ISCC PLUS certification and requirements for circular and bio-based material claims your buyers can trace.

What it is

What is ISCC PLUS and what is it used for?

ISCC PLUS is a voluntary certification scheme run by ISCC (International Sustainability and Carbon Certification) that confirms the sustainability characteristics of alternative feedstocks as they move through a supply chain. It recognises four material categories: circular (recycled fossil-based waste such as mixed plastics, textiles or tyres), bio-circular (wastes and residues of biological origin, for example used cooking oil or forestry residues), bio (sustainably grown agricultural and forest biomass) and renewable-energy-derived materials, such as those from power-to-X processes.

Companies use it to substantiate recycled or bio-attributed content in plastics and packaging, chemicals, textiles, food and feed, and transport fuels. Three chain of custody options are allowed: physical segregation, controlled blending and mass balance, where certified and conventional inputs mix physically and the certified share is tracked through bookkeeping.

This page covers ISCC PLUS only; ISCC EU is a separate scheme.

Current system documents. ISCC has replaced the single ISCC PLUS document (v3.4.2) with a set of standalone ISCC PLUS system documents, effective from 1 July 2025. An 18-month transition runs to 31 December 2026, during which either set may be used; the standalone documents are mandatory from 1 January 2027. Confirm with your certification body which set your next audit will use.

Who it is for

Who needs ISCC PLUS certification?

Every supply chain element that handles certified material needs its own certificate or group coverage; only transport is exempt. Organisations usually come to Sterling from one of four positions:

• A customer wants certified recycled or bio-attributed content. Brand owners and converters ask for an ISCC PLUS sustainability declaration with each delivery.
• A tender or offtake contract names the scheme. Confirm which sites and products the certificate must cover before you commit to a date.
• A regulator or public claim needs support. Any recycled or bio-based percentage you publish needs traceable, audited evidence behind it, and an independent certificate is the usual way to provide it.
• A group company or partner is already certified. Your site must join the chain so certified status is not lost at your gate.

Certification proves the claim is traceable; its commercial value depends on your contracts and markets.

Requirements

What are the main ISCC PLUS requirements?

The standalone set splits the scheme into documents by topic. Which areas apply depends on your supply chain element and feedstock; implementation is checked against the full documents, not this summary.

• System basics (ISCC PLUS 201): registration, certification and audit rules, management documentation, an annual internal audit signed off by management, and records kept for at least five years.
• Governance (ISCC PLUS 102): how the scheme is run, including the rules system users and certification bodies accept on registration.
• Waste and residues (ISCC PLUS 202-5): requirements for points of origin and collecting points handling circular and bio-circular feedstocks.
• Sustainability requirements for biomass: the ISCC EU 202 documents referenced by the PLUS set for agricultural and forest feedstocks, where they apply.
• Traceability (ISCC PLUS 203-1): documenting incoming and outgoing certified material and the sustainability declarations that travel with it.
• Chain of custody (ISCC PLUS 203-2): physical segregation, controlled blending or mass balance, including mass balance periods, conversion factors and attribution rules.
• Risk management (ISCC PLUS 204): the risk-based approach that sets audit intensity and surveillance for higher-risk supply chains.
• Greenhouse gas emissions: the referenced ISCC EU 205 documents, relevant only where a GHG value is calculated or claimed.
• Claims and logo use: on-product and off-product claims follow ISCC's claims rules, with logo use only after a written request to ISCC.

Certification process

How do you get ISCC PLUS certified?

ISCC PLUS certification is site-based and runs on a twelve-month cycle. Sterling prepares your organisation; a certification body that has signed a cooperation agreement with ISCC audits the site and issues the certificate.

1. 01
   Define the scope and supply chain role.Decide which sites, products and feedstock categories are in scope, which supply chain element each site is, and which chain of custody option fits the process.
2. 02
   Gap analysis and system build.Compare current receiving, stock, production and sales records with the requirements, then write the procedures, set up the mass balance and train the people who run it.
3. 03
   Contract a cooperating body and register on the ISCC HUB.Sign with a certification body from ISCC's list and complete the site registration, including the System Usage Agreement and certification history, until ISCC confirms a registration number.
4. 04
   Internal audit, then the certification audit.Run and document the internal audit first. The initial audit is on site; any non-conformities must be corrected, normally within 40 calendar days of the audit, before a certificate can be issued.
5. 05
   Recertify every year without a gap.Each certificate lasts twelve months. Higher-risk supply chains may also face a surveillance audit within six months of first certification, and a gap between certificates means material in that period is not certified.

Check the route before you sign. Confirm that the certification body appears on the list of cooperating bodies published on the ISCC website, and ask how its auditors are trained on the scheme. Check that every supplier certificate you rely on is valid for the dates and materials delivered; a gap anywhere upstream breaks the claim downstream.

Cost

How much does ISCC PLUS certification cost?

ISCC PLUS cost follows the shape of your supply chain more than headcount: a trader of certified pellets is a different project from a cracker attributing feedstock across many outputs. A Sterling proposal shows each component separately, with a fixed consulting fee.

Timeline

How long does ISCC PLUS certification take?

For a single site with sound stock records, the path from kick-off to certificate typically runs three to six months, as an estimate that depends on your case.

Share your first certified delivery date and we will plan backwards from it.

Your engagement

What your ISCC PLUS engagement includes

Your engagement follows Sterling OS™. You choose the support level for implementation: Design™, where we guide and your team builds, or Drive™, where we manage the work and your team approves. Either way the deliverables are the same, and one all-inclusive proposal covers them.

• Scope, gap analysis and implementation plan

  Sites, supply chain elements and the chain of custody option agreed before work starts.

• Chain of custody and mass balance design

  Procedures, conversion factors and period closure built around your actual process and ERP.

• Effivity ISO & GRC software

  Procedures, records and audits in one workspace, included with the engagement at no additional cost.

• Training for everyone

  Role training for receiving, production and sales staff, internal auditor training as applicable to your standard, and preferential Sterling Academy access, including complimentary awareness training for your people as part of the engagement.

• Internal audit

  Conducted or facilitated as agreed and signed off by management, as the scheme requires.

• Registration and audit readiness

  Support with the ISCC HUB registration, the certification audit and the closure of any non-conformities.

After certification, Sustain™ keeps the system running through each yearly recertification and document update, and Automate™ is Effivity, where the evidence lives.

Sterling does not certify. The ISCC-cooperating certification body audits your site and issues the certificate.

Often combined with

Standards organisations pair with ISCC PLUS

• amfori BSCIamfori BSCI audit preparation for producers: gap assessment across the 13 performance areas, remediation, worker-facing evidence and support from Sterling.
• Better Cotton (BCI)Better Cotton (BCI) Chain of Custody certification for textile suppliers: stock and claim controls, reconciled records, training and audit readiness.
• BRCGS Packaging MaterialsBRCGS Packaging Materials certification explained: Issue 7, GFSI recognition, who asks for it and how Sterling prepares packaging sites for the audit.
• EMASEMAS registration explained: requirements, the validated environmental statement, the verifier and Competent Body route, cost factors and all-inclusive support.
• EN 71 / ASTM F963EN 71 and ASTM F963 toy safety compliance for manufacturers: product and market mapping, material control, test planning and records that keep lots conforming.
• FSC and PEFC chain of custodyFSC and PEFC chain of custody certification and requirements: FSC-STD-40-004 V3-1, PEFC ST 2002:2020, the audit route and cost factors, with Sterling.