ENplus^® Statement

ENplus^® is a quality certification scheme, as such, its set of requirements and procedures aims at guaranteeing the pellet quality to the end-users. To properly assess that raw material is sourced from sustainably managed forests, the market relies on dedicated certifications where the raw materials is properly checked. Many of these third-party certification schemes are also assessed and approved by the European Commission for complying with the EU sustainability criteria.

The ENplus^® Management strongly condemns illegal logging and any other illegal practices related to the pellet production. The ENplus^® is an international certification scheme for pellet quality to actively combat fraud. As of March 2023, there are more than 930 identified and solved fraud cases, whilst the ENplus^® blacklist provides information about more than 250 known actors at the pellet market that have abused the EN plus^® trademark and misled the consumers.

Even though sustainability is not part of the scope of the certification scheme, ENplus^® collects information about the origin of the raw material for statistical reasons and can confirm that for 85% of the certified pellet production, the raw material is residues from the wood-processing industries (EPC, 2020). Pellets are rarely produced of virgin wood, therefore, should be perceived as a solution contributing to the circular economy rather than a cause for deforestation.

When wood pellets are being used for bioenergy, they release CO₂ that is part of the natural carbon cycle which therefore does not lead to an overall increase in the levels of CO₂ into the atmosphere. The same amount of carbon emitted during the generation of bioenergy will be absorbed from the atmosphere as new trees grow. Cutting-edge technology in the latest generation of wood pellet appliances even has the capability of reducing air emissions, thus lowering pollution and improving air quality.