Innovations credit
Innovation Credit Guidelines
1/ Rationale
The Concrete Sustainability Council (CSC) Certification System for Concrete awards points to innovative practices/products or solutions in the responsible sourcing of concrete. This document describes the procedure to obtain points for Innovation as defined in B3 Innovation Credit of the CSC Certification System.
2/ Scope
• A maximum of three innovations can be accepted for the innovation credit, out of which a maximum of two innovations can score.
• An innovation can be on company level and/or on plant/group of plants level.
• If an innovation is at the company level, the same innovation/exemplary performance can be multiply accepted for multiple plant certifications (concrete, cement & aggregates), provided that the plant under certification could apply or benefit from the innovation.
• One out of the two innovations which are taken for the score have to be connected to the country organization of the plant under certification
• An innovation/exemplary performance can no longer be accepted for the multiple use in the certification process of another plant after three years after its first submission to the CSC (date of certificate issued).
• An innovation can be resubmitted after three years if a new phase of innovation has been reached
3/ Definition
Innovations
• Stimulate significant improvement of the concrete sector and its supply chain regarding environmental, social and/or economic sourcing practices
• Are demonstrating leadership by best practice, hence are showcasing the progressive potential and competitiveness of the concrete sector and its supply chain
Innovations can cover one or more of the following fields:
• Exceptional performance beyond the top score in existing credits
• Exemplary social and/or environmental performance in a field not covered by the CSC system
• Systemic and strategic innovation in streamlining or improving performance across multiple stages of the concrete supply chain
Innovations are evaluated according to three dimensions and one discrete aspect:
Novelty
High novelty
Transformational – developing breakthroughs and inventing sourcing practices that don’t exist yet.*)
Transformational innovation for the industry, which is transformed from other industrial practices into the construction material sector.
Medium novelty
Adjacent – expanding from existing sourcing practices into “new to the company” practices.*)
Low novelty
Core – optimizing existing sourcing practices.*)
Impact
Strategic fit to the matter of responsible sourcing, problem solving potential.
• High impact
• Medium impact
• Low impact
Replicability
Meeting potential market needs, ease of implementation.
• High replicability
• Medium replicability
• Low replicability
4/ Scoring
• Each of the max. three submitted innovations is being assessed against the three dimensions as shown in the tables below
• The points awarded for the innovation credit are the sum of the two highest scoring innovations with a cap at max. 9 points
• Lab stage innovations (TRL level 4 and below) can score up to one point, if there is a tangible indication of realization
• Generic studies or assessments cannot be considered innovations.
| High Novelty | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| High | 4 | 5 | 5 | |
| Medium | Medium | 3 | 5 | 5 |
| Low | 2 | 3 | 4 | |
| Low | Medium | High | ||
| Replicability |
| Medium Novelty | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| High | 3 | 4 | 5 | |
| Medium | Medium | 2 | 3 | 4 |
| Low | 1 | 2 | 3 | |
| Low | Medium | High | ||
| Replicability |
| Low Novelty | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| High | 2 | 3 | 4 | |
| Medium | Medium | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| Low | 0 | 1 | 2 | |
| Low | Medium | High | ||
| Replicability |
5/ Procedure
- Petitions for scoring points in B3 Innovation shall be made to the CSC Innovation Committee (IC), together with explanation and evidence, using the Innovation Credit application form.
- Petitions to the IC shall be sent by the auditor or plant seeking certification to the secretary of the IC via e-mail (innovation@csc.eco) and in English language. Copies shall be sent to the auditor, the plant seeking certification.
- Petitions can be submitted after project registration.
- The petition shall detail at the minimum:
Plant name, plant address, name of the operator / owner, name, email address and telephone number of the contact person (the auditor or the plant contact person).
For each innovation that points are sought for:
A short but descriptive name of the innovative process or solution
A short explanation of the solution (service / technology / process) etc. in question
The description of the innovations should clearly state why and how the solution proposed is considered innovative compared to the state of the art, its possible impact and replicability.
Further information can be provided in annexes. The annexes should be numbered and should reference the number of the innovations.
Quantitative data to support the innovation claims are welcome. - The secretary of the IC will acknowledge the receipt of the petition at his or her earliest convenience and forward them to the IC for a decision.
- The IC will take decisions in web-meetings or via email. In case there is no unanimous decision, the single majority of votes will decide. In the case of a tie the corresponding petition shall be considered denied.
- The IC will take its decision based on the B3 Innovation Credit Guidelines.
- There are 6 dates per year available for the consultation of petitions. Petitions must be submitted 1 week before the respective date in order to be considered in the consultation round. Otherwise, the petition will not be discussed until the next date.
- All petitions shall be answered with a clear justification of the IC’s decision for each submitted innovation within two weeks after the IC´s meeting.
- If the IC finds that the information provided by the petitioner is insufficient, they shall ask the petitioner for more information. The petitioner has two weeks for replying. The IC shall review the petition within five weeks after reception of the amended petition. If the IC finds after two amendments that the information is still insufficient, they may deny the points.
- The plant seeking the certification has the right to appeal the IC’s decision by e-mail to the IC secretary. The IC secretary will transmit the petition to the CSC Executive Committee (ExCo), which will take a final decision during the following scheduled meeting.
Concrete Sustainability Council, Geneva, 31 December 2021
All the remaining dates of the consultation of petitions:
• 1 March 2022
• 28 March 2022
• 16 May 2022
• 19 July 2022
• 20 September 2022
• 7 November2022
• 9 December 2022