CICA Summary
SuRe® (the Standard for Sustainable and Resilient Infrastructure) consists of 76 criteria divided into 14 themes spanning environmental; social and governance aspects and relies on independent verification and certification of infrastructure projects. SuRe® aims to establish a common language and understanding of sustainable and resilient infrastructure projects between project developers, financiers, local authorities and end-users; to provide guidance on how to manage sustainability and resilience aspects of an infrastructure project, both from risk management and benefit creation perspectives and starting as early as possible in the life cycle of the project.
SuRe is relevant to all types of infrastructure. Certification under the SuRe Standard is available at different stages of the project lifecycle.
SuRe® certified infrastructure projects to avoid unnecessary coasts, delays and resistance to the project and reduce the probability of negatively impacting on the economic viability of the project. SuRe® certified projects are anticipated to contribute to one of the following ‘macro-benefits’: biodiversity, climate, pollution prevention, resource preservation, social utility and socioeconomic development.
SuRe® is relevant to three target groups: project developers, infrastructure financiers, public sector institutions. SuRe® provides a decision-making and management tool to design, build and operate more sustainable and resilient projects and to optimize the use of resources. For financiers, the Standard provides a tool to identify sustainable and resilient infrastructure investment opportunities. SuRe® serves as an instrument for risk mitigation and cost reduction. For the public sector, SuRe® helps to set procurement criteria, project requirements and selection criteria for the preparation of guidelines for the public procurement process and the initial design requirements of sustainable and resilient infrastructure projects. It also provides a tool for comparing and selecting projects.
Performance against SuRe® criteria is assessed on the basis of performance levels, differentiating between minimum compliance (PL1) and superior performance leading to additional positive impacts. A number of SuRe® criteria are mandatory requirements (red-flagged criteria). SuRe® certification is based on an independent audit and verification carried out by accredited third parties.
The certification approach is more constructive than a merely ‘pass’ or ‘fail’ outcome-based approach. The certification can be withdrawn in the case of non-compliance. Certification is available at different stages of the project lifecycle: project preparation, construction and operation and maintenance. An infrastructure project can achieve certification under one of the following modules: PP (design), AB (as built) and OP (operation).
SuRe® is developed according to the following principals: inclusivity, bridge to finance sector, efficiency and accessibility, transparency, global in scope, holistic, comparability and continuous improvement.
GIB will specifically set up a SuRe® performance monitoring and impact evaluation system publicly available and regularly updated.