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.
