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ADBA – Achievements and Visions

Dear members,

 

It’s Maddie here again at ADBA – the Anaerobic Digestion and Bioresources Association. We recently e-mailed you about “getting the most out of your ADBA membership.” Here is a link to that message forAD plant operators, developers, financiers and banks. And here is a link to that message for suppliers of products and services to the AD industry as well as local authorities, universities and research bodies. Today, I’m following-up with a note on how ADBA – with the help of its members – is making a difference. The current ADBA membership year runs from 1st October 2020 to 30th September 2021. A new membership year will then start on 1st October 2021. Here is a review of our achievements so far in this membership year and an update on our future plans.

 

How ADBA is working for you…

 

Direct support

  • Answered over 400 member queries via phone, e-mail and “Ask ADBA” – special online meetings during lockdown
  • Hosted the ADBA National Conference, Members Meetings, Finance Forums and working group meetings
  • Trained over 100 AD operators on essential skills such as plant optimisation and health and safety in five training sessions. The courses received overall positive feedback. “First-class presentation and content, very worthwhile course for anyone involved in the AD industry,” said a participant of the plant optimisation course
  • Redesigned the ADBA website (www.adbioresources.org) to make it more user-friendly
  • Launched “Biogas Insights,” a new series of reports and corresponding events. The first was on Transport – you can find it here. And the second “Biomethane and Hydrogen: Two green gases, one future” – can find it here.
  • Accredited two more AD plants for ‘best practice’ through the AD Certification Scheme (ADCS)
  • Developed “Feedstock Finder,” a service to connect operators with waste streams
  • Developed two new AD performance trackers: digestate analysis and a benchmarking survey
  • Updated our database of active and planned AD plants in the UK

 

Lobbying to government

  • Contributed to 12 government consultations, including the “Biomass Strategy: Call for Evidence”
  • Launched a UK AD and Biogas Industry Climate Declaration and sent it to the Prime Minister
  • Lobbied the UK Government to create an AD and green gas policy framework that brings together the multiple strands of work ongoing across government into a cohesive support strategy
  • Campaigned for AD to be included in the Environmental Land Management (ELM) scheme
  • Collaborated with other industry associations to raise funds and revise the AD Quality Protocol
  • Published ADBA’s bi-annual Policy Report
  • Participated in Defra’s stakeholder workshops on topics such as clean air, fertiliser regulations and ammonia emissions
  • Met and corresponded with Ministers, MPs and peers (House of Lords)
  • Through our publications and letters, strengthened the message that AD is essential to cut emissions in the hardest to reach sectors today: heat, transport and agriculture
  • Led a campaign in partnership with renewable energy associations for the Chancellor to invest in the green recovery – including AD – in response to Covid-19
  • Promoted AD as a strategic sector for climate change mitigation to COP26 co-hosts: the UK and Italian governments
  • To widen our reach, collaborated with industry trade groups such as National Farmers’ Union (NFU), Country Land and Business Association (CLA), Energy Networks Association (ENA), Local Authority Recycling Advisory Committee (LARAC), Local Government Association (LGA), Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP), World Biogas Association (WBA), Energy and Utilities Alliance (EUA), Gas Vehicles Network (GVN), Zemo (a low-carbon vehicle network), Food & Drink Federation (FDF), Scotch Whisky Association (SWA), Water UK, British Retail Consortium (BRC), Broadway Initiative and the Climate Change Committee (CCC)

 

Getting the word out

  • Published three editions of the industry magazine AD&Bioresources News
  • Appeared on BBC: BBC 1’s “The One Show” (TV) and BBC Radio 4’s “Farming Today”
  • Publicised AD internationally on CGTN-Europe (Chinese/European TV channel) and via 76 news articles in the trade press and media networks
  • Chaired the AD & Biogas Session at the Low Carbon Agriculture Show, a conference in association with NFU

 

 

Looking ahead, ADBA will…

  • Visit sites in-person – as lockdown restrictions ease
  • Publish a report on Future Farming
  • Produce “Food Waste and AD,” the third instalment in the Biogas Insights series
  • Organise more training on topics such as plant optimisation, health and safety, clamp management, fugitive emissions, CHP management, biomethane grid entry, choosing and maintaining pumps and more
  • Progress on creating a learning platform for a wider range of stakeholders such as local councils, government, educators, lawyers, haulage firms and more
  • Host regional meetings for local AD operators
  • Distribute updated Operational Guidance Notes
  • Prepare to co-host the World Biogas Expo LIVE at the Birmingham, NEC in March 2022
  • Organise ADBA’s National Conferences for the UK, Scotland and Northern Ireland
  • Liaise with Government, WRAP, NFU, FDF, SWA and others to decarbonise food chains, improve feedstock quality and help the UK achieve emissions targets
  • Collaborate with other industry associations to revise the AD Quality Protocol
  • Accredit more sites to ADCS, making the scheme a ‘must-have’ for performance and industry reputation
  • Seek to secure positive coverage in a BBC Countryfile TV programme and in influential newspapers and trade magazines
  • Participate in Net Zero Week, the UK’s national awareness event in July supported by the UK Government and many UK associations, to promote AD’s contribution to achieving the UK’s Net Zero targets
  • Continue to support members directly via phone, e-mail and meetings

 

The AD industry can contribute a 6% reduction in the UK’s total greenhouse gas emissions per year – this represents 30% of the carbon savings required to meet the nation’s 2030 target set out in the 5th Carbon Budget. We are committed to reaching our full potential by 2030, and we are working with the Government to create the right policy environment to make this happen.

 

If you have any questions about your membership, please feel free to contact me via the details in my signature below. Thank you again for your support so far this year, and I look forward to working with you in the coming months.

 

Best regards,

Maddie Hopper

Membership and Business Development, The Anaerobic Digestion and Bioresources Association (ADBA)

 

T: +44 (0) 79 0816 2794  | E: maddie.hopper@adbioresources.org | W: www.adbioresources.org

A: Sustainable Workspaces, Riverside Building, County Hall, Westminster Bridge Road, London, SE1 7PB

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