Legal Considerations When Using the CO2 Performance Ladder in Public Procurement

This fact sheet explains the legal and practical application of the CO2 Performance Ladder (CO2PL) as a procurement tool in the Netherlands and Belgium. It details how the instrument provides award advantages to companies reducing carbon emissions while remaining compliant with the 2014 EU Procurement Directive.

• The CO2 Performance Ladder (CO2PL) is a carbon management and procurement tool that rewards companies with an award advantage—such as a fictitious discount on registration costs or additional points—based on their performance level in reducing emissions. This performance is verified by an independent and accredited third party.
• The CO2PL is compliant with the 2014 EU Procurement Directive and has been used by more than 200 public contracting authorities in Belgium and the Netherlands since 2009 without any legal complaints or cases.
• To comply with EU requirements that award criteria be linked to the subject matter of the contract, the CO2PL uses project-level requirements across four areas: emissions insights (A), emissions reduction (B), transparent communication (C), and participation in CO2 reduction initiatives (D).
• Contracting authorities must accept equivalent means of proof beyond the CO2PL label to satisfy EU Procurement Directive Article 43-1. Companies can provide a project-level statement or other equivalent proof, though authorities may require these to be verified by an accredited third party.
• Compliance is ensured through third-party audits and financial penalties. If a company wins a tender based on a specific ambition level but fails to achieve it, the contracting authority imposes a financial penalty, which is recommended to be 1.5 times the award advantage given.
• Different agencies apply varying fictitious discounts based on the CO2PL ambition level (1-5). For example, Rijkswaterstaat uses discounts from 1% (Level 1) to 5% (Level 5), while ProRail offers 1% (Level 1) up to 10% (Level 5). The Flemish Road and Traffic Authority (AVW) provides discounts ranging from 2% (Level 1) to 6% (Levels 3-5).

APA

Bechauf, R., Turley, L., & Thurley, G. (2023). Legal Considerations When Using the CO2 Performance Ladder in Public Procurement. International Institute for Sustainable Development. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2023-03/co2-ladder-public-procurement-faq.pdf

Chicago

Bechauf, Ronja, Laura Turley, and George Thurley. Legal Considerations When Using the CO2 Performance Ladder in Public Procurement. International Institute for Sustainable Development, 2023. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2023-03/co2-ladder-public-procurement-faq.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Bechauf |first1=Ronja |last2=Turley |first2=Laura |last3=Thurley |first3=George |title=Legal Considerations When Using the CO2 Performance Ladder in Public Procurement |publisher=International Institute for Sustainable Development |date=March 2023 |url=https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2023-03/co2-ladder-public-procurement-faq.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{bechauf2023legal, author = {Bechauf, Ronja and Turley, Laura and Thurley, George}, title = {{Legal Considerations When Using the CO2 Performance Ladder in Public Procurement}}, institution = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, year = {2023}, month = mar, url = {https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2023-03/co2-ladder-public-procurement-faq.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }