Whereas a few years ago the CO2 Performance Ladder was only used in tenders in the Netherlands and Belgium, dozens of tenders are now running with the Ladder in various European countries. The international roll-out can therefore safely be called a great success. The movement thus set in motion will only continue to grow in the coming years, expects Maud Vastbinder of SKAO. She explains how the international roll-out came about, what the impact is and lays out the important conditions for successful implementation of the Ladder.

Several years after the launch of the CO2 Performance Ladder in the Netherlands in 2009, SKAO was already considering the idea of rolling out the Ladder internationally. Yet it took until 2019 for the first foreign pilot to start in Belgium and even until 2022 for a European feasibility study to be carried out. According to Maud Vastbinder, project manager of the European implementation of the CO2 Performance Ladder, there were several reasons for this. ‘One reason was that we first wanted to focus on setting up a robust system in the Netherlands. If you don’t have it up and running in your own country, there is no point in looking further. In addition, it was a financial issue. That changed when we received funding for European implementation from the IKEA Foundation in 2021. That money was needed for capacity building.’

Looking for frontrunners in Europe

What also helped was the developments around sustainable procurement. This movement got a boost when the Paris Climate Agreement was signed in 2015 and the European Green Deal was launched in 2019. Vastbinder: ‘As a result, governments started to commit much more strongly to sustainable procurement. In the feasibility study, conducted by our partner International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD), we looked at which countries are leading in this field. Ten countries eventually emerged from this study. With these, we organised interviews and workshops to talk about the Ladder, among other things. What stood out was that most countries were already familiar with the Ladder. They just lacked the right knowledge to actually use the tool and turn ambitions into action. After these sessions, we started working with five countries to set up pilots.’

First tender outside the Netherlands and Belgium

This resulted in the first tender outside the Netherlands and Belgium in 2024. The country that had the scoop: Ireland. Vastbinder explains how this tender came about. ‘Initially, we contacted a partner organisation, the Irish Green Building Council (IGBC). Then we started looking for a contracting authority that wanted to use the Ladder in a tender. That’s how we ended up with Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII). Together we set up a market consultation, informing companies about the system so that they were well prepared. Within a framework agreement, the first project was implemented in the summer of 2024. Thanks in part to the use of the Ladder, a 21% emission reduction was achieved in the process. Truly a great result of which we are very proud. TII is now scaling up the use of the Ladder.’

Strongly growing movement

In addition to Ireland, tenders have now been launched in other countries. In France, for instance, state-owned postal operator La Poste and grid operator RTE have launched tenders using the Ladder. Pilots are also underway in the UK, Portugal and Germany. Vastbinder: ‘At the moment, we are already talking about some 50 tenders, ranging from tenders yet to be published to projects that have already been fully completed. I think this is really wonderful; I wouldn’t have dared to dream that a few years ago. It shows that the system also works outside the Netherlands and Belgium. A whole movement has started and a strong ecosystem is in place. Parties at all levels know how to find each other, from companies and industry organisations to governments and academics. This movement will only increase further, I am convinced.’

Importance of local partner in a country

According to Vastbinder, that success has a number of key ingredients. Or as SKAO itself calls it: building blocks. ‘For the roll-out of the Ladder to succeed in a country, a number of things are crucial. I would not call a building block a requirement, but without such a block it does become a difficult story. One such building block is having a partner in the country: an organisation that knows the culture, speaks the language, is knowledgeable and has a relevant network. For contracting authorities, using a new instrument still feels like a leap of faith, you don’t just do that. If the story first comes from an organisation in the country itself, it gives more confidence than if we were to approach as SKAO directly. So the first thing we do in each country is to find a local partner.’

First authority to deploy the Ladder

With that local partner, SKAO then looks for the first contracting authority willing to use the Ladder in a tender. Vastbinder: ‘Finding a suitable first contracting authority is another building block. Important here is to look carefully at the influence and impact of a contracting authority. You can start with a small municipality, but when you start with a large (national) organisation or set up a framework of tenders in a sector that emits a lot of CO2, such as Construction & Infrastructure, your climate impact is much greater. So we look at that very carefully with our partner and the contracting authority.’

Sustainable leaders are indispensable

A third building block Vastbinder mentions is sustainable leadership. These leaders are not only organisations that want to pioneer, but can also be individuals. As an example, she mentions Jean-Louis Tourneux, director of French Ladder partner ASEA. ‘About 10 years ago, we were in contact with him when he was still working in Australia to roll out the Ladder there. That didn’t work out at the time, but a few years ago Jean-Louis, now living in France again, contacted us. At the time, we had just started the international roll-out and he saw a lot of potential for France. We were very happy with that. On his own initiative with ASEA, he organised all kinds of workshops with contracting authorities, which eventually led to the pilot in France and several tenders. Such people, with their pioneering spirit, intrinsic motivation and network, are indispensable to us.’

Taking its time again in each country

Despite the Ladder’s roll-out in several European countries being successful for now, Vastbinder still guards against complacency. ‘It is all not a given. If I have learned anything in recent years, it is that you have to take your time to build something. Even if we will soon be rolling out the Ladder in the tenth or twentieth country. We know the system through and through ourselves, of course, but for every country this is something new, even if they have already heard of the Ladder. Finding a partner and first contracting authority, informing parties, convincing them, every step requires great care. Without time and capacity, successful implementation becomes very difficult. We all really need to keep accelerating and scaling up to turn the tide. I wish for every organisation (and consumer) to start realising the power of more sustainable procurement and apply it more often.’

Interesting cultural differences

In addition, each country has a different culture and legislation, continues Vastbinder. ‘That too can be challenging. But the differences between countries are sometimes also very interesting. For example, when it comes to choosing the name of the CO2 Performance Ladder. ‘Our French partner has chosen to use the French name: L’Échelle de Performance CO2. But in Portugal, they actually use the English name, because an international name gives more confidence with the market. In Germany, they also choose English, but mainly because of the familiarity of the name. So every country has different arguments. What is also striking are the hierarchical differences. In some countries, such as the Netherlands and Ireland, it is relatively easy to get in touch with governments. Our Irish partner even has lunch with the minister. But then again, in other countries the distance is very great. That makes it difficult to make contact and organise something.’

European Community of Practice

In March, the CO2 Performance Ladder Europe Community of Practice (CO2PL Europe CoP) for European contracting authorities was launched at a procurement event in Helsinki. According to Vastbinder, this is yet another milestone in the European roll-out. ‘We are extremely proud that the European Commission is also embracing the instrument. The Ladder was already considered best practice for sustainable procurement, but with a European Community of Practice we can bring parties from countries together even more. We hope that we will now also reach those countries that are still not as advanced when it comes to sustainable procurement. The fact that we have already achieved so much in just a few years makes me proud and hopeful. Despite the great need, sustainability is certainly not yet taken for granted. The political winds are not always favourable either. Then the international development of the Ladder is surely a ray of hope.’