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.
Sustainability is a catch-all term; an awful lot falls under that umbrella. Where do you start as a company? And how do you do it? 'It is nice that with the CO₂ Performance Ladder there is one clear focus: CO₂ reduction,' explains René van der Boon. He is director of Leertouwer in Barneveld.
From the entry into force of Handbook 4.0 next year, organisations will focus even more on the measures that make the most CO2 impact, even if this means that the organisation then has to look beyond its own operations or even beyond its own value chain.
Creative thinking and collaboration are encouraged and the administrative burden should decrease. ‘That makes it a system that simply helps more in the real world.’ We speak to Harald Versteeg, independent chairman of the Central College of Experts (CCoE), and Gijs Termeer, representative on behalf of Climate Foundation HERE (Klimaatstichting HIER) in the CCoE.
The Irish Green Building Council (IGBC) have launched a pilot of the CO2 Performance Ladder in Ireland. The first tender has been published by Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII), with other contracting authorities expecting to use the CO2 Performance Ladder over the coming months.
Organisations will reduce more CO2, and faster. But when? And why does creating a new handbook take so much time? CCvD members Charlotte Pars, representative of ProRail, and Tijmen de Groot, project leader and representative of SKAO, answer these and other questions and reveal some of the substantive changes we can expect.
The Foundation for Climate Friendly Procurement and Business (SKAO), together with the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD), Utrecht University Centre for Public Procurement (UUCePP) and ICLEI Europe, will support European countries in implementing the CO2 Performance Ladder in Europe over the next two years. This roll-out of the CO2 Performance Ladder is supported by the IKEA Foundation.
SKAO publishes a new harmonisation decision on the emission factor for electricity from biomass.
The CO2 Performance Ladder is an effective tool to help organisations reduce their CO2 emissions. The sustainability tool helps organisations make their CO2 emissions comprehensible and embed reduction measures. The CO2 Performance Ladder offers the most added value to companies and governments with little insight into their CO2 emissions. This is according to research by CE Delft commissioned by the IKEA Foundation.
To support the implementation of the CO2 Performance Ladder across Europe, we present these testimonials from our stakeholders in which they share the valuable lessons learned while successfully implementing the Ladder. Over the last 14 years, the CO2 Performance Ladder has developed into a key Green Public Procurement (GPP) tool and the number one CO2 management system in the Netherlands and Belgium.
IISD conducted a feasibility study of using the CO2 Performance Ladder as a procurement tool and CO2 management tool in Europe. Compared to other European carbon tools and approaches, the CO2 Performance Ladder stands out for its track record of use in public procurement, its proven carbon mitigation impact, and its third-party verification system.
The Foundation for Climate Friendly Procurement and Business (SKAO), and the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) kindly invite you to participate in a focus group discussion, in which we will explore the potential to use the CO2 Performance Ladder as a low-carbon procurement tool in Denmark.
SKAO publishes a renewed harmonisation decision on renewable fuels in aviation. This harmonisation decision is relevant for certificate holders participating in renewable fuels programmes through which they reduce their aviation emissions. Harmonisation decisions are a further interpretation of certain requirements in Manual 3.1. These are also normative.
The board of Stichting Klimaatvriendelijk Aanbesteden & Ondernemen (SKAO) has reduced the annual fee for CO2 Performance Ladder certified organisations. The rates for 2023 have been reduced by 10% compared to 2022.
Founding fathers of the CO₂ Performance Ladder reminisce
Ger van der Wal and Johan van Dalen are in the books as the founding fathers of the CO₂ Performance Ladder. From the initial idea to its elaboration and rollout... They are responsible for allowing the CO₂ Performance Ladder to rapidly grow into a successful sustainability instrument. How did the initial phase of the Ladder go? Ger and Johan (both now happily retired) reminisce.
A new report explores low-carbon concrete and construction procurement in six leading countries, one of which is the Netherlands, and identifies the CO2 Performance Ladder as a key tool in the Dutch GPP approach.
The Central College of Experts (in Dutch CCvD) has published a new harmonisation act, which is normative from now on. It concerns situations where a certificate holder advances to a higher level, within 3 months of a Ladder assessment. In that case, only the additional requirements have to be assessed.
In Germany, a trial is being launched with solar panels on the sleepers between the tracks. DB and the British company Bankset Energy, which is responsible for the project, call the potential enormous.
Registrations for companies that have obtained projects with award advantage will now be a lot easier. That is the promise of the Project Impact Dashboard, or 'PID' for short, which SKAO is introducing today. Tijmen de Groot, project manager at SKAO and Bastina van Houwelingen, member of the project group representing contractors and also CCvD member, on behalf of the sector associations Cumela and MKB Infra, explain everything we need to know about this registration tool.
For companies working with the CO2 Performance Ladder, the energy transition is in full swing. There is a strong increase in the generation of energy and the electrification of mobility and mobile equipment. Measures to switch offices off from gas are also on the rise. This and more can be found in the Report on the 2021 CO2 Performance Ladder Measure List. But whether things are moving fast enough remains to be seen.
In addition to publishing the annual figures for 2021, SKAO has also published an Impact Report for the first time. This document is intended to provide a picture of the most important projects that SKAO carried out in 2021, with the aim of making the impact of the CO2 Performance Ladder visible. Annemiek Lauwerijssen, manager: 'Figures do not provide information about who is behind all this work, what the impact of the CO2 Performance Ladder is and what developments are taking place. The story behind the figures for 2021 is at least as interesting.'
The Emission Trading System (ETS) has been in place since 2005 for electricity and heat generation, energy-intensive industries and aviation. But as part of the Fit for 55 package, the ETS is getting a major boost. The new EC-ETS proposal strengthens the overall target for the sectors concerned to a 43% reduction in emissions by 2030 (compared to 2005). At the same time, the phase-out of emissions allowances will be accelerated, and from 2027 there will be no free allowances for intra-EU aviation. Shipping to and from the EU will also gradually come to be covered by the system between 2023 and 2026.
The Energy Efficiency Directive (EED) has existed since 2012, but as part of the Fit for 55 programme it is being revised, and strengthened.
It's really 1 minute to 12 now. The new IPCC report 'Climate Change 2022: Mitigation of Climate Change' leaves no room for doubt. The options for halving our emissions in the next eight years are clearly described. It is striking that government purchasing power is specifically mentioned as one of these options for bringing about change.
The purpose of the taxonomy is to establish rules for which economic activities can be considered green - no mean feat. The idea is that it will: make it easier to invest in green activities, shift money to the sustainable economy, minimise greenwashing and increase clarity for all parties.
The International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) and the Foundation for Climate Friendly Procurement and Business (SKAO) are pleased to invite you to participate in a virtual event that will showcase a joint project on low-carbon infrastructure procurement.
The Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) sets new rules for what and how companies must report on sustainability. It covers not only CO2 but also circularity, biodiversity and the rights of workers in the value chain, among other topics. The CSRD will apply to all large companies and listed SMEs - some 50,000 companies across the EU.
The Fit for 55 package is the set of measures designed to meet the EU’s 2030 climate goals. Foremost among them is the target is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 55% in 2030 (compared to 1990). The package addresses the EU's climate, industrial, energy, transport and taxation policies, setting specific targets for each sector.
In the coming weeks, we will publice a series of articles to explain how the CO2 Performance Ladder can contribute to European climate policy. Today we start with the European Green Deal: we've all heard about it, but what exactly is it?
Green public procurement (GPP) is developing rapidly across Europe, and the CO2 Performance Ladder can play a large role in boostin those efforts. These are the results of recent research conducted by the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD). Each year, European governments spend €1.8 trillion (14% of EU GDP) buying goods and services from the private sector but there is no requirement to consider the climate in these decisions. Shifting to green public procurement can result in a green revolution among companies and their supply chains, and the CO2 Performance Ladder can help.
Public procurement provides a key entry point for governments to change the trajectory of their greenhouse gas emissions, and to meet climate goals in line with their international commitments to the Paris Agreement, the Sustainable Development Goals, and - in Europe - to the European Green Deal. In the coming years, it is therefore essential that public procurement, which accounts for 15% of carbon emissions globally, becomes a driver of innovation and commercialization of low-carbon infrastructure, goods, and services. By Laura Turley, Liesbeth Casier and Ronja Bechauf from IISD. Read the original article here.
The board of The Foundation for Climate Friendly Procurement and Business (SKAO) has reduced the annual contribution for CO2 Performance Ladder certified organisations. The rates for 2022 have been reduced by about 5% compared to 2021. The new rates will come into effect on 1 March 2022. Organisations that have already met their financial obligations for the year 2022 will receive a refund of the excess amount paid.
In Antwerp, the ring road around the city is being made circular, complete with underground (and stacked) tunnels. The CO2 performance ladder was used for this gigantic project, but not in the way it is usually done. It was quite a challenge. Nevertheless, the management company Lantis hopes that the Ladder will contribute to making the multi-billion project as sustainable as possible.
Public sector procurement activities are directly or indirectly responsible for 15% of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, seven times the amount emitted by the entire aviation industry, according to a new report from the World Economic Forum and Boston Consulting Group (BCG). Around the world, the study finds, governments currently spend $11 trillion—or 15% of global GDP—on procurement every year, making the transition to green public procurement crucial for reaching net zero.
For Charlotte Pars of ProRail, it is clear: as a contracting authority, you must use the influence you have to contribute to a more sustainable world. She shows that this can be done with little effort. For procuring entities which have perfected the basics, like ProRail, there are chances that require courage to take, but which also have the potential to achieve more results. In concrete terms, ProRail allows contractors to contribute to the design of projects and even to the standards that must be met. ‘By using the contractor's expertise, we can make more sustainable choices.’
Several pilot projects are currently taking place in Belgium in which a CO2 Performance Ladder certificate yields an award advantage in the procurement. One of those projects is the renovation of the Scheldelaan in Antwerp. What role did the CO2 Performance Ladder play in that project? And what sustainability actions were taken?
The Foundation for Climate Friendly Procurement and Business (SKAO) aims to accelerate CO2 reduction in Europe by stimulating sustainable procurement through the CO2 Performance Ladder. How are they going to do that? Maud Vastbinder (project manager) and George Thurley (project officer) tell us all about the ambitions of the CO2 Performance Ladder in Europe.
Van Oord is working hard to make its often heavy equipment, such as excavators and large dredgers more sustainable. However, to accelerate the pace international cooperation and shared sustainability goals are crucial.
It has been a procurement requirement at the Delfland Water Board (Hoogheemraadschap van Delfland, HHvD) to use the CO2 Performance Ladder as an award criterion since 2018, in tenders where this is applicable and proportionate. This also applies to the RAW framework agreement for extraordinary maintenance of polder and dyke embankments, an agreement that runs until 2024. Chris Borst, contract manager at the Water Board, explains how he used the Ladder differently in his tender and shares his ideas on sustainable procurement.
Sible Schöne is critical of Glasgow’s outcomes, but does see steps in the right direction between the lines.
