ISCC — International Sustainability and Carbon Certification — is the most widely used certification system for sustainable feedstocks, biofuels, and recycled and bio-based materials. The confusion is that ISCC is not one thing: it is a family of schemes, and the right one depends entirely on your product and your market. Choosing wrong, or assuming one covers all, is a common and expensive mistake.
ISCC EU — for the EU energy market
ISCC EU is a European Commission-recognised voluntary scheme for demonstrating compliance with the EU Renewable Energy Directive (RED III). If you produce biofuels, bioliquids or biomass fuels and want them counted toward EU renewable-energy targets, ISCC EU is the practical route to prove the sustainability and greenhouse-gas-saving criteria are met. It is fundamentally about market access to the EU energy sector.
ISCC PLUS — for everything that is not energy
ISCC PLUS is the voluntary scheme for non-energy markets: bio-based and recycled plastics, chemicals, food, feed, and circular-economy materials. It uses a mass-balance chain of custody, which lets certified sustainable or recycled material be mixed with conventional material and the certified attribute allocated to a defined share of output, with auditable bookkeeping. ISCC PLUS is what most chemicals, plastics and consumer-goods buyers mean when they ask for certified recycled or bio-based content.
ISCC CORSIA — for aviation
ISCC CORSIA is approved under ICAO's CORSIA programme and certifies Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) and its feedstocks against the scheme's sustainability requirements. If your product is destined for the aviation fuel value chain, this is the relevant scheme.
ISCC Carbon Footprint Certification — the add-on
ISCC also offers Carbon Footprint Certification: an audit-verified product carbon footprint built to ISCC's methodology and recognised within ISCC supply chains. It complements rather than replaces an ISO 14067 product carbon footprint, and is best built on the same underlying data.
How mass balance works
Mass balance is the mechanism that makes circular and bio-based supply chains commercially workable. You can blend certified and conventional inputs in the same process, then allocate the certified attribute to a portion of the output — provided the bookkeeping proves you never claim more than you put in. Getting that bookkeeping right is where most first audits fail.
Which do you need?
- Biofuel or feedstock for the EU energy market → ISCC EU.
- Bio-based or recycled plastics, chemicals, food or feed → ISCC PLUS.
- Sustainable aviation fuel → ISCC CORSIA.
- An audit-verified product carbon footprint within ISCC chains → ISCC Carbon Footprint Certification.
- Many businesses need more than one — map the combination to your products and buyers before scoping the audit.
Sources & further reading
This article is general information, not legal, financial or compliance advice. The regulations and standards referenced here evolve; verify the current position with the issuing body, or ask us. Published June 2026.