CO₂ Performance Ladder

What it is

SKAO describes the CO₂ Performance Ladder as "a simple and effective tool that drives CO₂ reduction and rewards sustainable organisations: those that demonstrably cut their emissions gain a financial award advantage in procurement."

The current structure is stated by the owner as follows: "Version 4.0 of the CO₂ Performance Ladder has three Steps." SKAO relates those Steps to the previous version's levels in its own words — "The effort involved in Step 1 is comparable to Level 3 of version 3.1 of the CO₂ Performance Ladder" and "Step 2 is comparable in effort to Level 5 of version 3.1 of the CO₂ Performance Ladder."

Who owns it

"The Foundation for Climate Friendly Procurement and Business (SKAO) is the independent owner and manager of the CO₂ Performance Ladder." SKAO adds: "This non-profit foundation oversees its use, development, certification, and international expansion."

Who assesses it

"An independent certification body (CB) carries out the audits at your organisation." Accreditation of those bodies is stated by the scheme owner: "The RvA acceptance for this scheme is known as S571. The Accreditation Council and BELAC accredit certification bodies (CBs)." The scheme owner names ISO/IEC 17021-1 (management system certification) as the basis.

Steps

• Step 1 — At Step 1, your organisation brings its internal operations into line within 1 to 3 years.
• Step 2 — At Step 2, the focus shifts to the emissions from your organisation's key activities.
• Step 3 — Step 3 sets a clear long-term goal: net zero emissions across all scopes by 2050.

Who asks for it

Demand comes from public buyers. SKAO states that "more than 300 contracting authorities use the CO2 Performance Ladder in tenders" and that the mechanism is an award advantage inside a best price-quality ratio evaluation: "The higher the level an organisation has on the CO2 Performance Ladder, the higher the award advantage." The scheme's reach is stated by the owner as: "The CO2 Performance Ladder is being introduced in France, Germany, Ireland, Portugal and the UK, alongside its established presence in the Netherlands and Belgium." No legal instrument making the certificate compulsory was identified in the sources reviewed as of 29 August 2026 — confirm against the contracting authority publishing the tender.

Validity

The certificate is valid for three years. An initial audit is followed by annual audits and a recertification audit every three years.