Since Summer 2007, Öko-Institut (Institute for Applied Ecology) and IFEU (Institute for Energy and Environmental Research, a non-profit limited liability company, Heidelberg) are carrying out the project “Development of Strategies and Sustainability Standards for the Certification of Biomass for International Trade (Bio-global)” on behalf of Umweltbundesamt (Federal Environmental Agency) . The study is based on the fact that the production of renewable raw materials (biomass) and their application range are significantly increasing at present as a result of ambitious growth objectives adopted in Germany, the EU, the U.S., as well as several developing countries.