The AD Certification Scheme (ADCS) has moved on from the first certification in 2018 with additional plants now certified. In this article update, we provide further scheme awards while also providing the archive version of the original ADBA announcements. (Scroll down if you wish to read our latest BioCapital AD Certification award announcement.)
Page Contents: Introduction and Certificate Holders
What is the AD Certification Scheme?
The ADCS is the only certification scheme in the UK that evaluates anaerobic digestion (AD) plants' overall safety, environmental, and operational performance. It is an important component of the Anaerobic Digestion and Bioresources Association's (ADBA) Best Practice Programme, which encompasses all of our efforts to improve industry standards.
The Scheme includes an independent audit process and report, which operators can use to ensure they are meeting required standards and identifying areas for improvement. It was developed by ADBA with extensive consultation with industry stakeholders with the goal of assisting the industry in becoming a mature, safe, and thriving sector that consistently delivers excellent projects.
ADCS's goal is to ensure that the industry consistently delivers high-quality, compliant, and profitable projects that protect employees while also respecting and supporting their local community and environment.
ADCS Certification Criteria
ADCS certification is based on nine criteria that overlap with the BS OHSAS18001/ISO 45001; ISO 14001; PAS 110:2014 NS standards, Environmental Permitting, AD Quality Protocol, and Animal By-Product Regulations, as well as other aspects such as training, monitoring, and maintenance.
Certified AD plants can also use the ADCS-certified logo to promote their business. Marsh Commercial offers opportunities to reduce insurance premiums and obtain highly beneficial insurance policies. ADBA PR activities and events also provide opportunities to highlight the AD plant.
New Scheme Certifications
Vale Green Energy is another biogas operator to join the list of sites that have received AD Certification Scheme Accreditation. It has demonstrated its intention to apply the high standard of AD plant operation that the AD industry regards as best practices in their industry.
ADBA members devised the scheme with the goal of elevating the entire industry to the level of the most advanced operators.
PRESS RELEASE 25 August 2022:
ADBA congratulates BioCapital on AD Certification Scheme triple success
The Anaerobic Digestion and Bioresources Association (ADBA) has congratulated BioCapital for achieving AD Certification Scheme (ADCS) accreditation for three of its plants over the past few weeks.
ADCS, launched by ADBA in 2017, is the only certification scheme in the UK that assesses the all-around safety, environmental and operational performance of anaerobic digestion (AD) plants. ADCS accreditation is a “mark of efficiency, best practice and professionalism in Anaerobic Digestion Operation”.
The three sites owned by BioCapital which recently received accreditation are:
- Barkip Biogas in North Ayrshire, Scotland
- Energen Biogas in North Lanarkshire, Scotland
- Warrens Emerald Biogas in County Durham, England and
BioCapital were the first AD company in the UK to achieve ADCS at its Granville Eco Park plant in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland, in 2018.
The ADCS scheme is a key element of the Anaerobic Digestion and Bioresources Association’s (ADBA) Best Practice Programme, to improve standards in the industry. Developed by ADBA and industry stakeholders, it aims to ensure the delivery of “consistently high quality, compliant and profitable projects that protect employees and respect and support their local community and environment”.
“It’s great to see BioCapital’s commitment to achieving accreditation across their portfolio of AD assets”, commented Josh Henthorne, ADBA’s Technical Support Manager. “They used the scheme’s GAP analysis to first assess the level of compliance, safety and operating standards applied on each site before moving on to seeking full accreditation. This demonstrates the real added value of ADCS for operating staff and funders and this triple accreditation reflects the commitment of the BioCapital team to achieving the best standards.”
-PR ENDS-
Murrow and Holsworthy Join ADCS List
This latest ADCS success reflects the momentum being built in the delivery of certification, which follows that of Adapt Biogas' Murrow Plant and, prior to the Covid hiatus, Andigestion's Holsworthy site.
Several other plants are currently being audited and will hopefully soon be recognised for implementing good health and safety, environmental, and operational practices on their premises.
Adoption of this standard will, in the long run, give regulators, investors, and insurers the confidence to continue investing in the industry post-subsidies – a critical component of future market development.
As the AD industry grows in the UK and around the world, the ADCS will play an important role in establishing best practice standards across the board. It will have an immediate and long-term impact if it is adopted and used effectively.
Malaby Biogas – The First English AD plant Certified
It was announced in August 2019 that ADCS Certification had been achieved for Malaby Biogas. Theirs was the first English AD Plant Certified under the ADBA, AD Certification Scheme (ADCS) and the company is understandably proud to have been able to publicize its achievement.
ADCS Certification means that Malaby Biogas has become a forerunner in the application of standards of AD plant operation which the AD industry considers to provide good practice within their industry.
The scheme was devised by ADBA members in order to raise the standards of their industry to those of the most advanced operators.
Industry experts see the cost of participation in this scheme as paying for itself quite rapidly by avoiding expensive operational errors, and it is thought that an immediate benefit will come from reduced insurance costs for each AD plant certified.
ADBA PRESS RELEASE ARCHIVE (August 2018):
Bore Hill Farm becomes the first English AD plant certified under the Anaerobic Digestion Certification Scheme (ADCS) plant operation performance scheme
A Wiltshire Anaerobic Digestion Plant recycles inedible food waste into renewable energy and biofertiliser.
Bore Hill Farm Biodigester becomes the second UK plant certified under the new AD Certification Scheme.
Plant owner Thomas Minter says of ADCS Certification;
“is testament to the hard work of staff and a great achievement”
Bore Hill Farm Biodigester has become the first English anaerobic digestion (AD) plant to be certified under the AD Certification Scheme which recognises good operational, environmental, and safety.
The plant, based in Warminster in Wiltshire and run by Malaby Biogas, processes inedible food waste to create biofertiliser and renewable heat and power. It generates enough green electricity to power 2,500 houses.
The plant has been certified under the Anaerobic Digestion Certification Scheme (ADCS), an industry-led initiative designed to raise standards and recognise good practices in the running of AD plants.
The scheme provides an independent audit process and report that helps operators to ensure they are meeting required standards and identifies areas for improvement. The ADCS has been developed in collaboration with a range of industry stakeholders including regulators, insurers, investors, and operators, and is managed by the Anaerobic Digestion and Bioresources Association (ADBA), the UK’s trade body for AD.
Bore Hill Farm becomes the second UK plant to be certified under the scheme following the certification of Granville EcoPark in Northern Ireland earlier this year.
Thomas Minter, Director of Malaby Biogas, who runs Bore Hill Farm, said:
“I am very proud of the work our staff have put in to enable us to achieve certification so smoothly. It is a testament to the management systems we have developed, the innovations and optimisations on site and everyone’s professionalism that have allowed us to take a leading position in this new scheme. Seeing regulators and insurers so actively involved in the development of the ADCS has been encouraging and now we have the basis for them to help in supporting and promoting the scheme across the industry. This is a milestone we are proud of.”
Nick Johnn, Director at Aardvark Certification Limited, the ADCS’s official certification body, said:
“Mr Minter and the team at Malaby Biogas provide a great example of the high standards which can be achieved within the AD sector, from design and construction of a good AD plant through to operational practices which minimise health-and-safety and environmental risks. We are delighted to be able to issue certification to the ADCS to Malaby Biogas in recognition of the efforts they have put into ensuring their operations meet the high standards set by the scheme criteria. We are pleased that they have been able to realise the benefits available to AD operators in the UK through achieving certification to the ADCS.”
Charlotte Morton, Chief Executive of ADBA, said:
“We’re delighted to see the Bore Hill Farm Biodigester become the first English plant and the second in the UK to be certified under the ADCS, which is a vital scheme for making the UK AD industry a mature and thriving sector that delivers consistently excellent projects. ADBA will continue to speak to AD operators about the many benefits of the ADCS both for operators themselves and for the wider industry, including increased support from politicians, regulators, insurers, and investors.”
Malaby Biogas has also announced a new partnership with insurance broker Jelf.
Thomas Minter said of the new partnership:
“Jelf have been actively supporting the AD industry to achieve improved insurance cover and the ADCS has been an important component in achieving recognition for excellence in plant operations.”
Carl Gurney, Renewable Energy Director at Jelf, said:
“It was fantastic to see Malaby Biogas achieve their ADCS certification. The plant is truly first-class and a credit to the hard work put in by Thomas Minter and his team. It was a pleasure to work with Thomas and insurers who have delivered on their promise of an excellent insurance policy and improved premiums. The signing of this new partnership with ADCS also demonstrates our continuing support for those working to sustain and strengthen the UK’s anaerobic digestion and biogas sector.”
ADCS Certification – PR ENDS
Anaerobic Digestion Certification Scheme (ADCS) website: www.adcertificationscheme.co.uk
[Article first published August 2018. Updates July 2022, August 2022.]
Hi! Anyhow, I’m definitely happy I found this. Never thought of ADBA doing this, but obvious really.
Sounds good. Do they really know what they are doing though?
Did you see this? At We received reports of a gas explosion and collapse of a tanker just before 10.15am today (Wednesday 20 September 2017). The fire and ambulance services also attended.
We don’t believe the incident is terrorism-related. Two men have been taken to hospital with serious injuries.
Notts Police: September 2017:
“We received reports of a gas explosion and collapse of a tanker just before 10.15am today (Wednesday 20 September 2017). The fire and ambulance services also attended.
We don’t believe the incident is terrorism-related. Two men have been taken to hospital with serious injuries.”
Take care guys, because biogas can be dangerous.
Invest in your staff. Apply the highest standards. It’s the only way. With the EA raising the standards of their requirements, regulation in the industry is only going to get tougher.
Wow, this is all good. Things are getting better than in my day. My sister was always good anaⅼyzing the kinds of things needed to do things right (and safely), but otherwise in our day you did what you thought was best. Nowadays I would go for certification. it is the future.
Transparency, benchmarking, quality control. It’s the way to go, and the benefits to business are undoubted. Good to see it happening in the AD industry.
I do not even know how I ended up here, but I thought this post was good.
The industry in RSA is younger and smaller, but maybe one day our own body to set and raise standards with a scheme like this.