Public Procurement for a sustainable and competitive construction sector: Perspectives from the Buy Better to Build Better coalition

The interview discusses how public procurement can accelerate the EU’s transition to a sustainable and competitive construction sector. 

The Buy Better to Build Better (BBBB) coalition focuses on the construction sector. Can you tell us how this coalition came together and why it was decided to focus activities on this sector?

The construction sector stands out as one of the best-placed candidates for lead markets development. It generates the largest number of procurement procedures in the EU, with basic materials like cement and steel being consumed in quantities large enough to create economies of scale, while representing only a small share of total construction costs. As major buyers, public authorities have considerable potential to steer markets toward low-emission and circular solutions. Yet, despite several front-runners successfully procuring greener schools, roads and hospitals, this potential remains largely underused.

The BBBB members were already involved in the area of public procurement in their individual capacities, having identified similar structural shortcomings such as poor uptake of strategic procurement or the lack of predictable demand. Guided by a shared vision of ensuring that public procurement delivers better value for taxpayers, we joined forces in a coordinated initiative to translate political ambition into practical, scalable proposals – starting with the construction sector.

The coalition convenes over 30 organisations from industry, civil society, and public bodies, reflecting the full complexity of the construction value chain. What strategic advantages does this multi-stakeholder approach provide, and why was it essential for achieving meaningful progress in green public procurement?

The coalition’s strength lies in its diversity. By bringing together actors from across the construction value chain, it can draw on a broad range of experience and best practices that no single organisation could mobilise on its own. Green public procurement in construction spans material producers, recyclers, designers, contractors, cities and civil society, so progress requires input from across the entire value chain. For example, our architect colleagues note that smart design choices are often overlooked in procurement discussions, while our members from the manufacturing or recycling industry face an increased burden when participating in tenders across different countries. By bringing together almost 40 organisations from these different groups, the coalition can develop proposals that are both ambitious and grounded in practical experiences across Europe.

This diversity also serves several functions. Organisations active at the EU level ensure that the coalition’s work is aligned with the Union’s broader policy agenda, while our national partners contribute insights from their domestic realities, helping identify what has already worked on the ground and where barriers persist. This combination allows the coalition to formulate recommendations that reflect real-world experience and can be applied across different Member States.

The BBBB manifesto states that public procurement must become a core lever to drive demand for low-carbon and circular construction solutions. From your perspective, what are the top three changes that public procurers need to make today to align with that vision?

Procurers play a critical role, as they are the ones who ultimately implement procurement policies, but they should not be treated as a standalone actor, expected to solve everything on their own. They operate within a broader framework, and meaningful progress depends on improving that framework in line with their needs and strategic objectives set by the EU Clean Industrial Deal. 

Procuring beyond the lowest price is the most important shift procurers should make, as this means getting quality and sustainability in return for public money. For the BBBB, this means establishing clear, mandatory rules that give procurers the legal certainty they need to apply this approach with confidence. While many have moved forward already, other buyers are still hesitant because existing rules expose them to the risk of abusive litigation when they choose best best-performing products other than those that are simply cheaper. The EU legislation must embed procuring beyond the lowest price as the default procedure. 

This doesn’t mean taking away authorities’ freedom to choose what to procure; on the contrary. Several Member States are championing this (e.g. the Netherlands successfully uses life-cycle costing, the Nordics give substantial weight to qualitative criteria, Italy and France have mandatory GPP frameworks), it now needs to become the norm across Europe. Sectoral legislation can support this by setting minimum requirements, while the Directives could provide the legal certainty to procure beyond purely price-driven choices.

Secondly, collecting data and reporting on the volume and value of green and innovative procurement must be done in a consistent way. Data is important for all actors involved because it helps identify trends, understand where gaps remain, and assess whether policy objectives are being met. Besides procurers, the EU and the Member States have an important role here. The EU’s procurement publication platform (Tenders Electronic Daily) is not designed to track green procurement, while the functionality of the recently launched Public Procurement Data Space requires close cooperation, particularly in linking national portals to the PPDS framework. The aim should be to make the information already published through national systems more accessible and consistent across the EU by improving basic data interoperability.

Thirdly, procurers should continue a proactive dialogue with the market to strengthen the cooperation with suppliers. Preliminary market consultations have already proven useful, as they help authorities understand available technologies and give suppliers clarity about upcoming needs. Likewise, initiatives such as Procura+ and Big Buyers Working Together show how valuable structured exchanges can be in assessing the maturity of different low-carbon and circular solutions. Our coalition also contributes to closing this gap by bringing city associations and industries together, enabling regular exchange on the latest innovations and ensuring that real market capabilities inform the policy debate. In the construction sector, sustainable technologies are largely available; what is missing is stronger coherence between supply and demand measures to generate consistent market signals.

Many contracting authorities still prioritise lowest-price awards. The BBBB coalition calls for moving ‘beyond lowest price’ to recognise quality, circularity, and innovation. How can public authorities strike the right balance between ensuring value for public money and promoting more sustainable construction practices?

Public buyers can strike this balance more easily than often assumed. In sectors like construction, low-carbon alternatives come at prices broadly comparable to business-as-usual options, and remaining differences are absorbed in the overall project costs. And there is no shortage of best practices across Europe showing how authorities creatively combine technical specifications with consistent weight for non-price factors or life-cycle costing. Around 80% of a building’s total costs arise after it is completed, making long-term performance a core component of value for money.

The challenge lies with those authorities that lack experience or institutional capacity. For them, a clear mandatory framework with harmonised requirements matters: it provides a common baseline and reduces ambiguity, meaning they can confidently move beyond price-only awards. Predictable demand also signals to the market to invest in innovative, low-emission solutions, creating the conditions for cost-effective scale-up.

Looking ahead to 2030, how does the BBBB coalition envision public procurement supporting the EU’s goals for a more sustainable, circular, and resource efficient construction sector? Which key developments or milestones should public buyers expect, and what steps can they take now to prepare effectively

The EU has acknowledged public procurement as a top priority for this legislative cycle, so it has a once-in-a-decade opportunity to develop an ambitious framework that aligns with its strategic objectives. Several procurement-related initiatives for the construction sector have been announced (such as the forthcoming Industrial Accelerator Act and the Circular Economy Act), while existing legislation (such as the Construction Products Regulation or the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation) has still yet to deliver what was originally promised. We therefore expect clear GPP requirements, built around life-cycle approaches that are ambitious enough to create lead markets for innovators. 

If done properly, this means that sustainable options will become easier to identify and compare, while the market will continue to mature. It is important that procurers are part of every stage of this development process to ensure that the resulting framework is workable and aligned with the EU’s climate ambitions. With two major city associations in the coalition, our work is shaped by their experience, ensuring their perspective is reflected throughout.