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Robert Quirk, Chairman of the Better Sugarcane Initiative's Steering Committee, announced on 18 May 2007 the appointment of David Willers as the new Program Manager of the Better Sugarcane Initiative (BSI) to replace Richard Perkins who had been undertaking the job of BSI Co-ordinator as part of his current post at WWF, the global conservation organisation. WWF has been a strong supporter of the BSI.
The BSI Steering Committee was formed in January 2006 with the aim of measurably improving the key environmental and social impacts of sugarcane production.
David Willers was formerly the overseas representative of the South African Sugar Association from 1994 until 2005.
Contact David Willers +44 (0)207 2811891 for further details
In a paper to the meeting of the Better Sugarcane Initiative's Steering Committee on 18 January the Chairman and the Co-ordinator of the Initiative put on record the achievements of the Better Sugarcane Initiative in its first year of operations.
Robert Quirk, BSI Steering Committee Chairman, sums up the achievements of the initiative so far by writing in his report:
"We have been able to establish BSI as a presence on the Global sugarcane scene."
The year has seen BSI representatives meet with the Executive of International Sugar Council , meet with representatives of the South African Sugar Association, Mauritius Sugarcane Industry Research Institute, Australian Canegrowers and the Brazilian industry.
A whirlwind of activity by Robert Quirk, the unpaid Chairman of the BSI Steering Committee has seen him present to the Australian Society of Sugar Cane Technologists, ISSCT meetings in Thailand and Argentina, and at the Meeting of the International Association of Professionals in Sugar and Integrated Technologies in China.
Robert goes on to write:
"The international sugarcane industry now knows about us, we now need to convert this understanding to support for the Initiative."
At the first face-to-face meeting of the Steering Committee since the Initiative was established in January 2006, Steering Committee members and their Technical advisers are meeting to map out the way forward for the initiative.
The Steering Committee is delighted to be joined at this meeting by Brazilian producer interests some important potential bioethanol buyers. Richard Perkins, BSI Co-ordinator, said "I am really pleased that Brazilian producer interests and prospective bioethanol purchasers are participating in the meeting".
Key issues that the meeting has to address include the initiative's approach to guidelines, which some in the industry have found offputting but which others see as highly desirable if the voluntary approach advocated by BSI is going to be adopted in place of mandatory guidelines for biofuels being demanded by people outside BSI.
Richard Perkins the present co-ordinator of the initiative said:
"There is a tremendous amount of goodwill and positive aspiration in the sugarcane industry. BSI needs to harness that good will to make sugarcane better for workers, better for the communities, better for the environment and more profitable for those who work in it."
Announcements of strong, if non-binding, targets for increased biofuel use in a number of jurisdictions will drive up the consumption of bioethanol derived from sugarcane. This represents a major new outlet for the cane industry's products. It will be a major challenge for the industry to meet this increased demand while protecting the environment within which it operates. This is one of the reasons why BSI was set up.
In the last few weeks BSI representatives have met with those interested in buying bioethanol and as those interested in certifying it, to discuss the value to them of participating in BSI. |
