Validation of Calculation Tools¶
The MPG/MKI indicator plays a significant role in permit applications and tenders. Therefore, it is crucial that this value is accurate and that all calculation tools on the market provide the same MPG/MKI outcome for the same input. The Stichting Nationale Milieudatabase (NMD) is responsible for overseeing this process and does so by validating the calculation tools.
Validation protocol¶
The current validation protocol consists of two parts:
Validate the calculation of the MKI for each Environmental Declaration
Validate the calculation of the MPG/MKI based for a Construction Work
At present, validation is performed for Assessment Strategy A1 and A2 sets using calculations defined in the Harmonized Calculation Rules as of June 2024. A copy of the harmonized calculation rules can be found in the Teams environment for Instrumenthouders.
Step 1: Validate the calculation of the MKI¶
The Instrumenthouder is required to generate a JSON file in accordance with the format described in the section Formatting. The entities, fields and relations that should be included in the validation set are described in the section Validation Entities. The data should contain the calculated MKI for each environmental declaration that is currently active. For environmental declarations having scalable environmental profiles, multiple MKIs must be provided.
The resulting JSON can be uploaded in the ODOO system for the ‘gap analysis’. Make sure to also include the reference date, so the analyses will use the same date. The results will be analyzed and validated, and feedback will be provided within five working days if errors are found. Feel free to contact us in case of questions.
Step 2: Validate the calculation of the MPG/MKI based on a Construction Work¶
The Teams for Instrumenthouders has several files (folder ‘calculation example for 1-9-2024’) with example construction works that can be used while implementing calculations. Make sure to use the harmonized calculation rules. If you have any questions regarding formulas, calculations, and/or outcomes: feel free to contact us.
To validate, you will have to calculate the construction work for validation that can be found in Teams and in the ODOO-ticket. This file also has an FAQ. Any questions raised by Instrumenthouders will be added here.
Harmonized Calculation Rules (June 2024)¶
Until January 2025, Parts 1 and 2 of the calculation rules from November 2021 are in effect. Unfortunately, these rules contained ambiguities and contradictions. To provide clarity, the harmonized calculation rules were established to clearly define the formulas from Parts 1 and 2.
Starting from January 2025, a new determination method with new calculation rules will be in effect. At the time of writing (September 2024), it appears that the only adjustment to the calculation rules involves the scaling formulas, which have now been reduced to two. For more information, see the section on Scalability.
Future Plans for Validation¶
The validation protocol is continuously being improved to work more quickly and efficiently. This is done in close collaboration with market parties, including the developers of the calculation tools. Currently, there is a plan on the roadmap to provide calculation tools with an API to automate steps 1 and 2. This will help to provide results more quickly. The next step should be for the calculation tools to be continuously validated automatically, using this same API. Finally, the goal is for the NMD to not only validate the calculation core but also to visually review the software to ensure that the user is prompted for the correct data.