OECD Proposal for Blue Dot Certification
In an effort to de-risk infrastructure investments and streamline international standards, OECD presented a first version of the Blue Dot Network (BDN) certification system on 21 March 2022.
EIC was represented in the Executive Consultation Group as well as in all three technical Working Groups by experts from its Member Companies. According to the OECD Press Release “the Blue Dot Network can establish a global level playing field by certifying projects against shared requirements for quality infrastructure investment," said Benoît Chauvin, member of the Executive Consultation Group and President of the European International Contractors Federation. "The certification can be a real game changer for the future of infrastructure as a globally recognised symbol of financially, socially and environmentally sustainable infrastructure projects.”
Certification Procedure
The BDN certification represents an innovative solution to help mobilise private sector investment by identifying and encouraging market-driven, transparent and sustainable infrastructure projects. It establishes a voluntary, private-sector focused, government-supported project-level certification scheme developed in alignment with the internationally recognised standards and best practices. A Blue Dot Network certification for quality infrastructure projects has three components:
A set of essential requirements for determining the basis for awarding a certification.
A scoring system that translates compliance with individual requirements into an assessment for the entire project.
An efficient and credible review process.
To this end, the certification will apply to “projects” rather than companies, organisations, countries or other jurisdictions and combines over 70 international standards and assessment frameworks (e.g. IFC Performance Standards and Equator Principles) into 10 BDN elements. By scoring on these elements, projects can gain one (essential), two (superior) or three “Blue Dot” (Best in class).
One Dot: Robust projects that satisfy essential requirements and thus reflect commonly agreed international standards for quality infrastructure
Two Dots: Projects that exceed the essential requirements in a number of areas and thus reflect the expectations conveyed by more ambitious or new standards
Three Dots: Projects that not only exceed the essential requirements in some areas, but incorporate innovative practices that generate a strong positive impact
BDN Elements
The 10 BDN elements include (1) promote sustainable and inclusive economic growth and development, (2) promote market driven and private sector led investment, supported by judicious use of public funds, (3) support sound public financial management, debt transparency, and project-level and country-level debt sustainability, (4) build projects that are resilient to climate change, disaster and other risks, (5) ensure value-for money over an asset’s full life-cycle cost, (6) build local capacity, with a focus on local skills transfer and local capital markets, (7) promote protections against corruption, (8) uphold international best practices of environmental and social safeguards, (9) promote the non-discriminatory use of infrastructure services and (10) advance inclusion of women, people with disabilities and underrepresented and marginalised groups.
The proposal was officially presented by Mathias Cormann, OECD Secretary General and Ramin Tolou, US Assistant Secretary of State.
Participants in the launching event stressed that the implementation of the certification faces several challenges, including the enshrining of the BDN methodology in existing structures, reducing its complexity and thereby increasing its user-friendliness as well as being as much inclusive as possible, providing a common platform for private companies as well as public and private investors. This can be especially challenging in developing countries.
Please see the Proposal as of March 2022 below.