(The article below is about the pilot phase in Belgium. This phase has now been successfully completed and the CO2 Performance Ladder is being implemented structurally in the country)
The CO2 Performance Ladder was launched in 2019 in Belgium in the framework of several public works contracts. The intention of this pilot phase is to include the CO2 Performance Ladder in several public tenders in the three Belgian regions as pilot projects, to validate the scheme on the Belgian territory.
(The article below is about the pilot phase in Belgium. This phase has now been successfully completed and the CO2 Performance Ladder is being implemented structurally in the country)
Belgium is the first country outside Dutch borders to deploy the CO2 Performance Ladder. Belgian stakeholders are currently busy experimenting in a pilot phase. What is involved in successful implementation of a procurement tool like the CO2 Performance Ladder? Steven Declercq of Embuild Flanders, trade association for the Belgian construction sector, shares his opinion with us.
Jacqueline Cramer knows all about socially responsible procurement. As Minister of Housing, Spatial Planning and Environment, she laid the foundations for sustainable public procurement by public authorities. And as board member of the Foundation for Climate-Friendly Procurement and Business (SKAO), she was closely involved in the success of the CO2 Performance Ladder after her ministerial term. She is convinced that the Ladder will also be successful abroad: “The success factors in the Netherlands will also apply abroad.”
An indispensable piece of the CO2 Performance Ladder’s success is accreditation. This is because it ensures that companies are certified properly and fairly. In the Netherlands, the Dutch Accreditation Council (RvA) takes care of that. But what exactly does accreditation entail? And why is it important for successful implementation of the CO2 Performance Ladder?
Dutch railway operator ProRail first put the CO2 Performance Ladder on the market in 2009, but a year and a half later the Ladder was transferred to the Foundation for Climate-Friendly Procurement & Business (SKAO). The foundation opted for accreditation, making independent scheme management and third-party verification the cornerstones of both the CO2 Performance Ladder and SKAO as an organisation. Director Gijs Termeer and project manager Maud Vastbinder discuss the benefits.
In recent years, construction contractor De Vries Stolwijk B.V. has made great strides in the area of sustainability. That sustainable adventure started with certification on the CO2 Performance Ladder. “It was initially about the fictitious award advantage for us,” says KAM (Quality, Working Conditions and Environment) coordinator Bastina van Houwelingen. “But once you start working with the Ladder, you soon notice that more is possible.”
When ProRail introduced the CO2 Performance Ladder in 2009, Dura Vermeer immediately had itself certified at the highest level. In other words, few companies have as much experience with the Ladder as Dura Vermeer. What can we learn from the construction company?
(The article below is about the pilot phase in Belgium. This phase has now been successfully completed and the CO2 Performance Ladder is being implemented structurally in the country)
In Belgium busy experimentation with the CO2 Performance Ladder is underway, in as many as 25+ pilot projects. A major reason for that success is the efforts of industry association ADEB-VBA, which actively promoted the procurement tool in Belgium. ADEB-VBA CEO Didier Cartage talks about that journey, the challenges involved and what is required to fulfill that leadership role.
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.