New Working Group on sustainable marine and freshwater infrastructure projects
During the Strategy Commission meeting of 7th January 2025, the results of the Working Group “Certification for Sustainable Marine and Freshwater Infrastructure Projects” were presented and discussed. The discussions confirmed a clear and growing need for a shared understanding of sustainability in marine and freshwater infrastructure projects, as well as an objective and transparent method to assess and compare such projects. Various market segments - including financial institutions, governments and investors - require reliable guidance to evaluate the social and environmental value created by these water infrastructure developments. These stakeholders increasingly rely on such assessments to determine whether projects align with their sustainability objectives, to compare potential investment opportunities, and to evaluate the overall contribution a project can make to their portfolio.
Although there is evident interest from stakeholders in certification or sustainability-stamping mechanisms, the general conclusion of the working group was that CEDA is not positioned to serve as a certifying body. However, given the broad and diverse expertise amongst its members, CEDA is ideally suited to develop a robust, objective and widely applicable framework to assess and compare the sustainability performance of marine and freshwater infrastructure projects and their execution. The aim of this new DMC Working Group should therefore be to establish such a framework, which can serve as a basis for evaluating - and ultimately enabling external certification of - projects that meet defined sustainability criteria throughout their preparation, design and implementation.
The CEDA Dredging Management Commission (DMC) aims to develop a practical and objective framework (checklist) to support decision‑makers, project owners and other stakeholders involved in marine and freshwater infrastructure projects in determining the level of sustainability of such projects. The framework will provide structured guidance to:
- Identify the relevant sustainability criteria for marine and freshwater infrastructure projects, taking into account the specific context in which these projects are being prepared and executed.
- Assess whether and how these criteria are applied throughout the various phases of the project, to determine the degree to which the project can be considered sustainable. This assessment should address two dimensions:
- the sustainability of the project execution, and
- the anticipated sustainability impact once the project is realised.
- Compare or rank the overall sustainability level of a specific marine or freshwater infrastructure project in a consistent and objective manner.
More details can be found in the terms of reference. If you would like to join this new Working Group, please reach out to me (miekevanloenen@dredging.org), by end of June 2026. Please provide a brief curriculum vitae along with a brief description of relevant experience.