The previous versions 1, 2 and 3 of the BioGrace-II GHG calculation tool are based on the former policy framework for electricity, heating and cooling from biomass:

• The European Commission report COM(2010)11 on sustainability requirements for the use of solid and gaseous biomass sources in electricity, heating and cooling.
• The European Commission staff working document (SWD/2014/259) from August 2014. This report reviewed the state of play on the sustainability issue, and was published together with a scientific report of the Joint Research Centre on default and input values for GHG emissions of biomass.

Under this framework applying in the period 2010-2020, sustainability criteria for solid biomass were voluntary, as opposed to the mandatory criteria that applied for biofuels and bioliquids in the same period. Nevertheless a number of EU member states (Belgium, Denmark, The Netherlands, UK) decided to introduce either legally binding sustainability criteria for solid biomass, or similar criteria that were introduced due to an agreement between industry and government.