Tampere (Finland) has cooperated with the market to develop new circular procurement procedures, criteria and operation methods for the construction of streets. When these methods were applied in the procurement of Yliopistonkatu, one of the central streets in the city, it was the first time such public procurement criteria were used in Finland.
At the heart of the procurement process is a new principle based on market cooperation: Design and Building. As part of this process, the city sets circular and other sustainability and safety goals for the construction site, but gives companies the ability to influence how these goals are achieved through the design of the project. The contractor is responsible for the recycling and procurement of the material used in the project, under the supervision of the customer.
Karoliina Tuukkanen, project manager in Tampere notes that even though “the use of the Design & Build model and scoring criteria in the construction contract was new for the city, the experience was good. With the new procurement model and criteria we were able to procure the most cost effective and the most ambitious offer in terms of the circular economy.”
More information about Tampere’s work and other innovative ways of using circular procurement can be found in “Circular construction in Europe: handbook for local and regional governments”, a key document published by the EU-funded CityLoops project that seeks to contribute to the further implementation of the circular economy across Europe. The handbook, aimed at local and regional governments, provides a comprehensive overview of how the lessons learnt and main insights from the project (and from other pioneering European cities) can be most effectively applied in other contexts. The project has also developed a similar handbook focussing on the circular bioeconomy.
As a signatory of the Circular Cities Declaration and a participant in the Procura+ Network, Tampere can rightfully be called a pioneering city. It has made circular economy a strong part of all its infrastructure building activities. In compliance with its CE strategy, investments are made in innovative solutions and procurements in the planning, development and construction of infrastructure projects.