Admission
1. Applications for membership must be submitted to the International Biomass Torrefaction Council (IBTC) via our online application form.
2. The online application form must be dully completed with the requested information.
3. All eligible application forms are submitted for approval to the IBTC Steering Committee and the Bioenergy Europe Board.
4. Accepted members shall be notified by the International Biomass Torrefaction Council (IBTC) Secretariat maximum within 30 days after both the Committee and Board’s agreement.
5. The effective date of affiliation is the date of notification.
6. A member shall only enjoy its membership rights if its membership fees have been paid in full and in due time.
Membership fees
1. The annual membership fee of each member will be based on the most recent data available regarding its bioenergy turnover (e.g. sales of biomass, energy or services) or on its membership fees. In case there is no bioenergy related turnover, the fee will be negotiated with the secretariat on the base of another relevant criteria (e.g. sum of purchased biomass fuels).
2. The membership year runs from the 1st January through to the 31st December of each year.
3. Membership fees are due annually upon the beginning of each membership year and are payable upon presentation of the membership fees invoice.
4. Membership fees are due in one payment for each started membership year and cannot be claimed back in case of termination of membership during the year.
5. Any application submitted before the 30th June of the financial year will imply the payment of 100% of the membership fees. Any application submitted after the 30th June of the financial year will imply the payment of 50% of the membership fees.
6. An annual price index will be applied to all membership fees.
Membership rights and obligations
1. Members who have paid their membership fees will be entitled to participate in and exercise their full membership rights.
2. Each IBTC and Bioenergy Europe member shall:
a) Act in a manner compatible with the vision, mission and values of Bioenergy Europe.
b) Keep the relevant departments and people of your organisation fully informed of the work and progress made by Bioenergy Europe.
c) Keep Bioenergy Europe informed about any major changes in organisation. In case of company’s contact person change, please inform Bioenergy Europe within a reasonable time. It is mandatory that Bioenergy Europe has the correct e-mail addresses of the persons registered in the application form.
d) Upon request, please inform Bioenergy Europe each year in a faithful manner about annual turnover, membership fees and production capacity in view of determining the membership category and the amount of the membership fees.
e) Provide the correct general information about your organisation. This information will be used for the Bioenergy Europe member’s directory.
3. Members that have not paid their annual membership fees will not be able to exercise their membership rights, notwithstanding their automatic exclusion in case of failure to pay after expiry of a fifteen days’ notice period.
Additional Information
1. The membership is automatically renewed every year.
2. Any member may resign and end its membership at any time before 1st October by completing the online termination form in order for the resignation to take effect at the end of the same financial year.
3. Upon termination of membership, all membership rights will immediately and automatically cease, without prejudice to the obligation of the terminated member to pay any unpaid membership fees.
4. Membership fees that have not been paid remain due in full for the membership year in which the termination of membership (e.g. as a result of resignation or exclusion) occurred.
5. Membership fees already paid cannot be claimed back and will not be reimbursed, irrespective of the date of termination.
6. According to the Statutes, a member can be excluded from membership by the General Assembly:
a) In case of failure to pay their membership fees after expiry of 31 days notice period following reminders of payment.
b) If the General Assembly considers that the Member acts against the objectives of Bioenergy Europe. Any Member can propose the expulsion of a Member. The Member proposed for expulsion will be informed about the reasons for the proposed expulsion and has the right to explain its position to the General Assembly before the latter takes a decision.
In case of disagreement about Terms and Conditions, the Statutes and By-Laws prevail.
Bioenergy Europe Board reserves the right to update the By-Laws of the Statutes about Membership Terms and Conditions.