The application of the CO2 Performance Ladder as a tool for a more sustainable public procurement in the wastewater sector in Belgium

Frédéric Coupain is the Head of Service, Collectors, Pumping Stations division at IDEA, a territorial development agency in Belgium, which tendered a €5.6M procurement for the renovation of a water treatment plant in the Wallonia region and addressed CO2 ambitions as part of the award criteria. 

The level of ambition for CO2 reduction was used as an award criterion in a contract for the renovation of a wastewater treatment plant of 250,000 inhabitants. The project, funded by the Société Publique de Gestion de l'Eau (SPGE, Public Water Management Company), demonstrated the simplicity and efficiency of the system in order to reduce the environmental impact of the renovation works. 

First, could you please describe the IDEA network, who you represent and the work you do? 

IDEA is an intermunicipal company active in four main topics: Economic development, Territory, Water, and Energy. Our aim is to help municipalities to develop and  to improve the welfare of citizens. The water department is active as well in the production of drinking water, the collection and treatment of wastewater, and flood control by pumping surface water to rivers in slumped former mining areas or reducing the impact of floodings for example.

Why did the Wasmuël wastewater treatment plant require renovation work and how was the renovation financed?

The commissioning of the Wasmuël wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) originally occurred in 1972. Since then, different upgrades took place, but the infrastructure itself has never undergone any major renovation. As the first life cycle of the installation came to an end, a major revamping was needed to upgrade the process performance, reduce environmental impact, and restore the safety conditions for the operator.

How were sustainability considerations included in the procurement of renovation services, particularly in the Award Criteria?

There were 3 different award criteria. They all considered the environmental impact of the execution of the project: 

1. The price taking into account the CO2 ambition level (see further).

2. An evaluation of the general planification of the entire work considering the periods of service interruption and degraded mode operation as they have an important impact on the quality of the surface water.

3. Work phase evaluation considering the resilience and robustness of the temporary pumping system. 

Based on the Award Criteria, which tool, if any, did you use to measure the level of CO2 ambition of bidders and why?

As IDEA is engaged in the SDG’s and  “RESPECT” is one of our inner values, we took the opportunity to apply the CO2 Performance Ladder in a pilot project proposed by the regional authority in Wallonia. 

“The CO₂ Performance Ladder is an instrument that helps organisations reduce their carbon emissions in the organisation, in projects and in the business sector. With a certificate on the Ladder, organisations can receive an award advantage for their registration on tenders. The instrument is used as both a CO₂ management system as well as a procurement tool.” “The Ladder’s main objective is to stimulate organisations to gain insights in their CO₂ emissions, and to continuously seek opportunities to cut back these emissions in the organisation and consequently within projects”. Extract from website: What is the Ladder (co2-prestatieladder.nl).

Concretely, the bidder can commit in its tender to achieve a certain level of CO2 ambition. The determination of a level of CO2 ambition in the offer results in a fictitious reduction. By applying this notional reduction to the tender price, the evaluation price is obtained, which is used to evaluate the award criterion "Price".

The fictitious reduction percentages can be adapted according to public markets. For the Belgian context, it was agreed that the 4th and 5th levels would not (yet) be rewarded with a higher fictitious reduction than the fictitious reduction granted for level 3 during the pilot phase. For this contract, the tenderer could choose only one of the following levels of ambition:

The CO2 ambition level must be reached no later than one year after the conclusion of the contract. If the duration of the contract extends over several years, the successful bidder must demonstrate within the month following each anniversary of notification that it has reached at least the level announced in its offer.

Failure to comply with the obligation to prove that the level of CO2 ambition announced in the offer has been achieved one year after the conclusion of the contract and, where applicable, in the month following each anniversary date of the conclusion of the contract, is liable to a special penalty equivalent to one and a half times the fictitious reduction not achieved.

What was the result of the tendering process and how did you ensure compliance with the emission reduction ambitions?

We received 3 bids. Two of them included a level of ambition n° 3 and a fictitious discount of 6% was taken into account to evaluate the price criteria.  The third candidate, who proposed the most expensive bid, did not propose any level of ambition. The contract was awarded to the joint venture Jan DE NUL – John COCKERILL at 6,6M€.

What advice would you give to other public authorities seeking to reduce the CO2 impact throughout the life-cycle of a project?

The CO2 Performance Ladder is an easy tool to reduce the environmental impact of public procurement.