Criteria

To make the companies’ internal quality systems more consistent, greater rigor was required in accordance with the following criteria:

• Regular Characteristic
  

  All company’s internal activities in which any potential failure can be detected before the product is sent to the customer. Examples: cleaning of internal intermediate tanks, workforce training matrix, training of suppliers, etc.;

• Major Characteristic
  

  Those that are directly visible to customers and require stricter control. Examples: cleaning and checking of transport trucks, compliance with biodiesel specifications, system for treating nonconformities at the customer, etc. To obtain the seal, no major nonconformities are accepted.

With these principles applied, a protocol was developed, and all plants that wished to obtain Bio+ in its newer version had to comply with it.

The quality systems were verified by a third-party entity, that is, external to the plants and Abiove. Therefore, a partnership was established with an independent institute outside the fuel industry: the Institute of Automotive Quality (IQA). The challenge of auditing biodiesel production processes was accepted by IQA, whose excellent reputation was built in the automotive and auto parts segment.

In August 2023, this certification cycle was concluded: eight plants were successfully verified. They received the new Bio+ seal, with the stamp of Abiove and IQA, and currently offer biodiesel produced under a certified quality system.