lunch matters

Dear Ester~

What is sustainable biodiesel?

Sustainability is generally broken down into three categories: social, economic and ecological. Believers in the status quo argue that economic sustainability is the only category that matters, while environmentalists hold ecology above all else. Those for whom workers' rights are at front and center believe that sustainability sacrifices should only come out of the non-social categories.

In my world, the social, economic and ecological aspects of sustainability are entwined in complex and symbiotic relationships.

The single most important factor in sustainable biodiesel is feedstock--the fat or oil we make our fuel from. Clearly, fuel made from recycled restaurant fryer oil is more sustainable than stuff made from virgin soy, because there is less energy embodied in the used oil.

Feedstock aside, we can look at the myriad other factors that effect sustainability in a biodiesel plant.

Are employees making a living wage with good benefits? Is the plant sending dumpsters of trash, like exhausted filter aid, to the landfill? How efficient is production equipment? How many miles do the trucks travel delivering stuff to and from the facility? What does the president eat for lunch?

The Sustainable Biodiesel Alliance is leading the effort to define specific sustainable biodiesel criteria in the United States. Follow their work at www.fuelresponsibly.org. Other groups like the National Biodiesel Board's Sustainability Task Force are collaboratively working on these issues as well. Congratulations to biodieselSMARTER's Kumar Plocher for being appointed to this important task force.

Not to be too new age-y, but sustainable biodiesel is a journey. It's like Othello or any other game that takes "just a minute to learn-- but a lifetime to master." Keeping in mind the idea that sustainability is a process that can always be improved upon, sustainable biodiesel is about throwing more energy back into the collective pool than we take out.

Our challenge is to relish the journey down Sustainability Street for the rest of our lives, on a mission to produce more than we consume. S