Kiwa certifies EEW Delfzijl at Level 1 of the CO2 Performance Ladder 4.0
By Erik Kuipers, CO2 Performance Ladder auditor at Kiwa
EEW Energy fromWaste Delfzijl B.V. recovers energy and raw materials from waste streams and was recently certified by Kiwa at Level 1 of the CO2 Performance Ladder version 4.0. This means that EEW has demonstrated that its CO2 management system meets the strengthened requirements of the updated Handbook 4.0 of the CO2 Performance Ladder. With this certification, EEW underlines its ambition to structurally monitor, achieve and safeguard its sustainability goals.
EEW Delfzijl has been certified under the CO2 Performance Ladder since 2023 and used the recent audit to transition to the latest version of the handbook. The organization is part of the international EEW Group, which consists of seventeen waste to energy plants in the Netherlands, Germany and Luxembourg. From its location in Farmsum in the Dutch province of Groningen, EEW works every day to recover energy and raw materials from waste streams.
Important role in regional energy supply
With the DEL1, DEL2 and DEL3 waste incineration plants, EEW processes commercial and household waste and produces process steam, electricity and compressed air. The energy produced is preferably supplied in the form of steam and used by companies at the industrial park. Part of the electricity generated is used to produce compressed air, which is also purchased by companies within the industrial cluster. The remainder is supplied to the public electricity grid. In this way, EEW plays an important role in regional energy supply and industrial infrastructure. The plants have a licensed capacity of 576,000 tons of waste per year. The main customers for the steam produced are Nobian, Dutch Glycerin Refinery, Qemetica and Zeolyst. The electricity is supplied to Getec Energie.
The incineration process includes various technical applications that contribute to efficient and responsible energy and emissions management. For example, methane is used for so called Shock Pulse Generators (SPGs), which clean boilers using shock waves. This helps keep the energy efficiency of the plants at a high level. In addition, sodium bicarbonate and lime are used in flue gas treatment to remove acidic components from flue gases and capture harmful substances.
In addition to thermal waste processing, EEW is making significant investments in circularity and innovation. In 2025, the DEL4 sewage sludge incineration plant was commissioned to process sewage treatment sludge, with a licensed capacity of 180,000 tons per year. In 2026, the rEEWcycle plastics sorting plant became operational. In the long term, this facility will be able to process 150,000 tons of waste and recover 10 to 15% of plastics for recycling. This demonstrates that waste is not only a source of energy, but also a source of valuable raw materials.
Ambitions for further CO2 reduction
EEW has set ambitious sustainability goals. The organization aims to achieve a relative CO2 reduction of 7% by 2028 compared with 2021. In addition, EEW aims to keep energy consumption in 2028 at least at the 2021 level. To achieve these goals, EEW is focusing on the electrification of its vehicle fleet, making transportation flows more sustainable, energy storage, greening energy production and further process optimization. At the same time, EEW is working on solutions that should contribute to climate neutral and potentially climate positive operations in the longer term.
Progress is visible. The biomass fraction of the waste processed has increased to around 60% in recent years, meaning that an increasing share of the heat and electricity generated has a sustainable character. EEW is also working on battery storage for a flexible energy system, charging facilities for heavy electric transportation and further electrification of equipment and vehicles. One of the most impactful developments is the planned CO2 capture facility. In 2025, a pilot project was launched to test the technology in practice. Based on the results, EEW plans to build a large scale facility that could capture approximately 270,000 tons of CO2 from flue gases each year.
In addition to investing in its own organization, EEW is actively working together with others in the sector. As a member of the CO2 Working Group of the Dutch Waste Management Association, EEW participates in knowledge sharing on topics including CO2 capture, CCUS, emissions trading, the SDE++ subsidy scheme and the Dutch CO2 levy. EEW also actively participates in regional partnerships and initiatives focused on sustainability, energy issues and the development of the industrial cluster in Delfzijl. In this way, the organization contributes not only to its own sustainability efforts, but also to the further development of the waste and energy sector.
CO2 management in a complex chain
EEW’s certification at Level 1 of the CO2 Performance Ladder 4.0 is notable because of the organization’s complex position within the energy chain. While many companies primarily consume energy, EEW combines several roles: the organization processes waste streams, produces and sells heat, steam and electricity, uses some of this energy itself and issues Guarantees of Origin (Garantie van Oorsprong, GVO) for the sustainable component of its energy production. For Kiwa, this meant that the audit went beyond a traditional assessment of fuel and electricity consumption.
An important part of the audit was how EEW determines, records and substantiates its emissions. For this purpose, the organization uses emissions data from the annual CO2 levy report prepared for the Dutch Emissions Authority (NEA). These verified data are used for various emission streams. This creates a high degree of reliability, consistency and transparency between the statutory emissions reporting and EEW’s CO2 management system. The use of emission factors that are aligned with the NEA methodology was also an important part of the audit. As a result, the emission calculations under the CO2 Performance Ladder are aligned with emissions data that are already subject to external supervision and verification.
A forward looking player
During the audit, Kiwa assessed, among other things, how EEW maintains insight into its complex energy flows, how reduction targets are embedded in the organization and how sustainability is integrated into daily operations. The successful completion of the audit confirms that EEW Delfzijl has a transparent and effective CO2 management system that matches the organization’s size, complexity and sustainability ambitions.
With the successful transition to the updated Handbook 4.0 and certification at Level 1 of the CO2 Performance Ladder, EEW Delfzijl underlines its ambition to further embed sustainability, energy management and CO2 reduction within the organization. In doing so, EEW strengthens its position as a forward looking player in the Dutch waste, energy and circular economy sectors.
More information
The CO2 Performance Ladder helps organizations reduce their CO2 emissions and operate sustainably. With CO2 Performance Ladder certification through Kiwa, you demonstrate that your company is actively contributing to the climate transition while also benefiting from a tendering advantage in procurement processes.
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