Bronzeoak has been committed to the renewable energy sector for over 17 years and considers sustainability a core value of the company. Bronzeoak takes its corporate social responsibilities seriously and takes great care during its business development activity to identify, and rule out, any issues which might conflict with its responsibilities to the environment and to the communities in which it operates. The company follows best practice principles to monitor the carbon savings and sustainability credentials of its projects.

Bronzeoak’s Sustainability Principles for the National Bioenergy Programme

“Bronzeoak’s projects will support the UK energy policy challenges of tackling climate change and ensuring security of energy supply”

• Bronzeoak’s bioenergy programme supports both UK targets and policy objectives to cut greenhouse gas emissions as well as offering new commercial opportunities related to the use of biomass. The UK Government aims to combat climate change by reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 80% of 1990 levels by 2050, and in 2008 signed up to the European Renewable Energy Directive which will mandate 15% renewable energy content in the UK’s national primary energy mix by 2020. The UK Renewable Energy Strategy consultation proposed that 30% of that renewable energy could come from bioenergy.

“Bronzeoak engages with all stakeholders to ensure that its goals of corporate social responsibility are met”· 

• Bronzeoak will conduct a level of communication and dialogue with stakeholders to ensure projects arise through a thoroughly participatory process.
• Bronzeoak’s projects will support the farming, forestry, construction, wood recycling and transport sectors, producing local economic benefit by offering a market for renewable fuels and crops.

“Bronzeoak’s biomass procurement policy will give full consideration to the environmental impacts of the biomass consumed in its generation facilities”·  

• Bronzeoak will only use biomass that is traceable to origin and will look to use waste and residue materials where possible. Through life cycle analysis and well monitored supply chains Bronzeoak will ensure that biomass production is environmentally sustainable. Preference will be given to locally sourced biomass sources which maximise greenhouse gas emissions savings, promote better soil and water quality, protect forests and other ecosystems and strengthen biodiversity.

Bronzeoak’s Sustainability Principles for the International Biofuels and Bioenergy Programme 

“Bronzeoak’s projects will promote the social and economic development of local, rural and indigenous peoples and communities”

• Bronzeoak has several employees who work locally within the project regions. This facilitates a level of communication and dialogue with stakeholders which ensures projects arise through a thoroughly participatory process. Bronzeoak’s direct investment in rural economies will create employment and long-term stability for local communities. Investments in local infrastructure (including roads, schools and health clinics) will benefit communities and create better conditions for new markets, products and exports. Bronzeoak’s direct involvement in plantation management on its bioethanol projects will extend good farming practices, skills and knowledge to the local communities.

 “Bronzeoak’s projects will not impair the ability of people to feed themselves”

• Political and media sensitivity to the “food vs fuel” debate heightened as a result of increases in global food prices in 2008. As the debate matured analyses showed that there were several contributory factors to increases in the retail price of food, most significantly the peak in the price of oil affecting transport, production and distribution costs. The impact of demand for biofuels on the price of agricultural commodities played a comparatively small role and differed according to the feedstock and political context. Bronzeoak focuses primarily on sugarcane as feedstock for its tropical bioethanol production which did not follow the recent price spike of other commodities.
• It is Bronzeoak’s view that the responsibility of the producer lies in supporting local food security issues, in particular that any plantation land supplying feedstock to the project shall not replace staple food crops. The projects’ support of rural economies will have a beneficial impact on the capability of people to feed themselves by improving sustainability of production, purchasing power, access and generating wider employment.

“Bronzeoak’s projects will achieve world class positive energy balance and GHG emission mitigations as compared to fossil fuels”

• Bronzeoak’s projects will achieve energy outputs that are up to 6 times the required energy inputs for agriculture, production process and logistics. This is in line with industry wide world class achievements. Compared to a fossil fuel reference system the bioethanol projects have been calculated to reduce total greenhouse gas emissions by 75-80% according to the UK’s Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation carbon calculator. This is partially as a result of optimising the use of residues, such as cane trash, rice husk ash and woody biomass, as inputs in the production process. The efficiency of this production process also allows Bronzeoak to produce surplus renewable electricity for sale to the national grid, as is the case in the San Carlos project in the Philippines.

“Bronzeoak’s projects will not endanger wildlife species or areas of high conservation value and will maintain the ecological function and integrity of the local ecosystem”

• Bronzeoak’s business development activities in SE Asia focus on identifying under-utilised land and it will not consider densely forested areas of any type. High Conservation Value areas, native ecosystems, ecological corridors, buffer zones and other public and private biological conservation areas shall be identified and protected in line with national laws.

“Bronzeoak’s projects will be managed such that environmental impacts are minimised along the supply chain”·        

• A holistic environmental evaluation of the production of biomass fuel by the project is conducted such that all environmental impacts are minimised. An example organic sludge from the bioethanol projects’ distillery plants will be recycled through application to the land to reduce the overall requirement for inorganic fertilizers, and, where practicable, drip irrigation technologies will be employed to improve water efficiency in the cultivation of sugarcane. Both the application of recycled organic materials and the use of drip irrigation are aimed at maximising yields and reducing overall land use requirements for the projects.