In early 2011, Cornwall Council began a project to improve the quality and sustainability of its transport infrastructure. An open procurement procedure was used for the design of sustainable bus shelters to be used across Cornwall and 10 organisations tendered for this opportunity. The use of a request for quotations (RFQ) was an innovative process for the council, who asked bidders to give method statements related to sustainability and low carbon design as part of this procedure. The 6 different bus shelter models designed by the successful bidder included the use of long life, engineered wood with PEFC, FSC and Cradle to Cradle Gold certification for the main structure. Surface coatings which allow the removal of graffiti with water rather than chemicals and the use of energy efficient LED lighting are amongst other green attributes. The manufacture of these shelters will soon be let as a 4-year framework contract.

The revitalization of the Vila D’Este neighbourhood follows the commitment made by Vila Nova de Gaia over the past few years to revitalize peripheral areas of the municipality. Vila D’Este is a densely populated neighbourhood, with approximately 17 thousand inhabitants. It is located in the parish of Vila de Andorinho, which lies within the municipality of Vila Nova de Gaia, Portugal. The main objectives of the energy rehabilitation of this social housing complex are to meet current energy requirements, improve indoor air quality, and architecturally rehabilitate the neighbourhood.During the first phase of the project, 766 residences and 31 commercial spaces were rehabilitated, covering a total of 109 buildings. The second phase of the project is underway, which will allow the regeneration of 1319 residences and 45 commercial spaces. Following the improvements, namely the introduction of thermal insulation, improved glazing and installation of shading, the estimated annual energy savings expected from the overall measures are 10,3 GWh/year. The project has the potential to generate economic savings of approximately € 1.3 million/year. In environmental terms, the revitalization will allow a potential annual saving of 4 800 tons of CO 2 emissions.

The Autolib’ system is a follow-up to Paris’ Velib’ bicycle sharing scheme, launched in 2007. Autolib’ is a full electric public car- sharing service for customers and includes the deployment of an interconnected infrastructure of on-street stations for recharging batteries and parking vehicles. Although the City of Paris is the origin of the project, following its experiences in electric vehicles and the Velib’ scheme, it has partnered with 47 surrounding municipalities to ensure a service that can uniformly cover the Parisian metropolis. The scheme intends to deploy 3,000 all-electric cars for public use, initially based around 1,120 citywide parking and charging stations. As of December 2012, the Autolib’ fleet of vehicles has covered over 5,000,000 km since its launch 12 months earlier. This equates to a saving of nearly 630,000 kg of CO2 when compared to the use of a typical passenger vehicle. So far, 65,000 registered subscribers have access to more than 1,800 vehicles spread across more than 670 stations which include 3,900 charging points. These stations are also open for private individuals wishing to charge their electric vehicles.

Pursuing its objective of having a zero-emission vehicle fleet by 2015, the City of Oslo has concluded a framework agreement to replace a thousand cars and vans with environmentally friendly options in the years to come. The move feeds into the City’s “zero-emission technology” policy, established in 2010. A range of pre-procurement activities were undertaken by Oslo prior to setting up the framework agreement, which included a thorough testing phase of the new vehicles by their users, and extensive communication of the City’s policy for vehicles. The latter included a dialogue with all major suppliers about Oslo’s plans. As road transport contributes to 55% of overall direct emissions in Oslo, the current practice will put the City on the right path for meeting its climate policy goals.

In 2010 the City of Jyväskylä began the Jyväskyläan Optini project, which aimed at enhancing innovation and promoting life cycle thinking in procurement. The innovative procedure was piloted with the construction project of a school and day-care centre where specific targets for energy efficiency and sustainable development were included. Construction is expected to be completed by July 2015, and maintenance, management and refurbishment services will be provided by the contractor until 2033. The essential new element in life-cycle procurement was to transfer the risk of exceeding the agreed limits of energy consumption from the customer to the service provider. The limits for heating energy, electricity (excluding user electricity demand) and water consumption, as well as the payment terms and price risk for exceeding the limits, were established in the service contract. If, on the other hand, consumption is below the limits set, the savings are shared 50/50 between the customer and the service provider. Because of the latter, the contract encourages the use of the property as energy efficiently as possible.

Using greener materials for the internal finishing of a new building for the University of Malta recently involved tendering for goods including ceramic floor tiles, gypsum wall panels, window frames and paint works. The environmental criteria were based on a number of the EU GPP criteria – such as those available for hard floor coverings, wall panels and construction. The experience proved successful in terms of the market’s readiness to supply the products required without any problems. The results, however, have greater implications for the University’s GPP activities in general. Although experiences in GPP have been fairly limited, the University has come to recognise that the inclusion of green criteria in procurement does not necessarily translate into higher costs – which were previously perceived to be a hindrance to carrying out GPP. One of the most important developments in the framework of this project is the improved contact the University now has with the Ministry for Sustainable Development, Environment and Climate Change.

Austria’s Federal Procurement Agency (BBG) set up a national framework contract for dairy products to supply around 350 kitchens in public organisations. Market analysis was conducted before tendering and the BBG set up working groups to decide upon the food criteria. Early market engagement activities included holding discussions with dairy producers and associations. Procurement objectives included; the consideration of organic and non-GM products, the inclusion of smaller dairy producers from the region and value for money. The contract was divided into lots and criteria aimed to encourage more natural food production methods. It was specified that 15% of listed items must be of organic origin and the most basic of the dairy products were required to comply with Austria’s action plan on sustainable procurement. 10% of the award criteria was weighted on the quantity of non-GMO products and as a result the current contract now provides 90% GMO-free goods. Contractors are also required to have and maintain an IFS certification or equivalent.

The Municipality of Cognac decided to use overarching sustainable development criteria as part of its new print strategy, which involved the consolidation of all printed services. Cognac is part of Reseau Grand Ouest (RGO), a cross-sectoral network of organisations committed to driving sustainable development through public procurement. The sustainable development criteria used as part of this tender process were put together in collaboration with other members of RGO. Those tendering for the eight lots under the framework agreement for print services were awarded for offering materials which are printed on recycled paper, or derived from forests certified as being sustainably managed. Points were also available for using vegetable-based inks, which are non-toxic to humans and the environment. The sustainability criteria have been fulfilled by the successful bidders at no extra cost to the municipality, in fact the consolidation of the print orders has reduced costs significantly, as well as the frequency of deliveries of printed materials.

With an annual procurement budget of 10 million euro for furniture alone, the Swedish Region of Västra Götaland (VGR) is one of the country’s most significant purchasers. Its sustainability demands are therefore very influential on the market, which has responded positively over the years by developing new prototypes to meet accessibility and environmental needs (following eco-label requirements). VGR has been working with manufacturers and suppliers from the furniture and interiors sector since 2002 on improving sustainability requirements. This has resulted in the development of the Green List – a purchasing list in the form of a product catalogue presenting products that meet specific eco-label requirements. The approach has been widely consulted across Sweden and is in use by other municipalities in the Västra Götaland region. It has also served to boost knowledge and green ambitions in the furniture industry, and has played a strong role in advancing the environmental maturity of the market in Sweden. In 2012, VGR met their target of more than 50% of their volume of furniture purchases stemming from the Green List.