What is the Hydropower Sustainability Standard?
The Hydropower Sustainability (HS) Standard is a global standard for sustainability of hydropower development, which sets out the criteria that must be met for a hydropower project or operating facility to achieve certification. The Standard has been developed by a multi-stakeholder group of representatives from the industry, governments, NGOs and financial institutions under a mandate from the Hydropower Sustainability Council. It is embedded in the San José Declaration and aligned with the Climate Bonds Initiative’s hydropower criteria and World Bank and IFC Sustainability Frameworks.
What is the Standard’s scoring methodology and rating system?
Hydropower projects around the world are rated against the Standard performance requirements that cover environmental, social, governance and climate change aspects important to hydropower development and operation. There are two levels of performance requirements: minimum requirements to achieve certification (equivalent to international good practice) and advanced requirements for additional recognition (equivalent to international best practice).
A project must meet all minimum performance requirements of the HS Standard on all relevant topics to achieve HS Certified label. Higher tiers of certification status (Silver or Gold) are recognised for projects that meet advanced requirements.
Learn more about the certification process.
Why should projects get certified?
Through HS Standard Certification, hydropower developers and operators can display their commitment to sustainability to civil society, and demonstrate robustness to financial institutions and governments. Among the industry, HS Standard Certified Projects will be recognised as top performers.
Learn more about the Standard.
What is involved in the certification process?
The HS Standard certification process follows four key steps:
Assessment: Project assessments are carried out by independent Accredited Assessors.
Report publication and finalisation: Project Proponent, or the Accredited Assessor on their behalf, submits a Preliminary Assessment Report to the Secretariat to publish on the website for a period of public comment. Accredited Assessors respond to any public comments, including comments from the Secretariat. The Final Assessment Report is accepted by the Secretariat and published on the website.
Application: Following the publication of the Final Assessment Report, the Project Proponent submits an application to the Secretariat for certification.
Certification: If the projects meet the minimum requirements of the certification and all process requirements are confirmed as met, the Secretariat notifies the Governance Committee of its intention to certify the project. If no objection or concern is raised by the Governance Committee, the Secretariat issues the certification with associated label (Certified, Certified-Silver, Certified-Gold).
Learn more about the certification process.
Who is eligible?
New and existing run-of-river, storage, pumped storage, multipurpose hydropower dams and some cascades are eligible for assessment and certification against the HS Standard. The application could be for projects all over the world, irrespective of their size or location. In addition, the projects could be assessed and certified at any stage in their lifecycle – during the planning stage, construction or while in operation.
Lear more about project eligibility.
How much will it cost to get certified?
The cost of HS certification would comprise of an Assessment cost, Application cost and Certification costs. Assessment cost includes professional fees of Assessors and will be greatly influenced by the complexity, size and location of the project. 10% of Assessment cost will be attributed to the HS Secretariat for management and administration. Application cost is fixed at GBP 2,500 per application. Certification cost is fixed at GBP 7,500 per certification.
Learn more about the Fees.
How long will it take to get certified?
The certification process can take up to 32 weeks, which would include project assessment, report publication with a period of public comment, application to the Secretariat, review by the Governance Committee, and allocation of certification, if successful. For more information on indicative timeline, please see Section 3.3 of HS Assurance System.
What if a project does not achieve the Standard?
If a project has been assessed against the HS Standard but has not met the minimum performance requirements, it would not receive any Certification rating. However, the project maintains the possibility to publish its assessment report on the HS website for transparency and credibility. In such cases, the project will be noted as ‘Seeking Certification’ for the period of 12 months. During this period, the project is encouraged to resolve outstanding gaps to meet the minimum requirements of the HS Standard and be certified. For more information, please see Section 3.4 of HS Assurance System.
What is the duration of the Certification Rating?
Certification ratings are life cycle stage and time dependent, and dated to the year of Certification.
The duration of the ratings in the Preparation and Implementation stages is 3 years.
The duration for ratings in the Operation stages is 5 years.
What if a project wants to improve their score after being Certified?
Should a Project Proponent wish to update the Certification status of a project before the end of the Certification period (presumably with the hope of a higher rating), it can do so either through a Re-Assessment request (if appropriate requirements can be met), or by following the Re-Certification process (including with the reduced base fee). For more information, please see Section 3.6 of the HS Assurance System.
Who is the governing body of the Standard?
The HS Council is the multi-stakeholder governing body of the HS Certification Scheme. It includes representatives of social, community and environmental organisations and professionals, developed and developing country governments, financial institutions and the hydropower sector.
Learn more about the Council.
What is the role of IHA?
IHA Sustainability (IHAS), a non-profit sub-division of the International Hydropower Association, is delegated to act as HS Secretariat on behalf of the HS Council to manage the implementation and day-to-day operations of the HS Certification Scheme.
What will happen to the Hydropower Sustainability Tools?
The HS Standard builds on the internationally recognised Hydropower Sustainability Tools, a set of guidelines and assessment tools used by developers, operators and financiers. The tools consist of two assessment tools: an assessment protocol (HSAP) and a gap analysis tool (HESG), and a set of good practice guidelines (HGIIP).
The Hydropower Sustainability Tools and their established assessment process are used as a reference point for the HS Standard. The Standard presents another form of using the HSAP and HESG tools tailored to the specific process around project certification. The HSAP and HESG tools will continue to be available and promoted for users alongside the Standard.
Should a Project Proponent wish to apply for Certification against the HS Standard following an HSAP or HESG Assessment, it can do so by submitting an HST Harmonisation Request to the HS Secretariat within three months of the date of the HSAP or HESG Final Assessment Report.
How to apply for the HS Standard Certification?
If you are a Project Proponent, either the developer, owner or operator of a project, who is considering getting your project(s) assessed and certified for HS Standard, please complete the Register Interest Form. You are strongly encouraged to review the project eligibility and certification process before filling in the form. Please also be familiar with the certification timeline and associated fees.
For any enquiries, please email HS Secretariat at sustainability@hydropower.org.