News 10 August 2017 News from SKAO
Australia researches feasibility of CO2 Performance Ladder
On August 1st, a feasibility study of the CO2 Performance Ladder has started in Australia. To be more precise, it focuses on the city of Melbourne and the surrounding cities of Moreland, Philip and Yarra, in the state of Victoria.
The initiator of the feasibility study is David Meiklejohn, executive officer of Northern Alliance for Greenhouse Action (NAGA). Last year he attended a workshop where SKAO spoke about how the CO2 Performance Ladder is used to stimulate climate action through the power of procurement.
He contacted SKAO to learn more about the CO2 Performance Ladder and wrote a project proposal for the state of Victoria. The project was granted one of the ‘Collaborative Council – Sustainability Fund Partnership Grants 2017’ and runs from August 2017 until end of February 2018.
“This project will investigate the feasibility of adapting a successful Dutch energy management tool, the CO2 Performance Ladder, for use by local governments in Australia. The tool reduces carbon emissions through the use of procurement processes that favour companies with stronger performance.” The project addresses two specific gaps with regard to reducing climate change emissions.The first is the patchy application of energy management tools within local government systems. The second is that only large organisations have implemented energy management systems in Australia, and with the CO2 Performance Ladder, adoption in small to medium enterprises is expected to rise.
SKAO is positive about this development. SKAO has no official project role, but we will be involved in the process to support this study with our knowledge and experience where needed. Good luck to the project team in Australia!