Colombia

Abstract

Multistakeholder initiatives (MSI) are proliferating in many economic and environmental spheres. MSI for bioenergy are developing standards and metrics for measuring the sustainability of biofuels through specific criteria and indicators. This paper examines different sets of indicators proposed by two MSI for bioenergy, Bonsucro and the Global Bioenergy Partnership (GBEP), and the challenges in operationalizing them to measure environmental sustainability, in the context of the sugarcane ethanol industry in Colombia. Drawing on interviews with stakeholders in the sugarcane ethanol industry in Valle del Cauca, Colombia, plus participant observation of a recent GBEP meeting and interviews with participants at the GBEP meeting, we examine the challenges and limitations of indicators in promoting sustainability in biofuels systems.