Environmental sustainability – carbon footprint
Article 8
1. When choosing to assess the auction’s sustainability contribution referred to in Article 26(1), point (b), of Regulation (EU) 2024/1735 by means of a carbon footprint criterion, the relevant authorities shall include a pre-qualification or award criterion or a combination of both and indicate the net-zero technologies, among the ones falling under the scope of Article 26 of Regulation (EU) 2024/1735, whose carbon footprint has to be assessed at project level or component level, and, for each net-zero technology, the applicable objective, transparent and non-discriminatory carbon footprint assessment methodology. 2. Bidders shall be required to measure and communicate the carbon footprint using life cycle assessment methods provided for in binding Union law that specifically addresses the renewable energy technologies at stake in the auction, where available. Where there is no binding Union methodology to measure and communicate the carbon footprint of a specific net-zero technology, but there is a binding Union methodology to calculate the carbon footprint of a product and the act establishing that methodology indicates that it can be used as guidance for calculating the carbon footprint of a certain net-zero technology, bidders shall be required to measure and communicate the carbon footprint for that net-zero technology using that methodology. 3. If not specified in the methodology used, the relevant authorities shall define and publish functional units, system boundaries and assumptions used to measure the carbon footprint and oblige the bidders to report their calculations in a transparent manner. If not specified in the methodology used, national authorities shall define and disclose modelling and data quality requirements for primary data, secondary data and databases used. The relevant authorities shall require the use of consistent and representative data. 4. For carbon footprint methodologies not covered by paragraph 2 of this article, the carbon footprint assessment shall at least cover greenhouse gas emissions due to the following life cycle phases of the relevant net-zero technologies: (i) extracting, producing, processing and transporting resources; (ii) manufacturing processes; (iii) electricity/energy used for those processes; (iv) transport of the components and final product; (v) installation, operation and maintenance; (vi) decommissioning and end of life.