Green public procurement a ‘no-brainer’ that could cut construction product emissions almost by half with a minimal price tag, new data shows
Press release | The EU could slash emissions from concrete and steel by 19 million tonnes—almost half—by ensuring public authorities make better public purchases, a new study reveals [1]. The data also shows that products with lower emissions are cost-effective. The EU should not miss this opportunity to unlock public procurement’s green and economic potential, says environmental NGO ECOS, who commissioned the study [2].
New modelling of different public procurement scenarios shows how EU Member States could save emissions from construction materials by making better purchasing choices—without a big price tag. The study illustrates how an EU harmonised framework with environmental procurement criteria could significantly reduce emissions from carbon-intensive materials like concrete and steel while fostering innovation and supporting long-term cost reductions.
Findings show that if green public procurement rules were uniformly introduced across the EU:
- Emissions from concrete and steel could be cut by up to 43%, or almost 19 million tonnes—a quarter of EU’s public construction-related emissions.
- Upfront project costs for a regular building would increase by only 3-4% compared to the continued use of highly polluting structural materials.
Public procurement is an effective yet underused tool
Public procurement accounts for 15% of the EU’s GDP but fewer than half of public contracts are awarded with the environment in mind [3]—a missed opportunity for climate and green innovators. By using their substantial purchasing power to drive the market towards more sustainable products, public authorities would ensure public money is well spent, research suggests.
Green procurement rules would have a particularly big impact on the construction sector because public projects make up almost one-third of its activities and its products are highly polluting, even though low-carbon solutions exist.
Annually, construction materials such as concrete and steel account for 250 million tonnes of CO2 emissions and half of the EU’s material consumption—equivalent to flying around the world 38 million times.
There are a handful of good examples — but Europe is behind
From the Paris Olympic Village [4] to Gothenburg’s Harbour Line Extension [5], some EU Member States are already putting green public procurement into practice. However, most are doing little. To move the needle on decarbonising construction, these isolated examples would need to become the norm.
There is political appetite for the European economy to move in this direction. Both the Letta [6] and the Draghi [7] reports highlighted how important strategic public procurement will be for European industry, and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen’s political programme includes plans to revise the Public Procurement Directives, which provide overarching rules on how public authorities should carry out their procurement activities [8].
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Tudor Cherhat, Programme Manager at ECOS – Environmental Coalition on Standards, said:
Using public money to buy green construction products instead of polluting ones should be a no-brainer—it is cost-effective, cleaner, and makes European businesses more competitive in a greener market. Introducing green public procurement rules would help the EU build the industry and climate action it aspires to.
Notes to editor
[1] ‘Green Public Procurement in Construction: Driving public purchase towards truly green construction products and materials’, October 2024, https://ecostandard.org/publication/report-buy-better-to-build-better-driving-public-purchase-towards-green-construction-products
[2] ‘Buy better to build better: Driving public purchase towards green construction’, November 2024, https://ecostandard.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Driving-GPP-in-construction-Ramboll-November-2024.pdf
[3] https://single-market-economy.ec.europa.eu/single-market/public-procurement_en
[4] ‘Sustainability and legacy report’, https://olympics.com/en/paris-2024/our-commitments/assessing-our-impact/sustainability-legacy-report
[5] Gothenburg’s Harbour Line Extension, https://www.skanska.se/en-us/our-offer/our-projects/245589/Hamnbanan%2c-Goteborg
[6] ‘Much more than a market’, April 2024, https://www.consilium.europa.eu/media/ny3j24sm/much-more-than-a-market-report-by-enrico-letta.pdf
[7] ‘The future of European competitiveness: Report by Mario Draghi’, September 2024 https://commission.europa.eu/topics/strengthening-european-competitiveness/eu-competitiveness-looking-ahead_en
[8] ‘Europe’s choice: Political guidelines for the next European Commission 2024-2029’, July 2024, https://commission.europa.eu/document/download/e6cd4328-673c-4e7a-8683-f63ffb2cf648_en
Contact
If you have questions, please contact me:
Alison Grace
Press & Communications Manager at ECOS
alison.grace@ecostandard.org
+32 493 19 22 59
ECOS – Environmental Coalition on Standards is an international NGO with a network of members and experts advocating for environmentally friendly technical standards, policies, and laws.
