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.
Contractors looking to make their work and construction equipment more sustainable often look first at battery-electric solutions. But hydrogen can also be a good option. In fact, some pioneers are already experimenting with it. Does it have a future?
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.
New to the list of certificate holders: the Dutch branch of consultancy firm Deloitte. Known as one of the big four in the finance industry, this international company also has a lot of knowledge on issues surrounding the climate transition. In conversation with Internal Sustainabilty Lead Mark van Rijn, we get to know the company. 'Climate neutral? We are not yet. But we have picked the low-hanging fruit and we are a very ambitious organisation. So we take on this challenge with good courage.'
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.
Riwald Recycling is a pioneer in the recycling of metal products and was recently certified at level 5 of the CO2 Performance Ladder. Sustainability manager Ömer Avci: "In our sector, there are actually only two sustainability certificates that really matter: an ISO certificate and the CO2 Performance Ladder; if you really want to show that you take CO2 reduction seriously.
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.
Last year, construction company Eiffage Benelux certified for Level 3 on the CO2 Performance Ladder. With this achievement, Eiffage Benelux is one of the frontrunners in sustainable construction in Belgium.
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 CO2 Performance Ladder is used by the government's Workplace Environment category of procurement to encourage suppliers to become more sustainable. With success, says category manager Tamara van Vastenhoven: 'we see that we are influencing the market with our purchasing power.'
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.
