About IBI

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Mission

IBI provides a platform for fostering stakeholder collaboration, good industry practices, and environmental and ethical standards to support biochar systems that are safe and economically viable.

IBI strategies

  • Networking, Education, Demonstration
  • Advance international collaboration of science, industry, agriculture, government and non-governmental organizations to discover and demonstrate biochar use, and develop policy incentives, quality standards, and market diversity.
  • Collaboration with industry to discover and demonstrate cost effective uses for biochars and biochar systems.
  • Support the generation, review and dissemination of information on all aspects of biochar;
  • Provide clear, non-biased, credible information on all aspects of biochar and a global information and communications platform for collaboration and cross-fertilization;
  • Create standards and policies to guide public and regulatory confidence that the organizations involved in biochar research, production and marketing adhere to high ethical standards and the products they produce are safe and appropriate for use as intended.

IBI history

The International Biochar Initiative (IBI) was formed in July 2006 at a side meeting held at the World Soil Science Congress (WSSC) in Philadelphia, PA. At the 2006 meeting, individuals and representatives from academic institutions, commercial ventures, investment bankers, non-governmental organizations, federal agency representatives, and the policy arena from around the world acknowledged a common interest in promoting the research, development, demonstration, deployment (RDD&D) and commercialization of the promising technology of biochar production. Since the formation of IBI in 2006, we have organized and hosted the following international biochar conferences

The first international biochar conference was organized and held in New South Wales, Australia, in April/May 2007, and attracted the participation of 107 attendees from 13 countries, representing a spectrum of backgrounds. By unanimous consent at the 2007 Conference, the International Biochar Initiative was established as a non-profit 501(c)3 in the US.**

In 2008, the second international conference, “Biochar, Sustainability and Security in a Changing Climate” was held at the Newcastle Civic Center in Newcastle, United Kingdom. The conference had over 225 attendees from 31 different countries with over 70 presentations.

IBI 2010, the third international conference, was held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil from September 12 – 15, with 85 oral and 85 poster presentations and approximately 200 attendees.

IBI supports regional conferences around the world such as recent conferences in  Asia, Europe, and North America, and related international conferences like the annual Conference of the Parties to the 1992 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP) and the Global Landscapes Forum.

Since its inception, IBI has rapidly established itself as the leading non-profit dedicated to the promotion of biochar research and commercialization.

Why Biochar?

Biochar is a solid material obtained from thermochemical conversion of biomass in an oxygen-limited environment that can:

1. Help solve the global food security crisis and ensure soil security with the use of biochar to:

  • enhance soil fertility and crop and agroforestry productivity;
  • raise the fertility of degraded and marginal soils
  • enhance mitigation and adaptation to climate change in agricultural systems

2. Help solve the global climate change crisis with the use of biochar to:

  • safely and effectively draw down greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in stable soil sinks;
  • alleviate GHG emissions associated with decomposition of waste from urban and rural sources
  • offset fossil fuel use through high value bioenergy and bio-products

3. Help make agricultural production at all scales more sustainable by:

  • maintaining production with lower chemical fertilizer inputs;
  • more productively recycling agricultural and organic waste materials, and aid in land remediation
  • enhancing water quality by reducing nutrient leaching into water bodies and supplies

More information about : THE IBI BOARD, ADVISORY COMMITTEE, STAFF

Biochar for Sustainable Soils (B4SS)

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