# What is the Dutch CO2 Performance Ladder, and do Indian IT or engineering firms bidding in the Netherlands need it?

Canonical: https://senseible.earth/answers/co2-performance-ladder-for-indian-companies

The CO2 Performance Ladder is a Dutch certification, run by the foundation SKAO, that rates how a company measures and cuts its carbon. It is not a legal requirement. Dutch public buyers such as ProRail and Rijkswaterstaat use it in tenders as an award advantage, so you need it only if the tenders you chase give one.

## How the Ladder works in a tender

The buyer applies a notional discount to your bid price for the Ladder level you commit to, so a certified bidder can win at a higher actual price. Each tender sets the discount per level. You can bid without a certificate; you just compete without that discount. A bidder that claims a level must show it meets it within one year of award, and the tender sets the sanction if it does not.

## Levels and steps

- Handbook 3.1 has five levels, from a measured footprint of your own energy use and travel up to supply chain (Scope 3) work and sector initiatives.
- Handbook 4.0, published 14 January 2025, replaces them with steps: internal emissions first, then supply chain engagement, then long-term climate leadership. Three steps are in use and a fourth is being developed.
- Certification to version 4.0 has been possible since 14 July 2025; version 3.1 certificates can be issued until 14 January 2027.
- The exact requirements sit in SKAO's current handbook.

## Is it worth it for an Indian firm

1. List the Dutch tenders you bid for and check how many give a Ladder award advantage.
2. Decide the organisational boundary: the Dutch entity alone, or Indian delivery centres too, since certification covers what you put inside it.
3. Price the work: a footprint to the handbook's standard, reduction plans, and an annual audit by a certifying body accredited for the Ladder.
4. Compare that cost with the discount you would earn on bids you expect to win.

## What you can prepare now

Every level starts with a credible Scope 1 and 2 footprint: electricity, DG diesel, company cars and business travel, with source documents. Building that from your bills and travel records is useful for the Ladder and for any other client asking for carbon data.

## What Senseible does here

Senseible builds a Scope 1 and 2 record from your electricity bills and fuel invoices, with a fingerprint on each file, which you can use as the footprint the Ladder starts from. Ladder certificates are issued by SKAO-accredited certifying bodies after their own audit.

- [ISO 14064 vs GHG Protocol](https://senseible.earth/answers/iso-14064-vs-ghg-protocol)
- [Which Scope 3 categories matter for IT services](https://senseible.earth/answers/which-scope-3-categories-matter-for-it-services)
- [Business car travel: which scope?](https://senseible.earth/answers/business-car-travel-which-scope)

Sources: [ISO 14064-1:2018, organisation-level GHG inventories (iso.org)](https://www.iso.org), [GHG Protocol Corporate Accounting and Reporting Standard](https://ghgprotocol.org/corporate-standard)

Last reviewed 2026-10-19. Ladder facts from SKAO (Handbook 4.0, 14 January 2025; Procurement Guide 4.0) and certifier notices; version 3.1 ends 14 January 2027. Recheck the handbook and the tender documents.