In 2024, sustainability can no longer be ignored as a strategic must for businesses. But where some measures were innovative at first, now they are mainstream. Both the market and legislators are trying to respond to this with new ideas and concepts. The same applies for the European Union (EU) and the CO₂ Performance Ladder. The EU announced the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) a little while ago, and a new version (4.0) of the CO₂ Performance Ladder is appearing. Where to start?
Insight into emissions: a much-cited added value of the CO2 Performance Ladder. But it won't stop there: with Handbook 4.0, we can expect even more insight into the CO2 emitted and energy consumed. From your own organisation, from other certified organisations and from projects. Footprints will be centrally accessible and more comparable, all with the aim of making even more and even smarter CO2 reductions. Members of SKAO’s Central College of Experts (CCoE) Marjan Kloos, representing Bouwend Nederland (Dutch Construction Industry Federation), and Madeleine Nagelkerke, representing Techniek Nederland (Dutch Technical professionals), tell us what to expect.
The United Kingdom has become the newest country to pilot the CO2 Performance Ladder. Following successful ongoing implementation in the Netherlands and Belgium and pilots in Ireland and France, the Ladder will be used to strengthen the CO2 reduction efforts of UK organisations and governments. Action Sustainability, an award-winning sustainability consultancy, will coordinate the CO2 Performance Ladder pilot in the UK.
After a successful pilot of the CO₂ Performance in Belgium which was coordinated by CO₂logic, our new partner foundation BENOR will be responsible for further implementation of the Ladder. This kicks off the promising expansion in Belgium. By structurally deploying the Ladder, an average annual 5.5% CO2 reduction is expected. This will significantly contribute to the realisation of the Belgian objectives to emit at least 55% less greenhouse gases by 2030.
Belgium was the first country after the Netherlands to use the CO₂ Performance Ladder. Between 2019 and 2023, 24 pilot projects in three regions were launched implementing the Ladder. The results of the pilot are positive among both participating companies and contracting authorities, and can be read in the report on this successful pilot period. Now that it’s time to map out the further integration and scaling-up of the system in Belgium, the various actors came together for a roundtable discussion.
Our partner, the International Institute for Sustainable Development, has released a new insightful report: ‘Monitoring Progress in Green Public Procurement’. The report is developed as part of SKAO’s ongoing collaboration with IISD in the project ‘Accelerating decarbonisation through the power of procurement by disseminating the CO₂ Performance Ladder: implementation and expansion’. This project focuses on promoting and strengthening green public procurement (GPP) internationally.
The CO2 Performance Ladder is expanding to France, marking the next step in its dissemination across Europe. This expansion follows successful implementation in the Netherlands, Belgium and Ireland. The Ladder's launch in France was heralded on 27 March in Paris at the residence of the Dutch ambassador, in the presence of prominent representatives of the Dutch and French governments.
Today, the 1500th certificate for the CO2 Performance Ladder was awarded to European fast-charging company Fastned. With the CO2 Performance Ladder, organisations reduce their CO2 emissions throughout their operations, projects and in their supply chain.
The award of the 1500th certificate underlines the growing number of organisations committed to CO2 reduction and confirms the effectiveness and relevance of the CO2 Performance Ladder. Organisations of various sizes are certified, from SMEs to listed organisations, and the Ladder is used in a wide range of sectors.
On 14 March at the Procura+ Conference, our account managers George Thurley and Thijs Wentink will give an in-depth training on implementing the CO₂ Performance Ladder as a European contracting authority. This is a great opportunity for parties present at the conference who want to focus on low-carbon procurement, to learn the ins and outs of the Ladder.
On March 13th and 14th, the 11th edition of the Procura+ Conference, where sustainable, circular and innovation procurement policy meets practice, will take place in Lisbon.
The conference is organised by ICLEI Europe and CO2 Performance Ladder takes the center stage in the two-day programme as one of the key partners. We are proud of that, because the Procura+ Conference shows cities and public authorities how public procurement can be used to implement changes that can make a big impact.
The CO2 Performance Ladder was in the spotlight in Ireland recently as part of an event held at the Dutch Embassy in Dublin focusing on Circular and Sustainable Construction in a Dutch-Irish context.
In the pursuit of sustainable and environmentally responsible practices, the DeCarb-Pro project emerges as a vital initiative aimed at significantly reducing CO2 emissions resulting from public procurement activities carried out by local authorities (LAs) in North West Europe (NWE). The impact of public procurement on CO2 emissions is striking, with 15% or 230 million tons of CO2 emitted in 2020 attributed to LAs in the NWE region.
