Reduce CO2 emissions with the CO2 Performance Ladder

Ireland’s climate targets aim to reduce carbon emissions by 51% by 2030 and to reach carbon neutrality by 2050. Through its scale and spending, green procurement in the construction sector has the potential to positively aid Ireland in reaching these vital targets. The CO₂ Performance Ladder is a tool that can help organisations embed green procurement into their organisation in an accessible and structured way!

Pilot in Ireland

The IGBC is running a two-year pilot in collaboration with the Foundation for Climate Friendly Procurement and Business – Stichting Klimaatvriendelijk Aanbesteden en Ondernemen, SKAO to bring this outstanding tool to Ireland. SKAO is the owner and manager of the CO₂ Performance Ladder.

The first tender with the CO2 Performance Ladder has been published by Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII), with other contracting authorities expecting to use the CO₂ Performance Ladder over the coming months.

In this short video, Micheál O’Connor, Senior Procurement Executive at Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII) talks about his experience implementing the Ladder into their procurement process.

Get involved in the CO₂ Performance Ladder pilot!

If you are interested in reducing your organisations carbon emissions and creating a more sustainable built environment, please get in touch with Marianne Ibrahim, the Programme Manager, to start your journey with the CO₂ Performance Ladder.

What is the CO₂ Performance Ladder?

The CO₂ Performance Ladder has been developed as a user-friendly, socially responsible and affordable tool that helps organisations reduce carbon emissions in their organisation, in projects and in the business sector by using the power of procurement.

The tool is used as both a CO₂ management system as well as a green procurement tool. The CO₂ Performance Ladder has been employed in the Netherlands since 2009, and is recognised as best practice in green procurement by several bodies such as the OECD, World Economic Forum and IPCC.

The tool also encourages organisations to reduce their CO2 emissions as they then have a better chance of winning government contract!

CO₂ Performance Ladder as a management system

The CO₂ Performance Ladder consists of 5 levels. Up till level 3, an organisation that obtains a certificate on the Ladder reduces its own carbon emissions within the organisation and all its projects. From level 4 and 5, the organisation also aims to reduce CO₂ emissions from the business chain and sector. An organisation that is certified on a certain level (and all previous levels) adheres to the requirements of the CO₂ Performance Ladder. These requirements are based on four angles, namely:

1. Insight: To determine different streams of energy and the carbon footprint of the organisation.
2. Reduction: To develop ambitious goals for the reduction of CO₂ emissions.
3. Transparency: To structurally communicate about organisation policies of CO₂ reduction.
4. Participation: To take part of business sector initiatives with regards to the reduction of carbon emissions.

Each organisation certified on the ladder will be subject to annual audits performed by independent and accredited Certifying Institutions (CI). Through these audits, a certified organisation ensures the implementation of the CO₂ Performance Ladder in its management and projects. Furthermore, the certified organisations will be evaluated annually for their ambitions and initiatives to reduce carbon emissions, and continuous improvement. The Ladder encourages certified organisations to remain ambitious in their efforts to reduce carbon emissions.

CO₂ Performance Ladder as a green procurement tool

Certified organisations receive a fictitious discount on the registration costs of tenders when they use the tool. With a certificate on the Ladder, organisations are rewarded with a concrete award advantage during the tendering process (up to 10%). The higher the level an organisation has on the CO₂ Performance Ladder, the higher the award advantage. The commissioning party decides the award advantage an organisation can receive on each level of the Ladder.

Background: CO₂ Performance Ladder

Over the last fourteen years, the CO₂ Performance Ladder has become a key tool in Public Procurement in the Netherlands. The CO₂ Performance Ladder is used for one in ten European tenders in the Netherlands. Over 5000 organisations (1400 certificates) in the Netherlands, Belgium and beyond have already been certified on the CO₂ Performance Ladder as a carbon management system, and over 300 contracting authorities across Belgium and the Netherlands (from national ministries to municipalities, regional governments and other semi-public bodies) use the CO₂ Performance Ladder in their tendering processes as a green procurement instrument.

Research from CE Delft [2] and the University of Utrecht [3] shows that organisations using the CO₂ Performance Ladder reduce their carbon emissions twice as fast as average and it leads to large carbon reduction and behaviour changes. The research also shows that by using the CO₂ Performance Ladder, organisations implement a fully-fledged energy management system, which includes structural monitoring of emission trends and establishes reduction of CO₂ as a key business strategy. The tool also promotes the circular economy through procurement [4].

 

For more information about the CO₂ Performance Ladder please go to co2performanceladder.com/en.

 

 

CO₂ Performance Ladder: Launch & Case Studies from Ireland & Netherland

In this webinar, you’ll find out how you can use and benefit from the CO₂ Performance Ladder. The tool will be showcased through case studies from Ireland and the Netherlands.

CO₂ Performance Ladder in Other Countries:

Belgium 

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. Read more here.

United Kingdom

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. Read more here.

The CO₂ Performance Ladder has been also implemented in Germany and France. 

 

For more information reach out to Marianne.

---

References

[1]	W. E. Forum, “Green Public Procurement: Catalysing the Net Zero Economy,” World Economic Forum, January 2022.
[2]	E. e. a. Schep, “Evaluation of the CO2 Performance Ladder,” DELFT, CE DELFT, January 2023.
[3]	C. P. Ladder, “CO2 PERFORMANCE LADDER DOUBLES CO2 REDUCTION CONSTRUCTION COMPANIES,” May 2016. [Online].
[4]	e. a. M.C. Zijp, “Effect meten van circulair,” Rijksinstituut voor Volksgezondheid , Delft, 2020.