The sustainability goals for soy biodiesel are to contribute to energy security by providing a domestically sourced fuel, to maintain and enhance the natzural resource base and environmental quality, to produce an economically viable fuel, and to improve the quality of life. Sustainability is more than just greenhouse gas savings. The main aspects of sustainability of soy biodiesel are environmental, economic and social effects of production and use. The intent of this paper is to identify the major sustainability concerns associated with specific resource use and the potential environmental and social consequences of widely deployed and expanded commercial production and use of soy biodiesel and to explore the opportunities for mitigating these concerns. The ecological and socio-economic consequences of large-scale renewable energy action plans for soy biodiesel are critically considered. This paper is based on the performance and prospects of soy biodiesel production on a global basis as emerging from some 30 life-cycle analyses relative to the main production areas (USA, Brazil, Argentina and PR China).
