Look back on Buy Better to Build Better’s launch event in the European Parliament

By Tudor Cherhat

By Katarzyna Krok

To mark the occasion, coalition members and representatives from the EU institutions came together to celebrate the publication of BBBB’s manifesto and discuss the role of green public procurement in aligning sustainability and competitiveness goals under one overarching industrial strategy.

Opening remarks | Pierfrancesco Maran, Member of the European Parliament, S&D

Green public procurement can offer better value for taxpayer money – and this is exactly what MEP Pierfrancesco Maran highlighted in his opening remarks. Drawing on his experience as a member of Milan’s city council, he also shared insights from Italy, where green public procurement criteria are mandatory across all sectors, including construction. However, to effectively implement ambitious public procurement requirements, public authorities must be supported with clear and straightforward EU legislation – a key recommendation in BBBB’s manifesto.

Fireside chat | Leveraging the full potential of green public procurement in a competitive Single Market
Loic Brocard, EuRIC – Alexandra Marin, RIVA – Susan McGarry, ECOCEM – Sirpa Pietikainen, EPP – Marta Toporek, DG Grow

The potential of and enthusiasm for green public procurement is already clear. Both the Letta and Draghi reports emphasise the role of public procurement in derisking investment, rewarding early movers, and contributing to lead markets for green and innovative solutions. That is why our panel discussion focused on scaling best practices that can also support industrial decarbonisation.

Four key messages emerged from this panel discussion:

• Sustainability and competitiveness reinforce each other. Panellists and participants shared several examples of how producing low-carbon and circular construction solutions uphold Europe’s climate leadership while strengthening its industrial resilience. To create effective lead markets, the right conditions – including common green public procurement requirements, performance-based standards, and technology-neutral labels – must be first put in place.
• Lowest price should not be the default option anymore. Over 55% of public projects is still awarded to the cheapest bid. This practice undermines competitiveness and stifle innovation. Scalable and readily available solutions already exist on the EU market, but investors need predictability. However, the public sector has not fully tapped into the potential of tools – like green public procurement – to provide it.
• Coherence across legislation is essential. Existing sectoral legislation (such as the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation and the Construction Products Regulation) should be implemented to deliver straightforward procurement requirements, while the Public Procurement Directives should ensure that procuring strategically becomes the default option. This can be achieved by setting clear expectations for public authorities. For example, by clarifying the conditions for market consultation and providing harmonised, EU-wide GPP requirements. That also means the Public Procurement Directives should remain sector-agnostic, offering legal clarity on how to buy while regularly updated sector-specific rules guide public authorities on what to buy.
• Simplification should focus on streamlining administrative requirements for public authorities and buyers, while delivering common minimum procurement requirements. This will create a level playing field for companies across the EU, providing a steady return on their investments. Common requirements will also decrease legal uncertainty for public authorities.

The EU has everything it needs to lead the way in the industrial transition while advancing the bloc’s competitiveness – and BBBB is ready to work together every step of the way.