Producer Certificate Application of Pellet Producers External control of Pellet Producers Requirements on Pellet Producers Quality Management Raw Materials Installations and Operating Equipment Main Processes Self-Monitoring Reference Samples Labelling of Bagged Pellets

10 ENplus-Handbook (Version 3.0) - First Draft Complaint Management Sustainability Reporting Obligations CERTIFICATION OF PELLET TRADERS Scope and Limits of a Trader Certificate Application of Pellet Traders External Control of Pellet Traders Requirements on Pellet Traders Quality Management Installations and Operating Equipment Main Operation Processes Self-Monitoring Reference Samples Complaint Management Delivery Documentation of Bulk Pellets Labelling of Bagged Pellets Reporting Obligations CERTIFICATION OF SERVICE PROVIDERS APPLICABLE DOCUMENTS ANNEX Identification marking: colour combinations & codes Colour combinations Colour codes

11 1 GENERAL DESCRIPTION 1.1 Scope of the Certification Program ENplus is a quality certification program that covers the entire production and delivery chain of wood pellets all the way to the end customer s store. The essential components of the certification program are: Definition of quality classes and specification of pellet properties Provisions on the quality management of pellet producers, traders and service providers Requirements on product declaration and use of the Certification Seals Listing of bodies, licensing and revoking, training, handling of complaints Inspection and conformity evaluation of products, processes and documents with the relevant standards and the provisions of this handbook. Promotion of environmental sustainability by tying in with established forest management scheme for raw material sources, tracing the chain of custody and monitoring sustainability indicators such as the carbon footprint of pellet production The rights, responsibilities and obligations of all participants in the certification program are defined in this Handbook. The Handbook will be revised regularly by an editorial group authorised by the Board of ENplus. The International Management of ENplus may publish amendments to the handbook as well as clarifications. 1.2 Setup of the Certification Program The European Biomass Association AEBIOM has received the licensing rights for the registered trademark ENplus (called ENplus Sign, WIPO Nr ) from the developer of the ENplus certification program, Deutsches Pelletinstitut GmbH (DEPI). AEBIOM is allowed to grant the licensing rights to association member of the European Pellet Council (EPC) that represents the wood pellet industry in its respective country or region. The license to use the ENplus trademark is always issued by AEBIOM or a National Licenser. Pellet associations that have received the licensing rights for their country serve as National Licenser and organise the National Management of ENplus in their respective country. The National Licenser contracts a National Certification Body for the conformity evaluation of companies in its country 1. The National Management may be performed by the National Licenser itself or is assigned to either the National Certification Body or the International Management. In countries without a National Licenser, the ENplus certification will be coordinated by the International Management. 1 Due to historical reasons Austria has two national certification bodies. Applicants may choose which one is responsible for the certification of their company. 10

12 The independence of the certification program is guaranteed through the involvement of accredited bodies for certification 2, inspection and testing. All testing, inspection and certification bodies who verify that companies comply with the provisions of the ENplus Handbook must be accepted and listed with the International Management who will publish listed organisations on the official ENplus website ( An up-to-date list of all National Licensers is published on the official ENplus website ( AEBIOM as well as a National Licenser will grant the license to use the Certification Seal consisting of the ENplus Sign and the respective ENplus ID to companies who fulfil the obligations under the provisions of the Handbook and enter into a contract with the Competent Licenser. In general, the Competent Licenser is the organisation that holds the licensing rights for the country where the company asking for certification is located. If a National Licenser is terminated or loses the ENplus licensing rights, license users from this country will receive their established license directly from AEBIOM without further delay unless the license user fails to comply the ENplus requirements. 1.3 Coming into Force The regulations defined in this Handbook will come into force on the 1 st of July 2015 Companies already certified at this point of time may continue to produce and trade pellets with the specifications defined in EN (respective version 2.0 of the ENplus Handbook) until the 30 th of June 2015, provided they refer to the European standard in their delivery papers and on their bag design. From the 1 st of January 2016, inspection and certification bodies will only accept the fuel properties, certification sign and bag design as defined in this version of the Handbook. 2 Due to historical reasons the German implementation of ENplus is organised as an ISO 9001 group certification with DEPI as system support organisation that serves as National Licenser and National Certification Body without being accredited. The independency is guaranteed by an ISO 9001 certificate of the accredited certification body. 11

13 1.4 Chain of Confidentiality ENplus-Handbook (Version 3.0) First Draft The International Management, National Managements and the Listed Bodies are committed to the non-disclosure of all business-related information received through contact with the certified company in the course of or before certification, if this information is not freely available. The International Management and National Managements of ENplus will not disclose business-related information of certified companies to the members of EPC or those of national pellet associations. Disclosure is only possible if the certified company releases the International Management, National Managements and the Listed Bodies from their nondisclosure obligation or if the International Management/National Managements and the Listed Bodies are obliged by law to disclose specific information. The Listed Bodies, National Managements and the International Management form a chain of confidentiality. Listed Bodies are obliged to provide the Competent Management with all necessary information about a certified company according to the provisions of this handbook. This includes the information provided in the laboratory report, inspection report and conformity report as well as any information needed for complaint management. Figure 1 provides an overview of the transmission of confidential documents related to ENplus certification and license use. Figure 1 Flow of confident information in the ENplus certification system 12

14 2 PELLET QUALITY 2.1 Quality Classes The ENplus certification program covers three pellet quality classes with different demands on the raw materials used and the wood pellet characteristics. They correspond to the classes of ISO and are named: ENplus A1 ENplus A2 ENplus B Table 1 provides an overview of crucial pellet properties and the related threshold values. Table 1: Threshold values of the most important pellet parameters. Property Unit ENplus A1 ENplus A2 ENplus B Diameter mm 6 ± 1 or 8 ± 1 Length mm 3.15 < L < 40 4) Moisture Content w-% 1) < 10 Ash Content w-% 2) < 0.7 < 1.2 < 2.0 Mechanical Durability w-% 1) > 97.5 Fines (< 3.15 mm) w-% 1) < 1.0 5) Net Calorific Value kwh/kg 1) > 4.6 Bulk Density kg/m BD 750 Additives w-% 1) < 2.0 6) Nitrogen Content w-% 2) < 0.3 < 0.5 < 1.0 Sulfur Content w-% 2) < 0.04 < 0.05 Chlorine Content w-% 2) < 0.02 < 0.03 Ash Deformation Temperature 3) o C > 1200 > ) as received 2) dry basis 3) ash is produced at 815 C 4) a maximum of 1% of the pellets may be longer than 40mm, no pellets longer than 45mm are allowed. 5) at factory gate, when filling pellet bags or when loading truck for end-customer delivery. 6) the amount of additives in production must be limited to 1.8 w-%, the amount of postproduction additives (e.g. coating oils) must be limited to 0.2 w-% of the pellets. Additional threshold values are defined for several minor elements: Arsenic ( 1 mg/kg dry), Cadmium ( 0.5 mg/kg dry), Chromium (10 mg/kg dry); Copper ( 10 mg/kg dry), Lead ( 10 mg/kg dry), Mercury ( 0.1 mg/kg dry), Nickel ( 10 mg/kg dry), Zinc ( 100 mg/kg dry). Measured data must be displayed with the same number of decimals as stated in this Handbook. 13

15 The ENplus quality classes exceed the requirements of ISO on the following points: Mandatory requirements on ash melting behaviour. The ash used for the measurement of the melting behaviour is produced at 815 C. For ENplus B, the mechanical durability must be 97.5 w-%. Listed bodies must follow the testing standards requested in ISO If an ISO testing standard has not yet been published, the respective method mentioned in EN must be used. 2.2 Requirements on Wood Raw Materials The types of wood indicated in Table 2 can be used according to the standard ISO as raw material for the production of wood pellets. The raw material assortments are defined in ISO Table 2: Wood types that are permitted to be used for wood pellet production ENplus A1 ENplus A2 ENplus B Stem wood a) Whole trees without roots a) 1.1 Forest, plantation and other virgin wood a) Chemically untreated by-products and residues from the wood processing industry b) Stem wood a) Chemically untreated Logging residues a) by-products and residues from the wood Chemically untreated byproducts processing industry b) and residues Chemically untreated from the wood processing industry b) used wood c) a) Wood which was externally treated with wood preservatives against insect attack (e.g. lineatus), is not considered as chemically treated wood. If all chemical parameters of the pellets comply with the limits and/or concentrations are too small to be concerned with. b) Negligible levels of glue, grease and other timber production additives used in sawmills during production of timber and timber product from virgin wood are acceptable, if all chemical parameters of the pellets are clearly within the limits and/or concentrations are too small to be concerned with. c) Demolition wood is excluded. Demolition wood is used wood coming from the demolition of buildings or civil engineering installations. ENplus deviates from the standard ISO , in that the use of chemically treated wood is not allowed for production of ENplus B pellets. 2.3 Requirements on Additives An additive is a material, which is intentionally introduced into the pellet production, or is added after production, to improve the quality of fuel, reduce emissions, make production more efficient or mark the pellets. Additives are allowed to a maximum of 2% of the total mass of the pellets. The amount of additives in production must be limited to 1.8 w-%, while the amount of post-production additives (e.g. coating oils) must be limited to 0.2 w-% of the pellets. The type (material and trade name) and quantity (in w-%) of all additives must be documented. Water, steam and heat are not regarded as additives. 14

16 Additives, such as starch, corn flour, potato flour, vegetable oil, lignin from sulphate kraft process etc., must originate from processed or unaltered farming and forestry products. The International Management may exclude the use of a particular additive if concerns are raised that it creates operational problems in heating devices or poses health or environmental risks. The company may file an objection against the exclusion (see chapter 3.8). 15

17 3 CERTIFICATION 3.1 Types of Certification Figure 2 provides a brief overview of the main actors in the most important pellet delivery chains and the main processes involved in the different roles that have an influence on the physical product quality. All quality-influencing processes in the delivery chain need regular inspection. Figure 2 Exemplary pellet delivery chains including the main processes that influence pellet quality Besides pellet production, all processes may also be performed by an external service provider. Producer certification mainly involves a product certification with a focus on internal quality control and product specifications. Therefore, inspection of pellet producers and of bagging stations will be performed on-site on a yearly basis by listed inspection bodies. The producers certification will include a list of all certified pellet quality classes. A certified pellet producer will receive an individual Certification Seal that includes a unique ENplus ID. The ID has to be used on all delivery documents for certified pellets. Producers that sell only pellets from their own production to traders but not to consumers don t have to hold a trader certification. Trader certification is not bound to a specific quality class. The certification program lays emphasis on the quality of services and chain-of-custody requirements. Hence, a trader certification is based on a quality management approach. Inspections have to be performed by Listed Inspectors mandated by a certification body on-site during the certification process and later on once in a certification period (3 years). Remote inspection will be carried out in the other two years. Since bagging is regarded as a high physical risk for product quality, those traders will need an annual on-site inspection. A certified pellet trader will receive an individual Certification Seal that includes a unique ENplus ID. The ID must be used on all delivery documents for certified pellet quality classes. Traders who do not come into physical contact with the pellets and do not contract any service providers are not under any obligation to get certified, but must do so if they wish to have their own ENplus ID. Traders selling only pellet bags (without an ID of their own but no pellets in bulk and are not running a bagging station) do not need to be certified. 16

18 Service provider certification is required for a service provider offering the following services to certified pellet producer or trader: Bagging of pellets Deliveries of bulk pellets to end-consumer (only if using vehicles with on-board weighing device) Service providers offering services related to storage and/or transportation services (without end-customer delivery) may apply for certification on a voluntary basis. Service providers will be inspected by Listed Inspectors mandated by a certification body according to the provisions for traders. Certified service providers will receive a special sign for ENplus services with a registration number of the certification body but not an ENplus ID. Table 3 summarises the characteristics of the different types of certification. Table 3: Types of certification with main characteristics Producer Trader Service provider Types None - Trader with physical contact to the pellets or contracting of service providers - Trader with bagging station - (Trader without physical contact to the pellets & no contracting of service providers) 1 - (Trader of pellet in bags without a bagging station) 1 - Bagging - Consumer deliveries - (Storage or transportation of bulk pellets ) 1 Inspections - Annually on-site by inspection body - Every three years onsite, the other years remotely by certification body - Annually on-site by certification body - Trader with bagging station annually on-site 1 certification on voluntary basis 3.2 Conformity Report The conformity report is a document to inform the Competent Management about the findings of inspection and certification. The conformity report is issued by a certification body and provides the certified company, the inspection body and the Competent Management with the results of the conformity evaluation. Furthermore, the conformity report contains information necessary for the monitoring of the certification program: production and trade figures of bulk pellets and Bagged Pellets 17

19 information on raw materials information on customer complaints information on non-conformities lab report and data required for GHG calculation as attachments share of PEFC / FSC certified raw material Templates of the conformity reports for pellet producer, trader and service provider are provided in the Annex of the Handbook (see Annex Fehler! Verweisquelle konnte nicht gefunden werden. to Fehler! Verweisquelle konnte nicht gefunden werden.). 3.3 Identification Marking ENplus ID The Competent Management provides a unique ENplus ID to every certified company. Each ENplus ID has five characters that specify whether the certified company is a trader or a producer and which country it comes from. The first two digits indicate the country where the pellet producer or trader is located. Country codes are specified according to ISO alpha-2. The three digits after the country code provide the number of the certified company in its country. The numbers 001 to 299 will be assigned to producers, the numbers 301 to 999 to traders. Traders operating at international level may ask for the country code EU. An imprint of the sellers ENplus ID on the delivery documentation is mandatory for each delivery of ENplus pellets for both, business to business sales and consumer direct sales Certification Seal Every certified producer and trader has a unique Certification Seal which consists of the ENplus logo and a unique ENplus ID. Any use of the logo without the ID is not allowed for producers, traders and service providers, regardless of whether they are certified or not. Figure 3: Certification Sign (example: pellet producer in Spain) 18

20 Once the certificate is issued, the certified company is granted the right to use the Certification Seal for the labelling of its products and for advertising purposes. The Certification Seal must exclusively be used in direct connection with the certified product. Certified companies who manufacture or trade certified and non-certified goods must avoid giving the impression that the complete production and trade quantities are certified. The Certification Seal may only appear on the company s website, promotion material, delivery notes and invoices if they are issued exclusively for ENplus certified pellets. In certain circumstances, it is required that the Certification Seal is used in combination with the Quality Sign displaying the respective quality class (see chapter 3.3.3). Information about the permitted colours and colour combination can be found in Annex Quality Sign Each of the quality classes has a dedicated Quality Sign that may be used for marketing issues. The relevant quality class sign for ENplus A1 or ENplus A2 must be displayed on the label of bagged pellets. Table 4: Quality Signs in combination with a Certification Seal (example) Quality Sign for quality class ENplus A1 in combination with the Certification Seal Quality Sign for quality class ENplus A2 in combination with the Certification Seal Quality Sign for quality class ENplus B in combination with the Certification Seal 19

21 The Certification Seal and Quality Sign must be printed side-by-side (see Table 4) as provided by the Competent Management and in the same colour variation. Information about the permitted colours and colour combination can be found in Annex 1. As traders certification is not bound to a specific quality class. The certification program lays emphasis on the quality of services and chain-of-custody requirements. Hence, a trader certification is based on a quality management approach. As a consequence, traders don t need to add the quality sign to their certification seal for any purpose except on their bagged pellets Service Sign & registration number for service providers The Service Sign is granted to certified service providers (see chapter 8). It includes a unique registration number that is given to every certified company. The first two digits indicate the country in which the pellet producer or trader is located. Country codes are specified according to ISO alpha-2. The three digits that appear after the country code indicate the number of the certified company in its country. In order to distinguish the registration number from a certified Service Provider from the ENplus ID of a certified producer or trader, the letters SP are placed after the number. Figure 4 ENplus Service Sign Information about the permitted colours and colour combination can be found in Annex 1. The Service Sign, or at least the registration number, has to be used on all document related to services provided within the ENplus program. 3.4 Requirements on bag design Pellet bags are a packaging unit for the retail market. Pellet bags may contain up to 30 kg of pellets of the quality classes ENplus A1 or ENplus A2. The address of the company responsible at the bagging stage of the supply chain must be displayed on the bags. The "company responsible" is the company whose ENplus ID is to appear on the bag and not a company that is providing bagging services to them. A non-certified company trading bagged pellets is not allowed to use the Certification Seal of the supplier nor the ENplus logo for promotional purposes. 20

22 A conformant Bag design is a critical requirement in the ENplus scheme. For this reason, bag design needs to be approved either by the Competent Management or the involved certification body during the certification process. Certified wood pellets in bags must be labelled in the language of the country in which the pellets are to be marketed. The following information must be displayed on the bags: Wood pellets with the corresponding quality class (quality class needs only to be stated as long as the old Certification Sign as defined in Version 2.0 of the Handbook is used). Name and address of the responsible company (see above) Certification Seal (see chapter 3.3.2) of the responsible company together with the relevant Service Sign (see chapter 3.3.3) The diameter (6 mm or 8 mm). This must be displayed clearly on the front of the bag. The inclusion of other fuel properties on the bag is voluntary. If the company decides to do so, there are two possibilities: The threshold values are shown as defined in the handbook (including or sign, see Table 1). The values are taken from a lab report from a testing body listed by EPC. The date of the lab report has to be indicated on the bag next to the fuel specification. As long as the bag is used, the mentioned data must not be older than two years. The Lab report has to be sent to the Competent Management when sending the bag design for approval. The note Store in dry conditions. The note Use only in approved and appropriate combustion systems according to manufacturer instructions and national regulations. Minimum net weight (in kg) to be stated on the front side of the bag. Additional information indicated on the bag cannot be false or misleading. The origin of pellets may only be indicated in connection with a producer ID. The certified company whose ENplus ID is printed on the bag must provide a facsimile of each bag label to the Competent Management or the Competent Certification Body for approval. 3.5 Validity of the License and Certificate The license to use the Certification Seal is valid until the Competent Licenser or the certified company terminate the licensing contract or certification body revokes the certificate. The Competent Licenser has the right to suspend the license contract for a limited period, or terminated it completely, if the terms of use are violated or if the certification body states that a certified company no longer complies with the requirements. If the certified producer has several production sites, the license may be suspended only for the location in which the nonconformities were identified, and for the length of time it take for them to be corrected. Wood pellets from other plants of the certified producer may still be marketed as certified product. 21

23 The certificate is valid for one certification period lasting three years. The certification period starts with the issuing of the certificate. Certified companies will receive a new certificate at the beginning of each new certification period. If a certificate for a company from a country with a National Licenser has been issued before a National Certification Body was in place, the contract between the certified company and the previous certification body will be valid until the expiration date of the certificate. The renewal of the certificate will be issued by the National Certification Body. All National Certification Bodies are listed on the official ENplus homepage ( If a license / certificate is revoked, the ENplus ID of the certified company gets blacklisted and will never again be assigned to another certified company. The former license holder can reapply for certification and license after a period of one year. After the successful approval of their application they will be issued a new ENplus ID. 3.6 Affiliated Companies The ENplus license may include more than one legal entity in the case of Affiliated Companies. Affiliated Companies may be both subsidiaries and associated companies provided that the legal entity that holds the license rights is entitled to enforce upon the Affiliated Company to obey both the provisions of the Handbook and requests from the Competent Management. Typical cases of affiliated companies are producers with multiple production plants organised as separate legal entities producers with a sales organisation being a separate legal entity traders with regional sales organisations organised as separate legal entities contracted service providers Affiliated Companies must be approved by the Competent Management. Certified companies have to provide a list of Affiliated Companies attached to their application and report any changes and additions. 3.7 Sublicensing Sublicensing is a mean to allow paper trading of bulk pellets without the need for certification due to the trader having no physical contact with the pellets nor any contract with a service provider. This could either be a broker in business-to-business-trade or a retail trader who works exclusively for one certified company. Sublicensed traders are allowed to sell certified pellets in bulk if a Sublicense Contract, which must be countersigned by both the Competent Licenser and the certified company, grants them the right to use the Certification Seal of the certified company. The basic principle is that the physical handling of the pellets is performed in total by certified companies. It is mandatory that the non-certified trader has no own technical equipment such as stores and delivery vehicles. Service providers who have physical contact with the pellets must be mandated by a certified company. 22

24 3.8 Objection Proceedings ENplus-Handbook (Version 3.0) First Draft Applicants and certified companies can file a written objection to the International Management against the following decisions: Refusal of the requested certification Ordering of new monitoring inspections Ordering of extraordinary inspections Ordering of more frequent inspections in the scope of internal controls Suspension and cancellation of the certificate / the license Exclusion of an additive The objection is only permissible when the applicant or certified company proves that the affected decision violates its own rights. A written decision on the objection will be made within two weeks by the Board of ENplus. Any person who is directly affected by the objection decision will not participate in the decision making process. 23

25 4 SUSTAINABILITY ENplus-Handbook (Version 3.0) First Draft The ENplus certification program is fully committed to ensuring that both, the source of the raw material for pellet production and the production of the pellet plant comply with generally accepted sustainability principles. 4.1 Sustainability on Wood Raw Material The ENplus certification program does not compete with established forest sustainability scheme but acknowledges the certificates from PEFC, FSC or equivalent forest management systems including their chain-of-custody certificates. ENplus-certified producers are required to document the origin and the share of certified wood materials. The International Management monitors the sustainability state of the raw material. In case virgin wood is used as raw material, ENplus requires a share of material from certified sources of at least 30%. International ENplus management may publish the aggregated results for specific countries or for specific regions (as long as at least 5 certified producers are situated in the country). 4.2 Carbon Footprint The Carbon Footprint (CO 2-eq emitted per metric ton of pellets produced) of every certified pellet production will be determined by the International Management. Pellet producers must provide all relevant data. The international Management will provide the Carbon footprint to the certified company as well as to the relevant National Licenser. Certified producers may publish the GHG Emissions Certificate on their homepage and in communications. The ENplus management will not disclose the certificates to the public but only aggregated values per country (as long as at least 5 certified producers are situated in the country). 24

26 5 FEES ENplus-Handbook (Version 3.0) First Draft ENplus Licensers are non-profit organisations. All surpluses will be used to support the pellet industry at international or national level. The certification of companies and the granting of rights to use the Certification Seal entitles the Competent Management to charge fees. The ENplus fees do not include costs for testing, inspection and certification. These costs need to be settled directly with the respective bodies. Fees for certified companies are charged either by the International Management or by the relevant National Management. The Schedule of ENplus Fees of the International Management of ENplus is published on the ENplus homepage For countries covered by a National Licenser, the schedule of ENplus fees is decided on by the National Licenser and is published on the national ENplus homepage. Certified producers and traders are obliged to report the amount of pellets sold in the preceding year to the Competent Management by the 15 th of January and to give a projection of the production for the actual year. The projection will be used to calculate the license fee for the current year. The difference between the projected amount and the actual amount will be credited or charged in the succeeding year. Certified producers and traders may be charged with a fixed rate and with license fees per sold metric ton of certified pellets. Certified pellets are all pellets that meet the criteria of the quality class the producer is certified for regardless of whether they are sold as ENplus pellets or not. The Competent Management will exclude fees for pellets that are dedicated to animal bedding sold for the supply of power plants Producers who have an additional trader certification must pay additional trader licence fees only for those pellets that don t come from their own production. Certified service providers are charged with a fixed rate. 25

27 6 CERTIFICATION OF PELLET PRODUCERS 6.1 Scope and Limits of the Producer Certificate The ENplus producer certificate attests that the certified products (pellets according to the quality classes named in the certificate) comply with the specifications of the certification program and ISO The certificate also attests that the pellet production including support processes as well as the quality management system comply with the Handbook provisions. This includes raw material procurement and processing, pellet production, storage, transport, bagging, quality control, staff qualification, complaint management and documentation requirements. All processes are checked during an annual inspection carried out by a Listed Inspector mandated by a listed inspection body. The certificate does not include trade of pellets from other pellet producers deliveries to private consumers Producers who want to offer certified pellets related to these operations need an additional trader certificate and are due to regular trader inspections by Listed Inspectors mandated by a listed certification body. Freight forwarders carrying pellets from one certified company to another do not have to be certified. The same applies for storage companies without a loading station with screening device for the loading of trucks for end-customer delivery. The certified producer is required to name the non-certified service provider as an Affiliated Company and must register the delivery vehicles, storages and bagging facilities of the non-certified external service provider. The certified producer is responsible for the performance of contracted service providers as long as they are not certified themselves. Rules for service providers are defined in Application of Pellet Producers Pellet producers must apply for certification with the Competent Management of ENplus. The Competent Management is either the International Management or the National Management of the country where the production site is situated Applicants should visit the international homepage of ENplus ( and check whether the country in which the production site is located has a National Management. If the country in which the production site is located has no National Management, the applicant should download and read the relevant chapter of this handbook, the Schedule of ENplus Fees and the Application Form for Pellet Producer from the international ENplus homepage. If the country in which the production site is located has a National Management, the applicant should follow the link to the National Licenser s national ENplus homepage and download the national versions of the same documents as described above. 3 Due to historical reasons some production sites operate under a foreign ENplus ID of the parent company. In that case, the ENplus fees have to be transferred to the National Licenser of the country where the production site is located. 26

28 2. The applicant must choose and contract a listed inspection body for an annual production inspection and a listed certification body. When the application is with the National Management, the certification body has to be the National Certification Body. The applicant may also choose a listed testing body for pellet analysis or may include lab services in the inspection contract. 3. The pellet producer sends his application including a list of Affiliated Companies to the Competent Management. 4. A Listed Inspector from the contracted inspection body will perform an initial inspection and send a copy of the inspection report within 6 weeks of the inspection date to the contracted certification body. The certification body will evaluate the inspection report. If the applicant comply with the ENplus provisions, the certification body issues both the conformity report and the certificate and submits both documents to the Competent Management. 5. The Competent Management sends an invoice for the license fees based the projected production figures for the year. The fees will be calculated by applying the fraction of the year remaining to the estimated production for the full year. After the applicant has paid the fees, the Competent Management sends the Certification Seal, the certificate and the conformity report to the certified producer. The producer and Competent Management sign a contract; in some countries the contract may be part of the application form. The company name as well as the produced quality classes will be published on all relevant ENplus websites. If the applying company is bagging pellets, the bag design must be approved either by the Competent Management or by the Competent Certification Body. The approved facsimile of the bag will be published on all relevant ENplus websites. The applicant may withdraw their application at any stage of the procedure. The Competent Management will reject the application if it does not receive a positive conformity evaluation within 3 months of the initial inspection and may reject the application if the applicant does not pay the license fees within four weeks. 6.3 External control of Pellet Producers Certified pellet producers are required to mandate a listed inspection body for annual on-site inspection. Inspections must be carried out by a Listed Inspector. All regular inspections must be performed annually in a time period of ± three months, referring to the date of the initial inspection. The inspection body must offer an appropriate inspection date that has to be announced at least two weeks in advance. The certified company has to give the inspector access to all parts of the plant and to all the relevant documentation and personnel. The inspector will take samples of certified products, seal them and arrange their delivery to the testing laboratory. examine the operating equipment and installations. During the initial inspection he will check and document them in total, after that the inspector will document the changes. 27

29 check the quality management system including operating procedures, documentation, quality policy and the qualification of personnel. check the origin of raw materials and additives. check the share of PEFC/FSC certified raw material collect all data needed for GHG calculation validate the self-inspections (e.g. by comparing the lab results of a shared pellet sample with those from the internal tests of the certified company. Check production figures Additionally, extraordinary inspections can be carried out upon demand by the Competent Certification Body or the Competent Management, e.g. if significant numbers of complaints are received. In the event of a concern about the quality was legitimate, the certified company must pay for the extraordinary inspection and related pellet analyses. The inspector will evaluate and classify all findings that don t comply with the provisions from the Handbook, the amendments to the Handbook, and the standards ISO , EN , and ISO The classification of non-conformities is according to the quality risks: Class A is any deviation that alters the quality of the product in a way that it does not meet the specifications, e.g. non-conforming lab results, missing self-inspections, non-conforming raw materials. Class A deviations have to be corrected before the inspection report is submitted to the certification body; otherwise the certificate will not be issued or will be suspended. Class B deviations provide a risk that the product may not meet the specifications permanently, e.g. missing documentation and monitoring of the internal quality control and customer complaints, maintenance and cleaning issues. Class B deviations must be corrected within two months. The certified producer has to send a proof of the corrections to the certification body. Class B deviations have to be listed in the inspection report. They have to be corrected before the conformity report is issued. Class C deviations are minor deviations that don t provide a risk that the product does not meet the standard, e.g. label and declaration issues, missing training of staff. Class C deviations must be corrected at latest until the next inspection. For Class C deviations related to the use of the Certification Seal, delivery documents, GHG calculation or reporting obligations, the Competent Management of ENplus may set a correction deadline and ask for a proof of the corrections. The inspection report, the lab report and the data needed for GHG calculation have to be submitted within one month of the inspection to the client and to the Competent Certification Body. The Competent Certification Body will check the reports and evaluate conformity. The Competent Certification Body will review all non-conformity classifications as well as the required corrective actions, and may modify, add or dismiss non-conformity ratings and the corrective measures before issuing a conformity report. 28

30 The Competent Certification Body must submit the conformity report, the lab results, and the data needed for GHG calculation within three months of the inspection date to the Competent Management and the inspection body that performed the inspection. If the certificate is revoked because of Class A deviations, the customer is required to mandate a new inspection. If the findings of that inspection lead to any class A or class B deviations, the Competent Certification Body must revoke the certificate and the ENplus ID will be blacklisted. If the certificate holder has more than one production site, the certificate may be revoked for the site where the failures have been detected, pellets from the other production sites may continue to be sold as certified produce. 6.4 Requirements on Pellet Producers Quality Management The requirements for the internal quality management of the pellet production are based on EN and ISO 9001 and the specifications of the Handbook. The quality management must include an in-house manual including operational instructions, training records (external and internal) and procedures for the handling of claims and complaints. Quality manager: the management of the certified company must appoint a quality manager with expertise in the effects of different operating processes on the quality of the produced pellets. The quality manager must be mandated to implement measures to meet the requirements for quality control and the internal quality management documentation. They serve as contact person for the inspection body and the Competent Management of ENplus. The latter will inform the quality manager about improvements and changes in the certification program. Furthermore they are required to participate in an external training course on pellet quality in the first year of certification and then at least once every certification period afterwards. The training has to be approved by the Competent Management of ENplus. The quality manager must ensure the orderly documentation and evaluation of operating processes that have an effect on the quality of the wood pellets. The documentation has to be kept up-to-date and should be regularly presented to the management. For this purpose, it is recommended to maintain a shift book. Discovered defects are to be immediately disclosed to the responsible employees and are to be remedied. The quality manager serves as the contact person for their colleagues in case of malfunctions in the production process. The quality manager may delegate individual monitoring and documentation tasks to other employees. In this case, they must advise the responsible employees of their duties and monitor the carrying out of these duties to ensure that they are being done so correctly. If the company is located in a country without a National Management, the quality manager is required to be able to speak English. Large companies with subsidiaries in different countries need at least one Quality manager per country. The quality manager of a certified company is required to conduct annual training with all employees as regards quality demands. This training must be documented (date, participants, contents). 29

31 6.4.2 Raw Materials The requirements on the origin of the wood raw materials are based on ISO and described in chapter 2.2. The requirements on amount and kind of additives are in described in chapter 2.3. The International Management may exclude the use of a particular additive if concerns are raised that it creates operational problems in heating devices or poses health or environmental risks. The company may file an objection against the exclusion (see chapter 3.8) Installations and Operating Equipment The certified company must have suitable technical equipment and installations for the production, storage, handling and packaging of high quality wood pellets. Installations must fulfil the following specifications. Unloading, manipulation and storage areas for raw materials have to be protected against contamination by substances such as soil, stones and grains. Pellet storages must protect the pellets from moisture and contamination. Storages for different quality classes must be spatially divided. Pellet loading areas must have a protection against rain and snow, even under heavy wind conditions. If wood pellets from the producer s storage are delivered to end customers, the facility must be equipped with a device to separate the fine material before loading the transport vehicle. The sieving device must be able to minimize the amount of fines below 1 w-% Main Processes The following processes have to be implemented and documented. Table 5: Main processes in pellet production and related documentation requirements. Area Processes Documentation requirements Incoming goods Production Visual inspection, e.g. bark, rotting, contamination. Check of delivery documents. Acceptance of goods. Pellet production. Pellet storage. Bagging of pellets. Delivery documents for raw materials including prior freight of vehicle, origin of raw material, type of wood, declaration of natural purity, forest sustainability certificates. Delivery documents for additives including data sheets. Standard operating procedures. Checklists for maintenance and cleaning. Production parameters including additive dosing. Stored amount. Deviations and disorders including corrective actions and disposition of non-conforming products. Work carried out, e.g. change of mould. 30

32 Outgoing goods Quality control Sieving to less than 1 % fines. Reference sampling. Loading of vehicles. Self-monitoring including evaluation of results. Maintenance, cleaning, calibration, verification and validation of testing devices. Check of outgoing goods, e.g. temperature must be below 40 C. Check of internal and external transport means against contamination. Loading reports, Shipping documents, Material data sheets. Prior freight of vehicles. Testing and inspection procedures. Testing results. Evaluation of testing results. Reports of visual inspections. Clearance procedures. Corrective measures Self-Monitoring Certified producers must implement regular self-monitoring of pellet quality for the parameters in Table 1Table 6. The testing methods may deviate from the ISO specifications. All testing methods have to be validated during the annual inspection by comparative measurement. Pellets from different production lines must be tested separately. The frequency of the test for each production line has to be a minimum of once per shift. The minimum frequency has also be at least N in 24 h where N is: N 10 ton days 10 N = days: ton: number of sample in 24h annual working days annual output of pellets per production line in metric tons Example N=10/220* /10 = 3 times per 24h Table 6: Minimum requirements on self-monitoring test Parameter Sample point Frequency Bulk Density After production, before storage N, at least once per shift Moisture Content After production, before storage N, at least once per shift Mechanical Durability After production, before storage N, at least once per shift Length After production, before storage N, at least once per shift Amount of Fines Last possible point before delivery N, at least once per shift The tests must be conducted according to the methods approved by the inspector. When reasonable doubts concerning the pellet quality exist, the inspection body or the Competent Certification Body may order more frequent tests or additional tests, e.g. ash content in case that raw material sources with high ash content are blended with low ash raw materials. 31

33 6.4.6 Reference Samples ENplus-Handbook (Version 3.0) First Draft The analysis of a reference samples offers a solid basis for the decision on quality related complaints from customers (business-to-business and consumer). Certified producers are required to take a reference sample of at least 500 g for each loading. In case of less than 3 loadings per loading point the sample(s) mass must be a minimum of 1.5 kg per day of delivery for each loading point. Reference samples must be taken after the last sieving at the loading process, preferably from the moving material. The samples must be stored for at least nine months under proper conditions. Samples must be sealed and labelled with the sample point, date, quality class and a consecutive registration number that has to be provided to the customer, e.g. on the delivery note. For Bagged Pellets, no reference samples need to be stored Labelling of Bagged Pellets See chapter Fehler! Verweisquelle konnte nicht gefunden werden. (Requirements on bag design) Complaint Management Certified producers must appoint an employee as complaint manager preferably the same person that serves as the quality manager. The complaint manager is responsible for the registration, processing, documentation and monitoring of customer complaints including corrective and preventive actions, if necessary. Product analyses for proving the permissibility of a complaint must be performed by a testing body listed by ENplus. Samples must be taken by an inspector of a listed inspection body in case no other agreement has been made between all involved parties Sustainability See chapters 4.1 (sustainability requirements on wood raw material) and 4.2 (carbon footprint) Reporting Obligations Certified pellet producers must report substantial changes and incidents to the Competent Certification Body respectively the Competent Management. The following changes are to be reported to the Competent Certification Body that will then pass the information to the inspection body in charge: Substantial changes in installations and technical equipment, e.g. additional storages and production lines 32

34 Substantial changes in quality control, e.g. new testing methods for self-monitoring Appointment of a new quality manager or complaint manger The following changes and incidents are to be reported to the Competent Management and the Competent Certification Body: Changes in production and storage capacity Changes and introduction of bag designs The annual production figures Changes of the legal status of a company Additional or terminated Affiliated Companies 33

35 7 CERTIFICATION OF PELLET TRADERS ENplus-Handbook (Version 3.0) First Draft 7.1 Scope and Limits of a Trader Certificate The ENplus trader certificate attests that the operating processes, services and the quality management system of the certified trader comply with the specifications of the certification program as well as ISO , EN and ISO A certified trader may offer certified bulk pellets of all ENplus quality classes and is also certified for the transport, storage, delivery and bagging of bulk pellets. Installations, technical equipment, operational processes, quality control, staff qualification, complaint management and documentation are checked by on-site and remote inspections carried out by a Listed Inspector mandated by a listed certification body. Each trader in the supply chain of ENplus certified bulk pellets that comes into physical contact with the pellets, or contracts a service provider to do so, must be certified. Traders without any physical contact and not contracting any service providers can apply for becoming certified on a voluntary basis. Certified pellet producers delivering bulk pellets to consumers also need a trader certification. A trader does not need to be certified if they are just trading already bagged pellets marked with the ID of a different certified company. Freight forwarders carrying pellets from one certified company to another do not need to be certified. The same applies for storage companies. The certified trader must name all non-certified Service Providers as Affiliated Companies and is required to register their storages and other utilities. The certified trader is responsible for the performance of contracted service providers as long as they are not certified themselves. Rules for service providers are defined in chapter Application of Pellet Traders Pellet traders have to apply for certification with the Competent Management. If the applicant has Affiliated Companies in different countries or is in doubt which ENplus Management is responsible for his application, he should contact the International Management of ENplus. The application procedure is as follows: 1. The first step of an application is proper information. Applicants should visit the international homepage of ENplus ( and check whether the country in which the trader s headquarters is located has a National Management. If the country in which the headquarter is located has no National Management, the applicant should download and read the relevant chapters of this handbook, the Schedule of ENplus Fees and the Application Form for Pellet Traders from the international ENplus homepage. If the country of origin of the trader has a National Management, the applicant should follow the link to the national homepage of ENplus for their country and download the national versions of the same documents as described above from there. 2. The pellet trader must choose and contract a listed certification body for inspection and certification. In case of an application with a National Management, the certification body must be the National Certification Body. 34

36 If the trader operates a bagging station, they may also choose a listed testing body for pellet analysis or may include lab services in the inspection contract. 3. The pellet trader sends his application including a list of Affiliated Companies (including data sheets for trucks, storages and bagging stations, if relevant) to the Competent Management. 4. A Listed Inspector mandated by the certification body will check the application form (including the data sheets) and perform an initial inspection either before the certification or, at the latest, up to 3 months after the certificate is issued. The certification body decides if they issue the conformity report based on the examined application or the inspection report. If an inspection report is issued, an employee of the certification body other than that that carried out the inspection, will evaluate it. If the applicant complies with the ENplus provisions, the certification body issues the conformity report and the certificate and submits them to the Competent Management. 5. The Competent Management invoices the companies for the license fee based on the project trade figures for the calendar year. Once the applicant has paid the fees, the Competent Management sends the ENplus Seal, the certificate and the conformity report to the certified trader. The trader and competent management sign a contract ; in some countries the contract may be part of the application form. The company name is then published on all relevant ENplus websites. If the applying company is packing pellet bags, the bag design has to be approved either by the Competent Management or by the Competent Certification Body. The approved facsimile of the bag will be published on all relevant ENplus websites. The applicant may withdraw their application at any stage of the procedure. The Competent Management must reject the application if it does not receive a positive conformity evaluation within 3 months of the initial inspection and may reject the application if the applicant does not pay the license fees within four weeks. 7.3 External Control of Pellet Traders The first inspection of each certification period (3 years) must be conducted on-site and must include the inspection of all storage sites in addition to the screening device for the loading of trucks for end-customer delivery. The inspections in the second and third year of the certification period are performed remotely. During the recertification after each certification period, random controls of the storages will be carried out. Since bagging is regarded as a high physical risk for product quality, those traders will need an annual on-site inspection. All inspections must be carried out by a Listed Inspector. All regular inspections must be performed in a time period of ± three months, referring to the date of the initial inspection. The certification body must offer an appropriate inspection date and this must be announced at least two weeks in advance. The certified company must give the inspector access to all locations and areas related to pellet business activities (for initial inspection) as well as to all relevant documentation and personnel. Traders without any physical contact and not contracting any service providers that want to voluntarily be certified will only be controlled by remote audits. 35

37 The Listed Inspector will examine the installations and operating equipment, e.g. storages, vehicles, sieving devices, bagging lines, testing equipment. check the quality management system including operating procedures, documentation, quality policy and the qualification of personnel. check the origin of the pellets. check the, complaint management, delivery documentation check of quality control and self-monitoring. check trade figures check participation of QM and drivers with contact to end customers at trainings check the documentation of updated data sheets for transport vehicles for storages and end-customer delivery if relevant for the company Remote inspections are performed via telephone, and / or video conference. The Listed Inspector will talk to personnel and ask for documents or photos. Updated data sheets for bagging stations, storages and vehicles for end-customer delivery need to be provided by the certified company. Additionally, extraordinary inspections may be carried out upon demand by the Competent Certification Body or the Competent Management, e.g. if significant numbers of complaints are received. In the event of a concern about the quality was legitimate, the certified company must pay for the extraordinary inspection and related pellet analyses. The inspector will evaluate and classify all findings that don t comply with the provisions from the Handbook, the amendments to the Handbook, and the standards ISO , EN , and ISO The classification of non-conformities is according to the quality risks: Class A is any deviation that alters the quality of the product or the services in a way that it does not meet the specifications, e.g. pellets from non-certified sources that are sold as certified pellets, inappropriate sieving devices in storages or bagging lines, missing complaint management. Class B deviations provide a risk that the product or services may not meet the specifications permanently, e.g. missing documentation and monitoring of the internal quality control and customer complaints, inappropriate vehicles. Class B deviations have to be corrected within two months. The certified producer has to send a proof of the corrections to the certification body. Class B deviations have to be corrected before the conformity report is issued. Class C deviations are minor deviations that don t provide a risk that the product or services do not meet the standard, e.g. label and declaration issues, missing training of staff. Class C deviations must be corrected by the following inspection at the latest. For Class C deviations related to the use of the Certification Seal, delivery documents or reporting obligations, the Competent Management of ENplus may set a correction deadline and ask for a proof of the corrections. 36

38 The Competent Certification Body must submit the conformity report within one month after the inspection date to the Competent Management. If the certificate is revoked because of Class A deviations, the customer must mandate a new onsite inspection. If the findings of that inspection lead to any class A or class B deviations, the Competent Certification Body must revoke the certificate and the ENplus ID gets blacklisted. If the certificate holder has more than one site, the certificate may be revoked for the site where the failures have been detected, pellets from the other production sites may continue to be sold as certified product. 7.4 Requirements on Pellet Traders Quality Management The requirements for internal quality management of pellet traders are based on EN and ISO 9001 and the specifications of the Handbook. The quality management must include operating instructions, training records (external and internal) and procedures for the handling of claims and complaints. Quality manager: the management of the certified company must appoint a quality manager with an expertise in the effects of different operating processes on the quality of the traded pellets. The quality manager must be mandated to implement measures to meet the requirements for quality control and the internal quality management documentation. They serve as the contact person for the certification body and the Competent Management of ENplus. The latter will inform the quality manager about improvements and changes in the certification program. The quality manager must prove their qualification (two years of work experience in the wood pellet sector, university degree or master craftsman certificate). Furthermore they must participate in an external training course for pellet quality at least in the first year and once in every certification period. The training must be approved by the Competent Management of ENplus. The quality manager must ensure the orderly documentation and evaluation of operating processes that have an effect on the quality of the wood pellets. The documentation must be kept up-to-date and should be regularly presented to the management. The quality manager serves as the contact for his/her colleagues in the case of malfunctions. Discovered defects are to be immediately disclosed to the responsible employees and are to be remedied. The quality manager may delegate individual monitoring and documentation tasks to other employees. In this case, they must advise the responsible employees of their duties and monitor that these duties are being carried out correctly. If the company is situated in a country without a national management, the quality manager has to speak English. Large companies with subsidiaries in different countries need one Quality manager per country at least. The quality manager of a certified company is required to conduct annual training with all employees as regards quality demands. The training has to be documented (date, participants, contents). 37

39 Drivers of silo trucks with contact to end customers must participate in a training course on the knowhow of smooth pellet delivery and storage. The training must be carried out within the first year of certification and once in each certification period. The content of the training must be approved by the Competent Management Installations and Operating Equipment The certified company must have suitable technical equipment and installations for the storage, handling and packaging of high quality wood pellets. Installations must fulfil the following specifications: Unloading, loading, manipulation and storage areas must be protected against moisture and contamination by substances such as soil, stones and grains. Storages for different quality classes must be spatially divided. Pellet loading areas must have a protection against rain and snow, even under heavy wind conditions. If wood pellets from the storage are delivered to end customers, the storage facility must be equipped with a device to separate the fine material before loading the transport vehicle. The device must be constructed to reduce the share of fines from 10 w-% to below 1 w-% in day-to-day-operations. Pellets must not be stored after sieving unless the surge drum is completely discharged once in 48 hours. When delivering bulk pellets to end-customers, transferring pellets from one truck or trailer to another without separating the fines is not allowed. Silo vehicles for deliveries to private customers must be equipped with a low-abrasion blowing feeding system the delivery pipe must have the ability to deflect electric current and must be coated to reduce friction. The connection between pipes may not contain sharp edges looking against the pellet flow. Silo vehicles for deliveries to private customers must be equipped with a gauged onboard weighing system. Individual exceptions from this rule may allowed by the Competent Certification Body if the certified trader demonstrate another solution to prove the delivered quantity. Silo vehicles for deliveries to private customers must have a device to extract the supply air from the storage facility during the delivery. The Competent Certification Body may accept other solutions that prevent dust from being blown into the building of the customer. The International Management must be informed about which other solutions are accepted. If silo vehicles are equipped with a coating device, it must be assured that the maximum dosing of coating agents is limited to 0.2 w-% of the pellets. Vehicles designed for the transport of pallets and bulk freight equipped with a rotary feeder must not be used for end-customer delivery due to the risk of contamination of pellets. 38

40 7.4.3 Main Operation Processes The following processes have to be implemented and documented. Table 7: Main operation processes in pellet trade and related documentation requirements Area Processes Documentation requirements Incoming goods Facilities and equipment Outgoing goods (incl. loading at the production site) Visual inspection and temperature check (must be 40 C) Check of delivery documents. Acceptance of goods. Periodic maintenance and check cleaning Check of outgoing goods: pellet temperature 40 C, fines < 1%,. Check of internal and external transport means against contamination. Reference sampling. Loading of vehicles. Quality control Self-monitoring including evaluation of results. Maintenance, cleaning, calibration, verification and validation of testing devices Self-Monitoring Delivery notes. Prior freight in case of vehicles that are used for other goods than certified pellets. Weighing receipts. In case of sea transport: Lab analysis, loading report, load compartment inspection report, unloading report. Maintenance and cleaning plans incl. affirmation of implementation Delivery documentation Testing and inspection procedures. Testing results. Evaluation of testing results. Reports of visual inspections. Clearance procedures. Defects and corrective measures. Disposition of the non-conforming wood pellets Certified traders must implement a regular self-monitoring system for pellet quality in storages and bagging stations. The testing methods may deviate from the methods indicated in ISO All testing methods must be checked and approved during the onsite inspection. The tests must be carried out in line with a regular inspection plan. The execution and the results must be documented. The minimum requirements for storages are a weekly inspection including: visual inspection of the stored wood pellets, inspection of the device for the separation of fines measurement of the temperature of the pellets sampling of pellets from loading and determination of the amount of fines to monitor the sieving device 39

41 The minimum self-monitoring frequency for bagging lines is once per operating day. Beside the measures mentioned above, the controls must include the tests listed in Table 8. Table 8: Minimum requirements on self-monitoring tests for bagging stations Parameter Sample point Frequency Bulk Density Moisture Content Mechanical Durability Amount of Fines last possible point after sieving and before bagging at least once per day The tests must be conducted according to the methods approved by the inspector. When reasonable doubts concerning the pellet quality exist, the inspection body or the certification body may order more frequent or additional tests. Certified traders must provide updated data sheets for storages and vehicles for end-customer delivery once a year. Certified traders who use non-certified service providers for pellet storage or transportation to other traders must provide data sheets for storages and vehicles for end-customer delivery of the service provider once a year Reference Samples The analysis of a reference sample offers a solid basis for the decision on quality-related complaints from customers. Certified traders must take a reference sample of at least 500 g for each loading of a delivery vehicle. If loading occurs at a pellet plant, the certified producer and the certified trader may agree on a common sample. The minimum sample size per day is 1.5 kg per loading station. Reference samples must be taken after the last sieving at the loading process, preferably from the moving material. The samples must be stored for at least nine months under proper conditions. Samples must be sealed and labelled with the sample point, date, quality class and a consecutive registration number that is provided to the customer, e.g. on the delivery note. For Bagged Pellets, no reference samples have to be stored Complaint Management Certified traders must appoint an employee as complaint manager preferably the same person that serves as the quality manager. The complaint manager is responsible for the registration, processing, documentation and monitoring of customer complaints including corrective and preventive actions. The following conditions apply for complaints regarding the amount of fine material in customer stores: The amount of fines (< 3.15 mm) in the storage exceeds 4 w-%, the amount of pellet residues before the last delivery was < 10% of the storage capacity, 40

42 less than 20 % of the actual delivery has been consumed, the blowing distance has not exceeded 30 m including the internal ducts, the pellet storage meets the criteria for proper pellet storage according to the ENplus storage guideline. the storage was cleaned minimum every 2 years In case of a complaint about the quality of bagged pellets an unopened bag needs to be reserved. Product analyses to prove the permissibility of a complaint must be performed by a testing body listed by ENplus. Samples must be taken by an inspector of a listed inspection body in case no other agreement has been made between all involved parties Delivery Documentation of Bulk Pellets Each delivery of bulk pellets to end customers must be documented with a delivery record that documents the ENplus quality class Mass of the delivered pellets in kg or metric ton Diameter of the pellets License plate number of the delivery vehicle Status of the storage room, e.g. missing impact mats, unfavourable pipe angles, and missing ventilation Amount of residual pellets Conditions of delivery, e.g. length of pipe, blowing pressure, blowing time Boiler status (on/off) Irregularities during delivery Registration number of the reference sample The delivery documentation must also include the following information: Note storage rooms must be ventilated Note Store in dry conditions. Note Use only in approved and appropriate combustion systems according to manufacturer instructions and national regulations. Certification Seal or ENplus ID The customer (or his representative) is required sign the delivery documentation for confirmation. The delivery record may be integrated within the delivery note. The certified trader must provide the customer with a copy of the delivery record. 41

43 7.4.8 Labelling of Bagged Pellets ENplus-Handbook (Version 3.0) First Draft See chapter Fehler! Verweisquelle konnte nicht gefunden werden. (Requirements on bag design) Reporting Obligations Certified pellet traders are required to report substantial changes and incidences to the Competent Certification Body respectively the Competent Management. The following changes must be reported to the Competent Certification Body: Substantial changes in installations and technical equipment, e.g. additional storages, vehicles and bagging lines (Data sheet templates must be used) Substantial changes in quality control, e.g. new testing methods Appointment of a new quality manager or complaint manger The following changes and instances must be reported to the Competent Management and the Competent Certification Body: Changes in storage capacity Appointment of a new quality manager or complaint manger Changes and introduction of bag designs (has to be approved) The annual trade figures Changes of the legal status of a company Additional or terminated Affiliated Companies 42

44 8 CERTIFICATION OF SERVICE PROVIDERS Service providers offering the following services within the ENplus program need to be certified: Bagging of pellets Deliveries of pellets to end- customers Certified Service Providers will receive a sign for ENplus services with a registration number but without an ENplus ID. The Service Sign is shown in chapter Certified Service Providers are treated like certified traders operating the relevant processes. Application procedure see chapter 7.2. External control see chapter 7.3. Requirements on quality management, staff, processes and equipment see chapter 7.4. Freight forwarders carrying pellets from one certified company to another do not have to be certified but can apply for certification on a voluntary basis. The same applies for storage companies. Non-certified Service Providers are seen as Affiliated Companies of the certified companies they are working for. They have to be announced by the employer to the Competent Management. Facilities and documentation of the service companies will be controlled as a part of the certified companies external control. The certified employer of a non-certified Service Provider is responsible for the quality of the pellets. Production facilities have to be certified on regular basis, a service provider certification is not possible. 43

45 9 APPLICABLE DOCUMENTS ENplus-Handbook (Version 3.0) First Draft The following documents referred to on the Handbook are valid in the current version published on the international or national homepage of ENplus: ENplus storage guideline Schedule of fees Application forms for producers Application form for traders Application forms for service providers Data sheets for transport vehicles (end-customer delivery), storages and bagging stations Template of a sublicense contract Template of a Delivery Record 44

46 10 ANNEX 10.1 Identification marking: colour combinations & codes Colour combinations Certification Seal, Quality Sign and Service Sign must be used as provided by the Competent Management. Possible colour combinations are shown in the following table. Table 9: Possible colour combinations for identification marks Version Certification Seal Quality sign Service sign Version A: Official colour combination For colour codes see Annex Version B: Monochrome black & white Black elements on white ground. Version C: Monochrome coloured Not allowed Elements in one colour monochrome on one colour monochrome background. The logo has to be clearly recognizable. For pellet bags only For pellet bags only 45