On 15 October 2026, the CO₂ Performance Ladder was officially launched in Portugal. The event in Lisbon closed a two-year national pilot and opened the next phase: putting the Ladder to work in real tenders. LIPOR, the intermunicipal waste management service of Greater Porto, announced that it will apply the Ladder in an upcoming public procurement procedure.

The CO₂ Performance Ladder is both a procurement instrument and a CO₂ management system. Contracting authorities use it to give suppliers that reduce their emissions an award advantage in tenders. This makes it a powerful lever for climate action: research shows that certified organisations reduce their CO₂ emissions twice as fast as the industry average. In the Netherlands, more than 300 public organisations have used it for over 15 years. Beyond the Netherlands, the Ladder is being implemented in six other European countries: Belgium, France, Germany, Ireland, Portugal and the United Kingdom.

From training to tender

Over the past two years, our Portuguese partner Aliados Consulting has coordinated the national pilot, with support from the IKEA Foundation as part of the Ladder’s European expansion. Together with SKAO and other key stakeholders in Portugal and beyond, Aliados laid the foundation for implementing the Ladder in Portugal. The pilot focused on three areas: adapting the Ladder to the Portuguese context, building a strong network and ecosystem, and developing the capacity of public buyers. The pilot delivered, among other things:

The launch day started with a CO₂ Performance Ladder Hackathon: a hands-on sprint for public authorities organised by Aliados Consulting and legal expert Ana Rita Babo (Cerejeira Namora, Marinho Falcão). Participants worked through the practical steps of a Ladder tender, from selecting suitable contracts to preparing tender documents and meeting legal requirements.

LIPOR commits to a Ladder tender

At the afternoon conference, Nuno Filipe announced on behalf of LIPOR that the organisation will include the CO₂ Performance Ladder in an upcoming tender, with a launch date already scheduled. This is where the pilot turns into practice: public purchasing power used to reward suppliers that cut their emissions.

“We’re ready to go!” says Maud Vastbinder, Manager CO₂ Performance Ladder Europe of SKAO. “The pilot phase gave us the chance to build up GPP expertise and capacity, and to equip Portuguese procurers to put the CO₂ Performance Ladder into practice. Several of them are now committed to use the Ladder in their upcoming tenders.”

The conference opened with an address by Vasco Rodrigues, Deputy Ambassador of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to Portugal. Maud Vastbinder of SKAO presented the international development of the Ladder. Speakers also discussed ECO360, Portugal’s National Strategy for Green Public Procurement. In a roundtable moderated by Professor Carlos Videira, Ana Rita Babo, Paula Trindade (eSPap, Portugal’s Public Administration Shared Services Entity) and Nuno Filipe (LIPOR) explored the legal, institutional and operational conditions for applying the Ladder.

What comes next for the Ladder in Portugal

The next phase focuses on supporting the first tenders in Portugal, learning from them and strengthening cooperation with contracting authorities. Every Ladder tender gives suppliers a concrete incentive to cut their CO₂ emissions. Portugal shows that legal clarity, targeted training and institutional cooperation together prepare a new national market for the Ladder. These lessons will also support the Ladder’s further expansion across Europe.

Would you like to apply the CO₂ Performance Ladder in Portugal? Contact Aliados Consulting.