Foreword

REDcert came into being two years ago when 10 organisations from the agricultural and biofuel sectors took an important step in the nationwide implementation of the Renewable Energy Sources Directive in Germany by forming the REDcert company.

What the initiators had originally hoped but could not foresee has now come to pass: the REDcert system has become one of the most important sponsors of sustainability certification in Germany and in Europe. In a very short space of time, the structures necessary for a certification system were created and then made available to the companies affected in the agricultural and biofuel sectors following the system's approval by the Federal Agency for Agriculture and Food (Bundesanstalt für Landwirtschaft und Ernährung).

The next challenge is to expand system recognition to EU level. There is a clearly visible trend on the international biofuel market in favour of EU-approved certification systems that are recognised in all EU member states. The accreditation of the REDcert system is just around the corner now that the EU Commission successfully completed its extensive assessment of the system in February 2012.

What's next? Will sustainability certification be mandatory for all agricultural products in the future? How do markets respond to voluntary initiatives undertaken by suppliers and buyers as they are already in evidence today? REDcert will orient itself around the needs of the market and develop the right system services on behalf of the shareholders.

Let this first annual report take you on a short journey through the still young but highly dynamic history of the development of REDcert.

With warm regards

Peter Jürgens

Managing Director