Sustainability: Alcosuisse objectives

Since the beginning of its etha+ project, Alcosuisse has worked to ensure that bioethanol plays its full role in sustainable development.

The rapid advance of biofuels has raised several fundamental questions and elicited many different reactions. Depending on how they are produced and marketed, biofuels can be either a formidable means of reducing greenhouse gas emissions and a development platform for developing countries, or yet another disaster for our planet and its less privileged inhabitants. The paradox of oil - a valuable resource that has impoverished some States, particularly in Africa - has taught us that unregulated development will certainly lead to catastrophe. In some regions, biofuel development has already taken a dangerous turn and should not be supported (e.g. deforestation in Indonesia, or arbitrary expropriation and unfettered use of pesticides in some South American countries).

During the preparatory work on tax relief for biofuels, Alcosuisse was the only player promoting the idea of linking tax incentives to environmental and social criteria. Fortunately this idea has been gaining ground since then.