Audits and certification

The manuals for each level contain the only lists of requirements provided by SKAO. We prefer not to refer to a checklist, as the focus of a management system should be on the processes that lead to continuous improvement.

It may happen that the contractor is unable to meet the requirements of the CO₂ Performance Ladder award criterion through a project statement or certificate, either fully or on time. In this case, the contracting authority must include a sanction in the procurement documents.

The recommendation is to include a sanction that exceeds the awarded procurement advantage. To determine the amount of the sanction, calculate the difference between the quality value awarded in the procurement procedure – the agreed CO₂ ambition level – and the final quality value achieved (CO₂ ambition level), and multiply this by a factor (e.g. 1.5). A sample sanction and an example of a sanction clause can be found in the Procurement Guide 4.0.

Accreditation means that an independent body – such as the Dutch Accreditation Council (RvA) or Belac in Belgium – has verified that a certification body has the required competence, impartiality and independence. This provides an additional guarantee of the reliability of the certificate. Accreditation marks are recognised internationally through mutual recognition agreements, meaning that certificates issued by accredited CBs are accepted in virtually all countries worldwide.

The CO₂ Performance Ladder (both version 3.1 and version 4.0) has been accepted in the Netherlands by the Dutch Accreditation Council (RvA) and in Belgium by BELAC as an accredited certification system in accordance with NEN-EN-ISO-IES 17021-1, certification of management systems. The RvA acceptance for this scheme is known as S571. The Accreditation Council and BELAC accredit certification bodies (CBs). These organisations guarantee expert, impartial and independent supervision of the assessment of CBs.

Certification bodies that comply with the standard (CO₂ Performance Ladder) receive formal accreditation. This means that they are allowed to use the accreditation mark. Certificates and reports bearing this mark are accepted in almost all countries worldwide.

An initial audit is followed by annual audits and a recertification audit every three years.

To determine the duration of an audit, SKAO has published the audit days table 3.1 and Version 4.0. This document gives certification bodies (CBs) a guideline for the minimum time required for an audit at an organisation. This expected time commitment depends on a number of factors including the size of the organisation to be certified and the (desired) ladder level. The audit days table should ensure that the CB has sufficient time to perform a proper assessment and thus ensure the quality of Ladder assessments.

If compliance with the BPKV criterion is demonstrated with the CO₂-aware Certificate, the certified company has a working CO₂ management system that is audited annually. The audit is carried out annually by an independent certification body (CB). This audit not only looks at the objectives and measures at company level, but also randomly examines the projects with a CO₂ Performance Ladder award advantage that a company carries out.

If meeting the BPKV criterion is demonstrated project-specifically, a company must implement reduction measures on the project and a CB examines whether these measures are actually implemented and draws up a project statement on this.