ISCC PLUS Mass Balance: Align Claims, Certificate Scope and Transaction Evidence

Who this is for: Brand owners, procurement teams, supply-chain managers and marketplace operators who use ISCC PLUS evidence for plastics, chemicals, packaging or other alternative feedstocks.

The short answer: Mass Balance (MB) is a chain-of-custody method. Certified and non-certified materials may be physically mixed during storage, transport or processing, while the sustainability characteristics remain controlled through bookkeeping and supply-chain documentation. An ISCC PLUS certificate does not, by itself, prove that a particular product contains a fixed physical percentage of recycled material, and it does not guarantee a Climate Pledge Friendly (CPF) badge. The wording, evidence and logo use must be checked against the applicable ISCC documents, the certificate scope, the transaction records and Amazon's current programme requirements.

The practical review is a four-way match: certified entity and sites; certified material and sustainability characteristics; batch or transaction quantities; and the claim published for the exact SKU.

1. Start with the ISCC PLUS chain-of-custody method

ISCC describes ISCC PLUS as a voluntary certification system for verifying sustainability characteristics of alternative feedstocks. Its current materials describe three chain-of-custody options: Physical Segregation, Controlled Blending and Mass Balance. They differ in how material is handled, how characteristics are recorded and what can be communicated. Do not transfer a claim format from one option to another.

Option	What it means	Review boundary
Physical Segregation	Certified material and its characteristics remain physically separated.	A specific percentage still needs support from the material scope, batch and documents; a logo alone is not a product-composition test.
Controlled Blending	Materials may be blended under the controls defined by the applicable ISCC documents.	Verify the blending, attribution and claim conditions in the current documents.
Mass Balance	Certified and non-certified materials may be physically mixed, while quantities and characteristics are kept separate in the bookkeeping.	Do not rewrite a bookkeeping allocation as the product's physical recycled content; the claim must reflect the applied chain-of-custody method.

Book-and-Claim was treated as a third ISCC PLUS model in the original article. That was a scope error and has been removed: ISCC's current PLUS materials identify the three options above and the older ISCC PLUS document explicitly states that book-and-claim is not allowed under ISCC PLUS. Other schemes may use different credit mechanisms, but their rules must not be imported into an ISCC PLUS claim.

2. Mass Balance is not the same as physical product content

Mass Balance controls the accounting of certified characteristics through the supply chain. ISCC guidance and audit procedures refer to inputs, outputs, inventory, conversion factors, mass-balance periods and incoming and outgoing sustainability declarations. Audits also examine whether the claim reflects the chain-of-custody option used.

These statements are therefore not interchangeable:

• “This product physically contains 30% recycled plastic.” That is a product-composition statement and needs product, formulation or production evidence within its stated scope.
• “This product is linked to a 30% ISCC PLUS Mass Balance characteristic.” That is a chain-of-custody statement and must be traceable to the applicable certificate, delivery or transaction documents, quantities and claim rules.

Do not turn a credit balance, a certificate or a supplier's marketing phrase into “100% physically recycled.” If an ISCC-related logo or claim is used externally, the ISCC 208 requirements and the relevant approval or licensing route must also be checked. This article is not a substitute for ISCC approval.

3. Review the Scope page, not only the certificate cover

A certificate cover identifies a document; it does not, on its own, prove that a particular ASIN, package or batch supports a particular claim. Put the following items into a certificate-to-batch-to-SKU review sheet:

1. Certificate holder: Does the legal entity match the supplier, invoice seller or party responsible for the claim?
2. Certified sites: Are the relevant raw-material, storage, processing and trading sites within the certificate scope? Do not use a trader's certificate to cover an unlisted processing site.
3. Material and characteristic: Does the Scope support the specific word “recycled”? ISCC PLUS covers more than recycled feedstocks, so the scheme name alone is not proof of a recycled-material characteristic.
4. Chain-of-custody option: Does the certificate and the supporting documentation identify Physical Segregation, Controlled Blending or Mass Balance, and does the claim follow that option?
5. Version and validity: Check the issue date, expiry date and applicable ISCC version. During a transition, use the current official ISCC documents and written confirmation from the certification body rather than inventing a universal cut-off date.

If the Scope, transaction evidence and product description do not match, stop the claim review and ask the certificate holder or certification body for clarification. A searchable certificate number is not a substitute for scope verification.

4. Connect transaction records, batch accounting and the SKU claim

An ISCC Mass Balance review should be able to explain where the certified material came from, which stages handled it, how much entered the system, which outputs received the characteristic and how remaining inventory was treated. For a seller, the minimum practical evidence set should cross-reference:

• the certificate and Scope, the applicable chain-of-custody option and the certified sites;
• the supplier's sustainability declaration, transaction certificate or delivery record, together with purchase orders, invoices and batch identifiers;
• the product specification, BOM or packaging-material description, separating physical composition from the Mass Balance characteristic;
• a batch-to-SKU allocation sheet showing batch quantity, conversion factors, SKU usage, claim percentage and claim version;
• versioned screenshots of the Listing, A+ content, packaging or CPF submission so that the same SKU does not carry contradictory wording.

A batch-level characteristic cannot be assigned arbitrarily to a “hero SKU.” Any allocation must follow the applicable ISCC documents, the certificate holder's records and the real transaction. If the evidence cannot support an SKU-level percentage, narrow the wording or obtain the missing evidence first.

What the file supports	Safer communication	Avoid
A product specification or test/production record supports physical composition.	State the material and percentage within the document's scope and retain the version.	Use the Mass Balance allocation as the physical formulation.
ISCC records support a Mass Balance characteristic.	Name the ISCC PLUS Mass Balance basis and the relevant characteristic; confirm the exact claim under ISCC rules.	Drop the chain-of-custody qualifier and write “100% recycled product.”
Only a supplier marketing statement or certificate cover is available.	Do not make a specific percentage or logo claim until the Scope and batch evidence are complete.	Describe the product as CPF-approved or platform-approved.

5. Keep ISCC PLUS and Amazon CPF responsibilities separate

Amazon has publicly listed International Sustainability & Carbon Certification Plus among certifications associated with the Climate Pledge Friendly programme. That does not mean every ISCC PLUS certificate, product or page claim automatically receives a CPF badge. Amazon controls the applicable marketplace, submission route, product relationship and review outcome through its current programme and Seller Central materials; ISCC and its certification bodies control certification, logo and claim requirements.

Run two separate reviews before submission. First, verify the ISCC certificate, Scope, chain of custody and batch records. Second, verify Amazon's current CPF entry requirements, product match and page wording. If the two systems use different document names or claim conditions, obtain current written confirmation from the programme or certificate holder. Do not rely on unverified internal codes, fixed fines, fixed appeal windows or success-rate promises.

This article does not promise a CPF badge, marketplace approval, Listing retention or any processing time. Additional requirements for the EU, US states or packaging-recycling marks depend on the destination, product category and wording of the claim and must be checked separately.

6. Six manual checks before publishing

1. Make sure the Chinese and English titles describe the verified topic and avoid outcome words such as “guaranteed,” “always accepted” or “zero risk.”
2. Make sure both summaries explain the Mass Balance boundary and do not present a bookkeeping characteristic as physical content.
3. Open the Scope and check the holder, sites, material/characteristic, chain-of-custody option, version and validity.
4. Cross-reference the claim, transaction documents, invoices, batch records, product specification and SKU allocation so the numbers can be recalculated.
5. Compare the wording in the Listing, A+ content, packaging and CPF submission for the same SKU; do not use an ISCC logo or claim without the required confirmation.
6. Record the review date and document versions. ISCC rules, Amazon programme pages and destination-market requirements can change, so a historical template is not enough.

Evidence boundary: This article provides a document-review framework. It does not replace an ISCC certification body, Amazon's current programme materials or destination-market legal advice. Greenark Certification (Shenzhen) Co., Ltd. recommends retaining the actual certificate, Scope, transaction records, page screenshots and version history used for each claim.

References: ISCC PLUS certification; ISCC PLUS Mass Balance Guidance; ISCC PLUS 203 Traceability and Chain of Custody; ISCC 208 Logos and Claims; ISCC chain-of-custody options; Amazon Climate Pledge Friendly certification update.