The Dutch province of Gelderland has been certified on level 3 of the CO2 Performance Ladder. It is the 900th organisation certified on the Ladder. Deputy Jan Markink of the province has accepted the certificate on Wednesday the 13th of February. With the implementation CO2 Performance Ladder, the province has made further developments towards becoming a climate neutral organisation.
It is essential to focus on the acceleration of new developments and technologies that reduce carbon emissions in order to realise climate neutral infrastructure. This is one of the most important findings of the research ‘On the road to climate neutral infrastructure in the Netherlands’ conducted and published by SKAO and the Technical University of Delft (TU Delft). So which sustainable innovations actually contribute to climate neutral infrastructure in the Netherlands?
What started out as a smartphone app that warns motorists of traffic jams, road constructions and different weather circumstances, expanded to a mobility app that stimulates sustainable commuting behavior through gamification. The opportunities to reduce carbon emissions through this method are therefore massive. The app, named ‘TimesUpp’, is developed by the Dutch company Innovactory, that recently obtained a certificate on the highest level of the CO2 Performance Ladder. The Foundation for Climate Friendly Procurement and Business (SKAO) spoke to the founding fathers of this smart mobility app and discovered the opportunities to cut back carbon emissions in the mobility sector by means of gamification.
The Dutch road construction company KWS Infra worked alongside the transportation concern Vrijbloed Transport to develop the first electric truck including electric crane. The road constructor aims to make use of the electric truck in one of its road construction projects.
What is the relation between carbon management and the circular economy? SKAO and Utrecht University have researched circular economy developments and how the CO2 Performance Ladder can stimulate a circular economy.
The Dutch parking company Egis Parking Services (EPS) manages a total chain of approximately 2.400 parking machines, 180.000 parking licenses and fiscal enforcement of 150.000 paid parking spaces in Amsterdam. EPS does these activities with the implementation and development of digital innovations. The parking company recently obtained a level 4 certificate of the CO2 Performance Ladder. With this, EPS strives towards a sustainable future by reducing as much carbon emissions as possible with the help of the Ladder.
The Dutch distributor of biofuels Den hartog delivers the biodiesel HVO (Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil) to sludge processing plant in the Dutch province of Noord-Brabant. Depending on how much HVO is used in a fuel mix, the biodiesel can lead to CO2 emissions savings of 89 to 100 percent, claims Den Hartog.
The Dutch municipality of Barneveld has recently obtained a certificate on the CO2 Performance Ladder at level 3. With this, Barneveld is the second municipality in the Netherlands after Renkum with a certificate on the Ladder. The certification on the CO2 management system is a concrete step for the Dutch municipality to reduce its CO2 emissions and become carbon neutral.
The Dutch province of Zuid-Holland has opened its first CO2 negative road. The road N211 is localized between the cities of The Hague and Poeldijk. The province has commissioned construction concern BAM Infra to develop the sustainable and CO2 negative road. The company has provided the piece of infrastructure with 20 different sustainable innovations that save energy and carbon emissions. The province has said to repeat this approach of sustainable innovations in all of its infrastructure projects and wishes to share knowledge and experience on sustainable infrastructure with other governments.
The Dutch freight transportation company Van der Stelt has the ambition to continuously develop in sustainability and CO2 reduction. For this, the organisation is certified on the CO2 Performance Ladder. By implementing the CO2 management system, Van der Stelt monitors its carbon emissions, structurally cuts back CO2 and was awarded a project in which the CO2 Performance Ladder plays an essential part. Arjan Rademaker, manager of operations at Van der Stelt, explains more about the developments within the company.
Rasenberg Infra, a subsidiary of construction and civil engineering company Strukton, has placed asphalt in the Dutch city of Breda that consists of 97 percent reused materials. The so-called Greenfalt is made of reused asphalt and recycled railway materials. These reused materials are processed in every layer of the asphalt road. A higher percentage of reused materials in asphalt can lead to the reduction of carbon emissions. This conclusion is based on prior research conducted by the Technical University of Delft (TU Delft) in collaboration with SKAO.
From Wednesday 3 till Friday the 5th of October, the EcoProcura took place in the Dutch city of Nijmegen. During this international conference on sustainable procurement, SKAO has done several presentations on the CO2 Performance Ladder. There was plenty of interest from international parties to make use of the instrument for sustainable procurement.
