Procurement category: Construction
Environmental impacts targeted: Circular economy, material reuse, energy efficiency, waste reduction
Relevant EU legislation/policy/guidance: EU Green Public Procurement (GPP) criteria for construction.
Background
Tallinn City Property Department, the municipal property department of the City of Tallinn, Estonia, launched an innovative construction project to build the Lasnamäe Circular Economy Centre at Punane 68a. Designed to serve as a model for circular and sustainable urban development, the centre will house a waste station, workshops, warehouses, and a community building. This initiative aligns with Estonia’s broader goals of improving material recovery, reducing carbon emissions, and contributing to the EU Green Deal. Circularity, low-carbon materials, and resource efficiency were at the core of the procurement strategy.
Procurement objectives
The municipality aimed to set a precedent for environmentally responsible public procurement, contributing to local and EU climate targets. The City of Tallinn sought a contractor for the design and construction of a new building complex that would embody circular economy principles from the ground up. The open tender procedure allowed for broad competition while including specific requirements to embed circularity in material use and building performance.
Pre-procurement activities included market consultations to assess the availability and feasibility of reclaimed, recycled, and low-carbon construction materials. This informed the technical design and procurement documents, ensuring alignment between market capability and sustainability ambition. The project also incorporated Building Information Modelling (BIM) to support whole-life material efficiency and reduced environmental impacts.
Tender requirements
Selection criteria
The tenderer was required to have an environmental management system in the field of construction work, certified to the ISO 14001 standard or an equivalent environmental management system.
The tenderer was also required to hold a valid ISO 9001 quality management certificate or an equivalent system recognised through evidence issued by independent bodies, including compliance with accessibility requirements for persons with disabilities.
Technical specifications
Building Information Modelling (BIM)
The entire project was required to comply with the Unified BIM Requirements (ÜBN), a national BIM standard developed to ensure consistent digital construction practices across Estonia. While it is not legally binding, compliance with ÜBN is mandated in public procurement and permitting processes involving BIM (official guidelines are provided by the Estonian Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications).
At the tender stage, bidders were required to submit a preliminary BIM Execution Plan, demonstrating their understanding of the ÜBN framework and outlining their intended approach. This included:
- Proposed modelling standards and file formats
- Initial roles and coordination responsibilities
- A general strategy for data exchange and model development
The final, detailed BIM Execution Plan was to be developed and approved after contract award, as part of project mobilisation.
BIM was required to be used throughout the design and construction process to support material tracking, optimise resource use, and minimise waste. Models were expected to cover:
- Architecture
- Structural elements
- Building services
- Site infrastructure
BIM models also facilitated permit submission and supported whole-life performance monitoring.
Reclaimed, Recycled, and Low-Carbon Materials
The use of reclaimed, recycled and low-carbon materials was a mandatory requirement outlined in the technical specifications. Bidders were required to accept these obligations in full when submitting their tender.
Key material requirements included:
- Reclaimed timber for the façades of the waste station and balcony/stair railings
- Reused silicate bricks in both the waste hall and the main building
- Concrete terraces made with recycled filler materials from demolished concrete
- Suspended ceilings constructed using reused timber formwork panels
- Terrace decking produced from wood-plastic composite containing recycled content
- Terrazzo flooring using aggregate from crushed stone waste
- Carpeting made from new products containing recycled textile fibres
- Fixed furniture and display boards are manufactured from reused board materials
- Exhibition fittings (e.g. desks, signage, display models) repurposed from previous uses
Bidders were not required to submit detailed sourcing plans at the tender stage. But, by submitting a compliant bid, they committed to delivering these materials as specified (See Contract performance clauses). The use of Environmental Product Declarations (EPDS) was encouraged to support verifiability, but was not required at the point of tendering.
Energy-Efficient and Passive Systems
- Construction materials were required to have low embodied energy and be sourced from renewable raw materials where feasible.
- Passive cooling and energy efficiency features were to be prioritised in the building design.
- All bidders were required to submit an action plan as part of the technical documentation, outlining principles for implementing a more environmentally friendly and waste-reducing building culture. This included describing how materials would support circular use and identifying renewable and low primary energy building materials proposed for the project. These commitments, agreed at the tender stage, became enforceable contract performance clauses upon award.
Repairability and disassembly instructions
Bidders committed that the agreed-upon furniture could be disassembled using hand tools, and its components could be replaced without specialised training. This became a binding obligation during implementation, when disassembly and repair instructions were to be provided, enabling parts to be replaced without damaging the furniture.
↳ EU GPP Furniture Criteria – Ease of disassembly and repairability
Legally sourced timber
All timber used in the manufacture of indoor and outdoor furniture was required to be legally harvested in accordance with Regulation (EU) No 995/2010. Bidders provided a declaration that only timber from legal sources would be used in the furniture products, with proof of timber origin to be submitted upon delivery at the contract stage.
↳ EU GPP Furniture Criteria – Technical Specification 1: Sourcing of legal timber for furniture production
REACH candidate substances
As a mandatory requirement in Estonia under Regulation No 35 and in accordance with REACH Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006, tenderers were required to ensure that any Substances of Very High Concern (SVHCs) listed on the ECHA Candidate List at the time of publication of the contract notice were identified if present above 0.1% by weight in any product component. While the declaration itself was only required at the time of delivery, bidders had to confirm in their tender that they would comply with this obligation. The requirement referred only to substances that were already officially included on the Candidate List (not those under consultation) when the procurement was launched.
↳ EU GPP Furniture Criteria – Technical Specification 3: Candidate list substance reporting
Award criteria
The contract was awarded based solely on price, with the technically compliant tender with the lowest total tender price (excluding VAT) receiving the highest score.
Contract performance clauses
Reclaimed, Recycled, and Low-Carbon Materials
At the time of bidding, all bidders were required to commit to environmentally friendly and waste-reducing construction practices. Upon contract commencement, they were required to submit a detailed implementation plan outlining:
- How and from whom the specified circular materials would be sourced
- How suitability and environmental performance would be verified
- What mitigation steps would be taken if a listed material was unavailable
During contract execution, contractors had to provide documentary evidence (e.g. invoices, technical datasheets, certifications) confirming compliance with the circular material requirements. Where applicable, materials supported by Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) or equivalent third-party verification were encouraged to facilitate monitoring and reporting, although not mandatory unless specified in the contract.
Additional contract requirements
| Requirement | Tender Stage (Technical Specification) | Contract Stage (Contract performance clauses) |
| Disassembly and repairability of furniture | Declaration required | Enforced via submission of manuals |
| Legally sourced timber | Declaration required | Verified at delivery with proof |
| REACH SVHC disclosure >0.1% | Declaration required | Verified at delivery with evidence |
| Reclaimed, Recycled, and Low-Carbon Materials | Declaration required | Action plan submission required, addressing circular materials, reuse, and low energy use. Enforced through detailed sourcing, verification, and waste reduction measures |
Warranty and spare parts
A warranty of at least three years from the date of delivery was required. Spare parts or functionally equivalent components had to be available for a minimum of three years after delivery.
↳ EU GPP Furniture Criteria – Availability of spare parts and warranty (pg 18).
Results
Ten tenders were submitted by the deadline established in the call for competition. All tenders were declared compliant with the procurement requirements. The contract was awarded to the tenderer offering the most economically advantageous proposal, based on cost, having already met all mandatory environmental and technical specifications. The contract covered the complete construction of the centre over a 13-month period, with intermediate milestones defined to ensure timely readiness for furniture installation and occupancy. The inclusion of circular material design and BIM helped optimise waste reduction and lifecycle performance.
The total value of the contract is 7,888,890 EUR, excluding VAT.
Environmental impacts
This procurement addressed key environmental issues in the construction sector, specifically resource utilisation, greenhouse gas emissions, and construction and demolition (C&D) waste.
♻️ Material circularity and waste prevention:
Reclaimed and recycled materials—including timber, concrete, bricks, textiles, and furniture—were used extensively, reducing demand for virgin resources and diverting waste from landfill. Modular and demountable elements were required to enable future reuse and minimise demolition waste.
🌍 Lower embodied carbon:
Low-carbon materials such as stone waste terrazzo, recycled concrete, and reused bricks were prioritised. Preference was given to materials with Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) and low primary energy content, thereby supporting EU sustainable construction goals. At scale, such practices can reduce embodied carbon by up to 30% over a building’s lifecycle.
💡 Energy efficiency:
Passive design features and rooftop solar helped cut operational energy use. Materials with low thermal conductivity support passive cooling, reducing reliance on mechanical systems.
🧱 BIM for material efficiency:
BIM was used throughout to optimise material use, minimise waste, and support circularity via digital material inventories and lifecycle planning.
🛋️ Interior reuse:
Interior spaces were outfitted using reused and recycled elements, including furniture and displays, thereby minimising the impact of new production and supporting circular supply chains.
🌱 Wider impact:
If replicated, this model could significantly reduce construction and demolition (C&D) waste (over 35% of the EU total), support carbon neutrality goals, and stimulate local markets for circular materials.
Lessons learned
Embed sustainability from the start - Market engagement before drafting tender documents was essential to define feasible and ambitious circular requirements.
- Make environmental standards non-negotiable - Although the contract was awarded on price, requiring full compliance with sustainability specifications ensured quality and integrity.
- Utilise BIM to enforce circularity - BIM has proven invaluable for managing materials efficiently and reducing waste through accurate planning and coordination.
- Consider longer deadlines during the procurement procedure. Tallinn extended the deadline for tender submissions several times, as the tenderers had numerous clarifying questions.
More information
Contact person: Krista Kiil, Project Manager, Tallinn Strategic Management Office
Procurement Documents available at Estonian e-Procurement Register.
For related information, see the EU Green Public Procurement criteria for construction.