CO2 Performance Ladder

Originally a Dutch sustainability instrument, the CO2 Performance Ladder has seen remarkable success across Europe, particularly in the Netherlands and Belgium. As pilot trials are already underway in Ireland and France, the UK has now become the latest frontier for this innovative approach to carbon reduction. Transport for London will be piloting the tool within selected tenders, aiming to instill a culture of sustainability and environmental stewardship in UK procurement practices.

The Foundation for Climate-Friendly Procurement and Business (SKAO), the owner and manager of the CO₂ Performance Ladder, is launching the pilot in the United Kingdom in partnership with Action Sustainability.

Reducing CO2 emissions is increasingly high on the agenda. Not only in politics – the climate agreement in Paris – but also in business. After all, the greenhouse gas CO2 is one of the main causes of global warming and emissions must therefore be reduced as much as possible. In order to stimulate CO2 reduction and make it demonstrable, the CO2 Performance Ladder has been developed as a management system.

The CO2 Performance Ladder is for every organisation that has energy saving and sustainable entrepreneurship high on its agenda. In addition, the performance ladder also offers economic advantages for many companies in tenders. The CO2 Performance Ladder is interesting for organisations with a lot of energy consumption (municipalities, industries, large vehicle fleets) or organisations in the construction or civil engineering sector.

With the CO2 Performance Ladder you get started with saving energy and reducing CO2 emissions. This will result in cost savings and contribute to the climate objectives of the Paris Climate Agreement (reducing CO2 emissions by 49% by 2030 compared to 1990 and even by 95% by 2050). In addition, thanks to the certificate, you have an award advantage in the form of a fictitious discount in tenders. Often, the higher the level of the CO2 performance ladder, the higher the percentage fictitious discount. This can be as high as 10%, which can result in the award being in your favour.

You can have the CO2 Performance Ladder certified by a recognised certification body such as TÜV NORD. The CO2 performance ladder is practically set up and the lead time is approximately 3 to 6 months. You can find the requirements for certification in the CO2 Performance Ladder handbook. For the certification, you define your insights and objectives with regard to energy savings and CO2 reduction and build a portfolio. This portfolio will be assessed during the audit. The CO2 Performance Ladder is based on continuous improvement and audits take place annually to assess this improvement.

With CO2 Performance Ladder certification, you meet the requirements of many main contractors in projects and tenders. The initiative includes a scheme for notional award advantage in tenders. Depending on the level at which you are certified, you will receive a 2% to 10% (level 5) advantage that allows you to bid for tenders more cheaply than your competitors, without having to lower your prices. In other words, direct profit. With the certificate, you not only take advantage of commercial opportunities, but also improve your results, which can be quite expensive for large projects. Certification at level 5 is therefore extremely interesting, despite the fact that you can decide for yourself at which level your organisation is certified. The introduction of the CO2 Performance Ladder also provides insight into where you can make improvements within the organisation in terms of energy consumption, such as your fuel costs. So if there is one form of certification that can be recouped, it is the CO2 Performance Ladder. With CO2 Performance Ladder certification, you also show your immediate environment and other clients that you are CO2 conscious, so that you can also put yourself in the spotlight with other potential customers outside of tenders.

Do you want to obtain CO2 Performance Ladder certification for your organisation? Our skilled professionals have extraordinary experience in the verification of the CO2 Performance Ladder criteria and assess your approach in a practical, down-to-earth and accessible manner. In addition to CO2 Performance Ladder certification, we also offer you other common forms of certification such as ISO 9001 and ISO 14001  so that you can place everything with one certification supplier without any worries. We will then be happy to work with you to see how we can schedule the annual audits most efficiently.

Apply for CO2 Performance Ladder certification from TÜV NORD today.