What is Biodiesel?

Biodiesel is fuel that is made from renewable resources including waste grease from restaurants, or agricultural crops such as sunflower, canola, industrial hemp or soy. Biodiesel is simple to use, biodegradable, nontoxic, and better for the environment because it is made from renewable resources and has significantly lower emissions compared to petroleum diesel. Biodiesel contains no petroleum, but it can be blended at any level with petroleum diesel to create a biodiesel blend. It can be used in older diesel engines with little or no modification, and in newer diesel vehicles (made in and after 1993), with no modification.

From Fossil Fuels to Biofuels

Concerns over global warming and the U.S. dependence on foreign oil are driving an historic shift from fossil fuels to biofuels and other types of renewable energy. The shift from fossil fuels to biofuels has the potential to reduce global warming by reducing carbon emissions, lessen our dependence on foreign oil, and provide new jobs for rural and urban communities.

In order for biofuels to achieve these multiple goals, it is essential that biofuel production be done in an environmentally, economically and socially responsible manner.

The Sustainable Biodiesel Alliance

The Sustainable Biodiesel Alliance (SBA) is a non-profit organization created to promote sustainable biodiesel practices, including the harvesting, production and distribution of biodiesel fuels.

The Sustainable Biodiesel Alliance (SBA) was founded in December 2006 by biodiesel advocates Annie Nelson and Daryl Hannah as well as members of the sustainable biodiesel community. Since our creation, the Alliance has grown to include family farmers and farm organizations such as Farm Aid, The Institute for Agriculture Trade and Policy (IATP), the 25 x 25 coalition, environmental organizations, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), renewable energy experts and urban community groups.

The Sustainable Biodiesel Alliance’s programs include educating the general public about how sustainable biofuel production can help the United States move towards a more sustainable energy future. In addition to our public education work, the SBA is facilitating a multi-stakeholder dialogue involving family farmers, environmental groups, biofuel experts, the EPA, urban communities and others in order to create a certification system that will certify sustainably produced biodiesel. By reaching out to the farmer who grows the feedstock all the way up to the urban communities seeking green jobs in the emerging renewable energy sector, SBA is bringing together diverse sectors in the United States to build a sustainable energy future that benefits all sectors of society.

Sustainably produced, biofuels have the potential to help solve the United States’ dependence on oil, create green jobs for rural and urban communities, and help meet the energy needs of future generations of Americans and the wider global community.

For more information about biodiesel and the Sustainable Biodiesel Alliance please visit: www.fuelresponsibly.org