ISCC PLUS Certification and Mass Balance Method

Aska Company has an ISCC PLUS certified factory that enables the operation of the “Mass Balance Method”.

Obtained ISCC PLUS certification for our Knowledge Park（2022-10-20）

What is ISCC PLUS Certification?

ISCC Certification stands for International Sustainability & Carbon Certification.
It has already become popular in Europe, mainly as a certification system for biomass.
ISCC certification covers biofuels in the EU.
ISCC PLUS certification, which covers products outside the EU, covers not only biofuels and products but also recycled raw materials and products.
The ISCC PLUS certification is applied to one of the Aska Company's plants.
This ISCC PLUS certification enables the handling of biomass feedstock and recycled feedstock supplied in a mass balance system.

ISCC logo for our Knowledge Park acquisition

What is the mass balance method?

The “mass balance method” is a concept that allows products made from mixed raw materials with different characteristics to be treated as products with different characteristics in proportion to the mixing ratio.
For example, suppose that 70 kg of petroleum-derived plastic material and 30 kg of plant-derived biomass material are mixed to produce 100 products.
If the mass balance method is not used, 100 products with a bio content of 30% will be produced.
However, if the mass balance method is applied, 70 of the 100 products can be treated as 100% petroleum-derived products and 30 as 100% plant-derived products (products that are tied to 100% renewable materials).

Currently, it is very difficult to produce products using 100% biomass feedstock in terms of price.
This type of system makes it easier to utilize biomass resources without changing existing facilities.

Advantages of using the mass balance method

100% Biomass

Regardless of the actual content, it will be possible to "offer the product as a product where 100% biomass feedstock is tied to a renewable sourc” for a product with the same amount of biomass feedstock used.

Eco Mark Certification is available

Eco Mark Office: See “Containers and packaging made of plastics with assigned biomass-derived characteristics” Certification Criteria Establishment and Certification (opens in new tab)