The Big Buyers for Climate and Environment Initiative, coordinated by ICLEI Europe and Eurocities on behalf of the European Commission, has joined forces to sign two key documents: The Joint Statement of Demand of the Working Group on Zero Emission Construction Sites and The Joint Declaration of Intent of the Working Group on Circular Construction. The initiative is inviting other organisations to join the growing list of signatories of these two documents.

The Joint Statement of Demand composed by the Members of the Big Buyers for Climate and Environment’s Working Group on Zero Emission Construction Sites contains a number of ambitions to move to fossil fuel free construction machinery by 2025 and gradually increase the use of emission free machinery to at least 50% by 2030. This statement, currently signed by Oslo, Copenhagen, Helsinki, Vantaa and Bodø, is a clear signal to the market that there is a demand for emission free construction machinery should it be made available by manufacturers. Signatories of the JSoD commit to:

• Require fossil-free construction machinery in own public projects from 2025, with at least 20% emission free machinery, where available.
• Require fossil-free construction machinery in own public projects from 2030, with at least 50% emission free machinery, where available.

The Statement notes that "As public buyers, we are committed to leveraging our procurement as a tool to promote sustainable development and innovation. We aim to transition towards carbon neutrality by eliminating emissions from our construction
works, whilst improving the local air quality and conditions of construction workers. The construction sector represents as much as 36% of global energy use and 39% of GHG emissions1. This means the sector presents a clear opportunity to make a significant impact in lowering global GHG and solving local environmental problems. Cities, which largely concentrate the negative externalities caused by construction works (e.g. air pollution, noise, congestion), can be frontrunners in the promotion of cleaner construction machinery, with which they can also achieve improved health and safety for workers on-site and quality of life for citizens in the surrounding area."

The Joint Declaration of Intent agreed by the Members of the Big Buyers for Climate and Environment’s Working Group on Circular Construction indicates the unmet need in the field of road construction, in particular asphalt pavements. It aims to provide Public Buyers and the market with a recommended direction of investments in road construction, as regards the tendering approaches and issues that require further analysis to address the identified risks and the potential for broader use of circular asphalt. The Declaration recognises that in order to offer new high-quality sustainable solutions while remaining competitive and profitable, the asphalt industry needs to plan investments in innovative technologies with a certain degree of confidence in the expected volume of contracts, both as regards the scope, timeline and the conditions applied in future tenders.

The Declaration notes that: "The Members of the Working Group recognise that in order to offer new high-quality sustainable solutions while remaining competitive and profitable, the asphalt industry needs to plan investments in innovative technologies with a certain degree of confidence in the expected volume of contracts, both as regards the scope, timeline and the conditions applied in future tenders. Such conditions would refer to, among others, the requested minimum and maximum percentages of reclaimed material in asphalt, if applicable, and the methods of bids evaluation and contract awarding under the Public Buyers’ procurement processes most commonly used in each member state. At the same time, the Members recognise that asphalt production is heavily dependent on local conditions, i.e. the availability of material and national regulations that vary across Europe."

The aim of these two statements is to make future demand predictable and help other public buyers across Europe to use procurement to effectively support innovation while ensuring sustainability and high quality. Other significant outcomes of the cooperation in the context of the Big Buyers Initiative have included, among others, the mapping of all available heavy duty electric vehicles and their specifications, as well as a comprehensive analysis of market gaps, both developed by the Working Group on Heavy Duty Electric Vehicles.

To find out more about the Joint Statement of Demand of the Working Group on Zero Emission Construction Sites, click here

To find out more about the Joint Statement of Demand of the Working Group on Circular Construction, click here