Commitment to Sustainability

SG Biofuels is committed to the socially and environmentally responsible cultivation of Jatropha. In March 2010, the company announced a partnership with the Roundtable on Sustainable Biofuels to evaluate sustainability standards applied against the company's Jatropha community-farming model in Guatemala.

The project, the largest Jatropha community farming effort in Latin America, was established by SG Biofuels in partnership with Technoserve, an international Non Governmental Organization (NGO) and USAID.

Jatropha projects were established without displacing food crops and on land that was considered marginalized and unsuitable for food production.

SG Biofuels' community farming initiative is a catalyst for the development of a thriving Jatropha industry in Guatemala, creating additional income for small landowners, fostering a sustainable, local source for renewable energy, and helping to meet Guatemala's increasing demand for biodiesel.

• SG Biofuels is supporting an industry that encourages individual land ownership.
  
• Participating farmers receive free plants, fertilizer and training.
  
• SG Biofuels eliminates harvest sale risk to farmers by providing guaranteed purchase contracts with an established purchase price.

Through its community-farming initiative and pilot with the RSB, SG Biofuels has established a model system for the sustainable production of Jatropha. The sustainability insights gained through the RSB pilot will be critical as the company deploys large-scale community-farming and plantation projects around the world.