Must an organisation be certified in order to participate in a tender that uses the CO₂ Performance Ladder?
No, this is not necessary. Organisations that submit a tender in which the CO₂ Performance Ladder is used as an award criterion, do so with a CO₂ ambition level at which they intend to carry out the contract. After the award, the organisation must demonstrate within one year that it meets the requirements of the CO₂ Performance Ladder award criterion, either by submitting a CO₂ Performance Ladder certificate or a project statement for the proposed CO₂ ambition level.
What happens if a company fails to achieve the agreed CO₂ ambition level?
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 clause is included in Annex A of the Procurement Guide 3.1.
Example: CO₂ ambition level 3 resulted in a quality value of €50,000 at the time of tendering but was not achieved by the contractor. The contractor submits a CO₂ Performance Ladder Certificate at level 2, associated with a quality value of €30,000. The sanction amount will then be 1.5 x (€50,000 – €30,000) = €30,000. |
What is the added value of a CO₂ Performance Ladder certificate compared to a project statement?
A CO₂ Performance Ladder certificate is much more cost-effective (in terms of time and money) for organisations that tender for multiple projects or contracts using the CO₂ Performance Ladder. The certificate demonstrates that the entire organisation operates in a CO₂-conscious way, including the CO₂ Performance Ladder projects it carries out. A major advantage is that the certificate can be used in all tenders (also from different contracting authorities) that use the CO₂ Performance Ladder award criterion. A project statement is valid only once, specifically for the project for which it is issued by a Certifying Body.