MKI Scores: Your Shortcut to Dutch Tender Wins
Dutch procurement officers no longer skim over green claims, they measure them in euros. A single point shaved off your Milieukosten-indicator (MKI) can nudge a bid in the Netherlands from second-best to first, unlocking contracts that run into the tens of millions. Yet many manufacturers still confuse MKI with a vague “sustainability label.” Master the math and you turn complex life-cycle data into hard-currency advantages.
MKI in plain English
The Milieukosten-indicator converts a product’s cradle-to-grave impacts into one price-tag-like number. Eleven standard impact categories, think climate change, smog, ecotoxicity, are weighted and expressed in euro per functional unit (NMD, 2025). The lower the euro figure, the cheaper your hidden environmental bill looks to public buyers.
From EPD to MKI: the data ladder
An Environmental Product Declaration already holds the impact modules EN 15804 demands. Upload that EPD to the Nationale Milieudatabase, let the database apply Dutch weighting factors, and the MKI pops out. No fresh testing, just clean digital hand-off. If your EPD data sit in Category 1 or 2 quality bands, the conversion is direct. Category 3 data now receive no 30 percent penalty under Protocol 4.1, provided you prove relevance (Rijkswaterstaat, 2025).
Why Dutch buyers care (and pay)
Rijkswaterstaat, ProRail, and dozens of municipalities give MKI up to a 40 percent weight in “best value” scores (Rijkswaterstaat, 2024). In practice, every virtual euro of MKI you cut can translate into a similar deduction on your bid price, a built-in discount competitors must match with real money.
Numbers to watch in 2025
- The harmonized calculation rules lock in on 1 January 2025, trimming scaling formulas to two flavors (NMD, 2025).
- DuboCalc has featured in roughly 40 infrastructure tenders since 2012 and is now mandatory for all Rijkswaterstaat works above €10 million (Rijkswaterstaat, 2024).
- Civil-engineering MKI baselines must drop 50 percent by 2030, mirroring the national circularity target, so today’s “good enough” soon fails to score.
Three pitfalls that sink bids
- Stale EPDs. If your declaration predates EN 15804 +A2, the MKI engine flags it and bidders scramble at the last minute.
- Category 3 overload. Even without the 30 percent markup, large shares of generic data still raise reviewer eyebrows.
- Process fuel blindness. HVO now counts like diesel in Protocol 4.1; many calculators still assume earlier discounts and overshoot savings.
Data collection: the hidden speed bump
Civil contractors often leave MKI evidence gathering to suppliers with two weeks’ notice. That scramble costs accuracy and nerves. Pulling plant energy, material sourcing, and transport legs upfront keeps your MKI estimate tight and credible.
Translate euros into tenders
MKI is not just another acronym. It is a currency that converts enviromental performance into procurement leverage. Nail the data once, refresh it yearly, and you keep under-cutting rivals without touching your real price.
Frequently Asked Questions
How is the MKI value connected to my existing EPD?
Your EPD’s impact results (per EN 15804 modules) feed directly into the Dutch weighting set. Once the data sit in the Nationale Milieudatabase, the calculation engine multiplies each impact by its cost factor and sums them into one euro figure.
Does Protocol 4.1 still add a 30 % surcharge to Category 3 data?
No. Version 4.1 removes the automatic 30 % markup if you can justify that Category 3 data represent the actual material or process (Rijkswaterstaat, 2025).
What MKI target should we aim for in 2025 tenders?
Rijkswaterstaat uses relative scoring, so aim to under-cut the reference design by at least 20 %. That level historically secures full MKI points in infrastructure bids (Rijkswaterstaat, 2024).
How often do we need to update MKI data?
Update whenever the underlying EPD changes or when NMD publishes new weighting factors—currently once a year. Out-of-date MKI numbers can be disqualified at pre-award checks.
About the Author
With a passion for sustainability and a love for complex data, Toby helps manufacturers efficiently collect data from across their organization and get their EPDs done right. He’s especially interested in how AI can support human expertise, helping R&D and factory teams work faster, smarter, and with less friction.
