Unlocking the Sustainability Data Points of OC4IDS

Published By CoST Admin |  December 9, 2025

Helping the Public Understand and Use Environmental, Social, Institutional, Financial, and Climate Finance Data in Infrastructure Transparency

Governments must ensure public infrastructure projects are transparent, sustainable, and accountable. The Open Contracting for Infrastructure Data Standard (OC4IDS) is a data standard for publishing open data about infrastructure projects and contracts. It defines how to publish infrastructure data, in supplement of CoST IDS which defines what to disclose. The new CoST standard has 78 optional data point indicators that nations are selecting from to publish on sustainable infrastructure reporting.

By adopting OC4IDS, governments improve project monitoring, supports quality assurance, strengthens public participation and trust, attracts investment, improve value for money and reduces fraud and corruption. Also, investors and regulators assess compliance. A public-friendly explanation of the sustainability data points included in OC4IDS;

A. Environmental Sustainability and Climate Resilience (11 data points)

Publishing environmental and climate data help prevent environmental harm, promote accountability, and ensure infrastructure supports long-term climate resilience.

1. Environmental impact category – Shows whether a project poses high, medium, or low environmental risks.
2. Environmental measures – Details actions taken to manage impacts, such as waste control, pollution prevention, or responsible sourcing.
3. Environmental licenses and exemptions – Confirms legal compliance with environmental regulations.
4. Protected areas – Identifies if the project affects sensitive ecological zones.
5. Conservation measures – Describes biodiversity protection efforts like habitat restoration, pollution reduction, and nature-based solutions.
6. Climate and disaster risk assessment – Explains exposure to risks like floods, droughts, heatwaves, or storms.
7. Climate measures – Shows whether the project uses low-emission materials, climate-smart design, or resilience strategies.
8. Greenhouse gas forecasts – Discloses expected emissions and the methodology used.
9. Environmental certifications – Lists environmental standards (e.g., ISO 14001) held by contractors
10. Decommissioning plans – Outlines how infrastructure will be safely dismantled at endlife.
11. Decommissioning costs – Provides financial estimates for responsible asset closure.

B. Institutional Sustainability (11 data points)

Institutional sustainability strengthens governance, integrity, policy alignment, and accountability. These data points show whether a project aligns with national plans, follows transparency rules, and is protected from corruption:

1. Policy coherence – Shows how the project aligns with national plans, SDGs, NDCs, or sector strategies.
2. Freedom of information (FOI) requests – Lists public information requests of project.
3. FOI responses – Provides answers authorities gave to those requests.
4. Lobbying transparency – Discloses lobbying activities linked to the project.
5. Beneficial ownership – Identifies the real owners behind contracted companies.
6. Sustainability criteria – Shows whether non-price factors (e.g., environment or social criteria) affected contract awards.
7. Anti-corruption certifications – Lists certifications like ISO 37001 by project actors.
8. Independent monitoring – Identifies external groups overseeing the project.
9. Performance indicators – Provides KPIs used to track project progress and quality.
10. Risk management plans – Shows how project risks are identified and managed.
11. Sustainable sub-sectors – Identifies the project’s sustainability domain (e.g., renewable energy, flood protection).

C. Economic and Financial Sustainability (11 data points)

These 11 data points help the public and investors understand the financial health, value for money, and long-term cost-effectiveness of infrastructure projects:

1. Procurement strategy – Explains the chosen delivery model and risk allocation.
2. Life cycle cost – Shows the total expected cost from construction to operation.
3. Life cycle methodology – Describes how life-cycle costs were calculated.
4. Funding sources – Lists who is financing preparation, construction, and maintenance.
5. Budgets for all stages: Provides allocated budgets on preparation, implementation, operation.
6. Cost-benefit analysis – Summarizes expected and actual economic benefits and costs.
7. Value for money analysis – Shows whether a project delivers efficient-effective outcomes.
8. Budget projections – Provides yearly financial forecasts for multi-year projects.
9. Budget shortfalls – Reports financial gaps and explains why they occurred.
10. Maintenance plan – Outlines how the asset will be maintained throughout its life.
11. Asset lifetime – Gives the expected operational lifespan of the infrastructure asset.

D. Social Sustainability (12 data points)

Social sustainability ensures that infrastructure benefits people fairly and safely. They show whether a project respects communities, protects workers, and delivers fair social outcomes. They highlight inclusion, labour rights, safety, community engagement, and social impacts:

1. Number of beneficiaries – Shows how many people will benefit from the project.
2. Inclusive design and implementation – Explains how gender, disability, and vulnerable groups were considered.
3. Indigenous land information – Shows whether the project affects indigenous territories.
4. Public consultation meetings – Lists community engagement activities and outcomes.
5. Land compensation budget – Shares budgets allocated to compensate affected landowners.
6. Labour obligations –Lists worker protections such as fair wages, safety
7. Labour budget – Shows the amount dedicated to labour costs.
8. Worker accidents – Provides statistics on worker injuries and fatalities.
9. Health and safety certifications – Lists standards like ISO 45001 held by contractors.
10. Construction materials testing – Shows quality tests carried out on materials used.
11. Building inspections – Lists safety and compliance inspections.
12. Jobs generated – Shows the number of direct and indirect jobs created.

E. Climate Finance Sustainability (33 data points)

These 33 data points apply to projects funded through climate-related financing. They ensure clear tracking of climate goals, financing terms, performance monitoring, and long-term impact:

1. Climate objective – Shows whether the project targets mitigation, adaptation, or both.
2. Financial instrument – Lists the type of finance (loan, grant, etc.).
3. Climate transformation – Explains the long-term climate impact or theory of change.
4. Climate Finance decision-maker – Identifies who approved climate financing.
5. NDC alignment – Shows how the project supports national climate commitments.
6. Paris Agreement alignment – Explains alignment with global climate obligations.
7. Beneficiaries – Lists targeted beneficiaries and their number, direct or indirect.
8. Amount of investment – Shows total climate finance committed.
9. Funding source – Identifies who provides the funds.
10. Green climate fund(GCF) accredited entity – Lists accredited entities if GCF-funded.
11. Accredited entity type – Identifies whether the entity is public, private, NGO, etc.
12. Project preparation costs – Shows how much was spent preparing the project.
13. Preparation period – Gives dates for project preparation.
14. Project Approval period – Gives dates of approval processes.
15. Co-finance ratio – Shows domestic and private financing contributions.
16. Terms of climate finance – Lists interest rates, maturity, and finance terms.
17. Carbon efficiency – Shows cost per tonne of CO₂ reduced.
18. Non-climate co-benefits – Lists economic, social, or environmental benefits.
19. Public consultation meetings – Shows climate-related consultations.
20. Disbursement records – Tracks planned vs. actual disbursements.
21. Type of project monitoring – Identifies internal, external, or mixed monitoring.
22. Performance monitoring – Lists KPIs used for tracking climate results.
23. Reporting period – States the reporting schedule (annual, quarterly, etc.).
24. Oversight reports – Shares reports from oversight bodies.
25. Independent monitoring – Lists third-party monitoring entities.
26. Independent evaluation – Provides technical audits at project completion.
27. Impact measurement – Explains how long-term impacts are assessed.
28. Carbon footprint – Shows total emissions and the methodology used.
29. Assets to be decommissioned – Lists infrastructure scheduled for disposal.
30. Decommissioning period – Gives start and end dates for decommissioning.
31. Decommissioning plan: Disclose the technical plan for decommissioning.
32. Carbon savings from decommissioning – Shows emissions avoided.
33. Decommissioning mitigation plan – Explains protections for people affected.

Conclusion

In Uganda, the full set of prioritized points shall be made available after Government Procurement Portal (GPP) upgrades. Publishing these through OC4IDS enhances accountability, informed decision-making, and stakeholder engagement. PDEs are encouraged to publish selected optional sustainability data points following the GPP upgrades and upcoming user trainings.