The industry standard for hydropower
Hydropower operators and developers can now demonstrate the environmental, social and governance (ESG) performance of their projects using the Hydropower Sustainability Standard.
The certification system was launched in September 2021 and is widely recognised by the International Hydropower Association, multilateral banks and civil society organisations.
Benefits of certification
Projects that meet and exceed international good practice after undergoing an assessment can use the Certified Sustainable Hydropower label to provide assurance to communities, governments, investors and other parties about their ESG performance.
Certifying and recognising good practice in hydropower preparation, implementation and operation
Offering a comprehensive, systematic and simple-to-understand labelling structure
Encouraging and incentivising continuous improvement in addressing sustainability issues, through levels of good and best practice
Maintaining strong credibility of the multi-stakeholder structure of the Hydropower Sustainability Tools
Ensuring transparency and quality of independent assessments
Why the Standard was launched
The Hydropower Sustainability Standard was launched by the Hydropower Sustainability Council, a multi-stakeholder governance body.
The system incentivises and recognises hydropower projects for their environmental, social and governance (ESG) performance, helping to set minimum performance expectations for the sector and publicly acknowledging and rewarding projects for meeting these expectations.
Using a rating system, the Standard certifies high-performing hydropower projects at any stage of preparation, development and operation worldwide, and supports developers and operators to benchmark against internationally recognised levels of good and best practices.
The certification system builds on the Hydropower Sustainability Tools, a set of guidelines and assessment tools used over the past decade by hydropower developers, operators and financiers.
Roles and responsibilities
The Hydropower Sustainability Council’s Secretariat (HS Secretariat) is responsible for the management and day-to-day administration of processes involved in the Hydropower Sustainability Certification system and of the HS Council, for allocating HS Certification to hydropower projects and any other activities delegated to it by the HS Council through its elected Governance Committee.
The Hydropower Sustainability Council is responsible for the overall governance of the HS Certification Scheme and for overseeing the allocation of HS Certification to hydropower projects through its elected Governance Committee.
Accredited Assessors are responsible for assessing whether a project is in conformance with the HS Standard and providing an assessment report to the HS Secretariat.
Project proponents are responsible for fully understanding the processes involved in the certification scheme, including the performance requirements of the Standard, and the procedures and rules of the Assurance System, and for ensuring sufficient resources are allocated for these.
