Sustainability of supply chain
Neste Oil’s approach to sustainability is based on a comprehensive understanding of the impact that the company’s products have across their entire life cycle. Sustainability issues are particularly emphasized in the company's production of renewable fuels. In this context, Neste Oil focuses not only on the sustainability of its own refining operations, but also that of its entire supply chain, all the way from how its raw materials are produced to the end-use of the products that it refines.
Neste Oil – like all companies producing renewable fuels for the European market – is required to be able to verify a number of issues in accordance with the requirements of the EU’s Renewable Energy Directive, including:
- the origin of the raw materials it uses back to where they are cultivated or produced
- that its fuel supply chain meets the defined sustainable criteria, and
- that the fuel use offers a minimum of 35% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions across its entire life cycle when compared to fossil fuel.
Neste Oil verifies its compliance with these requirements in respect of all the bio-based raw materials that it uses. It also supplies compliance-related documentation to corporate customers that buy its renewable fuels and to the authorities responsible for monitoring compliance with biofuel sustainability legislation in those countries where its fuels are sold or used.
Neste Oil monitors the practical aspects of the sustainability of its renewable fuels on a continuous basis. The compliance of the company’s production chain with sustainability criteria is verified regularly, using both internal audits carried out by Neste Oil personnel and external audits carried out by independent third-party experts. During 2011, 19 Neste Oil's renewable raw material suppliers were audited by independent third-party experts in connection to certification procedures.