Call for Tender – National support to ECOS policy and standardisation work on zero carbon cement & concrete

About the project

The primary objective of the project is to build the case, advocate for, and help secure an ambitious and effective decarbonisation pathway for the cement and concrete (C&C) value chain, targeting (nearly) zero-carbon by 2040 through policy and standards work.

The policy strategy will seek to ensure:    

• Clean energy supply and reduced energy demand to decarbonise the cement and concrete sector (Targeted policies: Gas package, RED II(I), industrial ecosystem transition pathways, ETS, IED, and CBAM)
• Material innovation and creation of markets for low-carbon cement and concrete products, supported by sustainable finance and procurement (Targeted policies: Sustainable Products Initiative for cement, Construction Products Regulation (CPR), Energy Performance of Buildings directive (EPBD), Sustainable Finance Taxonomy, and Green Public Procurement criteria)
• Waste prevention and closing loop to eliminate cement and concrete construction and demolition waste (Targeted policies: Waste Framework Directive and the Construction Products Regulation (CPR))

The proposed standardisation activities should help achieve:

• Scaling-up of supply and demand for new low-carbon cement and concrete products through performance assessment and validation to support acceptance of alternative supplementary cementitious materials (SCMs).
• Fostering resource efficient design, use, and governance of concrete assets, and circularity at the end of life through appropriate use of materials, and validation of performance in-use and at the end-of-life.

Tender objective

ECOS seeks to subcontract national support to ECOS policy and standardisation work on zero carbon cement & concrete in Sweden.

Tasks & outputs

The subcontractor is expected to work in Sweden to influence the national position on policy and standardisation developments that have an impact on the cement and concrete value chain.

Overall, ECOS will provide strategic coordination and support from the EU perspective, with the national partner being in charge of planning and delivering all relevant activities to influence its Member State position on the policy and standardisation objectives developed by ECOS.

To do so, the national partner will:

• Develop national engagement plans to reach policy and standardisation objectives, including:
  • Stakeholder mapping
  • National policy & standardisation targets
  • List of activities to reach national policy & standardisation targets
• Regularly coordinate with ECOS on political and standardisation objectives and adjust national activities as necessary
• Implement advocacy activities at national level to reach strategic objectives, including:
  • Production of advocacy materials in country language
  • Contact with key stakeholders and decision makers
  • Organisation of events, meetings and capacity building workshops
  • Communications and campaigns
• Influence technical discussions in national standardisation bodies, including:
  • Participation in national committees work by national partner and/or nominated experts
  • Development of written contributions & networking to reach national standardisation objectives

The project will involve active contribution from and regular coordination with ECOS, including through as a minimum a kick-off meeting, an interim meeting, and a final meeting. Activity & financial reports should also be delivered prior to the interim and final meetings.

Timeline

ECOS seeks to subcontract national partners with environmental expertise (such as environmental NGOs, experts, consultants, thinktanks) for a period of 12 months in Sweden.

Budget

The budget available for this work is maximum €75.000 (including VAT), and all other costs will be incurred by the subcontractor. Note that sub-contracting is accepted in cases where a delivery team involves individuals from different institutions or organisations. In this case, the lead tenderer retains responsibility for legal and financial arrangements for any sub-contracting.

Tender preparation

Tenderers are requested to submit a proposal by 23:59 CET 11 March 2022 to info@ecostandard.org outlining:

• Their motivation and commitment to support the delivery of this project
• A brief description of the tenderer’s understanding of the tasks to be delivered and outline of their national engagement plan, including a list of deliverables, timeline, and expected impacts
• Budgeting for each element of the work and proposed payment schedule
• A description of the anticipated activities to achieve the desired policy and standards objectives at national level (including deliverables)
• A detailed timeline on milestones, work streams and proposed deliverables
• Examples of previous work with a similar scope and main achievements
• Biographies and time commitment of the key staff delivering the work

Required qualifications

Essential

• Demonstrated experience in influencing national positions relating to the policy files mentioned in the Objectives section
• Experience with supporting EU organisations during co-decision processes, including EU level representatives from your Member State
• An ability to influence national policy and standardisation positions
• Strong network of contacts at national level, including key decision makers
• Organisational ambition and environmental values that go far beyond current industry commitments

 Desirable

• Prior experience influencing the cement/concrete or construction sector
• Prior engagement with national standards bodies or participation standardisation committees
• Technical expertise relating to cement & concrete

Tender Assessment

Assessment of the tenders will be made using a weighted multi-criteria approach.

The award criteria are:

• 70% quality (qualifications, relevance of the application, quality of the deliverables) and
• 30% price.

Only shortlisted tenderers will be contacted.

The fact of publishing a procurement procedure does not oblige ECOS to award the contract to a tenderer simply because its tender fulfils those criteria. It also reserves the right to decide not to award the contract to any tenderer and to cancel the procedure at any time before award.