Europe must ‘buy better to build better,’ says new coalition on green public procurement

Brussels, 21 May 2025 – Industry, business associations, public authorities, and civil society unite in a new coalition calling for green public procurement to drive sustainable construction through smarter public spending in the EU: ‘Buy Better to Build Better’.

A new coalition on green public procurement (GPP) — Buy Better to Build Better (BBBB) — launches today at an event in the European Parliament [1]. Bringing together over 30 stakeholders from across the construction value chain, civil society, and public authorities, the coalition aims to make green public procurement the default approach in Europe’s construction sector.

Tudor Cherhat, Programme Manager at ECOS — Environmental Coalition on Standards, co-convenor of BBBB, said: The EU desperately needs public procurement measures that boost competitiveness and circular and low-carbon solutions, levelling the playing field for European businesses, and rewarding innovation — especially in the construction sector. Businesses need certainty, and investors and procurers shouldn’t have to take a risk when they choose sustainable products. Our coalition proves there is appetite for this across the board.

How to boost competitiveness using purchasing power

If Europe uses its purchasing power — which represents 15% of the bloc’s GDP — effectively, it will accelerate the industrial transition while advancing European competitiveness. This will allow competitiveness and sustainability to reinforce each other [2], the Buy Better to Build Better coalition says.

Here is how, according to the BBBB’s manifesto [3]:

• Simpler procurement with harmonised, sector-specific GPP criteria to create demand for low-carbon and circular construction solutions.
• A stronger internal market through coherent and horizontal procurement rules beyond lowest price.
• Simpler and standardised EU-wide tracking of GPP.
• Continued support for public authorities in implementing GPP effectively.

Elaborating on why these measures are needed, Alexandre Marin, European Affairs Director at RIVA Group, a major Italian steel operator and member of BBBB, said: The construction and steel industries are at a crossroads. This coalition represents a key opportunity to accelerate meaningful change by advancing construction and public procurement practices that prioritise truly low-carbon and circular materials, based on clear and objective criteria.

Public procurement is an effective yet underused tool

More than half of EU public contracts are awarded based solely on the lowest price [4]. This leaves major opportunities untapped — for quality, innovation and circularity.

The EU has changed course with its Clean Industrial Deal, placing procurement at the core of its industrial strategy. The proposed revision of its Public Procurement Directives — Europe’s main set of laws on procurement — could help to make sustainable procurement (focusing on more than just price) the norm. This would build on existing sectoral legislation, which already includes the mandate to develop sustainability and resilience criteria, rewarding early movers by creating lead markets. By scaling sustainable products and materials up, it would contribute to driving their price down, making them more affordable and cost competitive on the market. 

Construction: A good place to start 

If implemented well, the EU’s new GPP framework could have a particularly high impact on the construction sector [5], where public procurement accounts for 31% of total investment. Europe must replicate the examples set by isolated good practices, BBBB says — enabling green and innovative solutions to scale rapidly and consistently across Europe.

Dominique Sandy, Head of Sustainable and Innovation Procurement at BBBB member ICLEI Europe, a global network working with more than 2,500 procurers at local and regional governments, explained that: Public procurement has huge impacts and opportunities for public procurers of all sizes. This opportunity is especially present in the construction sector, which accounts for substantial emissions for our members. We are proud to be part of this coalition, to sign the manifesto, and continue to work to make the strategic use of public procurement the norm across Europe and beyond.

[1] Buy Better to Build Better coalition website: www.BBBBcoalition.org

[2] Public procurement is responsible for at least 11% of the EU’s total greenhouse gas emissions, according to the Ecologic Institute (citing Eurostat data): https://www.ecologic.eu/sites/default/files/publication/2023/33007-Report-Public-Procurement-for-Climate-Neutrality.pdf (p. 8)

[3] Buy Better to Build Better manifesto: https://ecostandard.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Buy-Better-to-Build-Better-Manifesto-May-2025.pdf

[4] European Court of Auditors special report (2023), ‘Public procurement in the EU’, https://www.eca.europa.eu/ECAPublications/SR-2023-28/SR-2023-28_EN.pdf

[5] Steinmann J, Le Den X, Witteveen E, Kovacs A, Pirttikoski K, (2024). Green public procurement in construction – Driving public purchase towards truly green construction products and materials. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.14000359

Buy Better to Build Better

The Buy Better to Build Better coalition (BBBB) unites forward-thinking stakeholders from across the construction sector, civil society, and public authorities. Members share a commitment to elevating public procurement as a core lever for driving demand for innovative solutions, while maintaining European industry at the forefront of technological progress.

BBBB members:

Networks of public authorities: ACR+, ICLEI Europe

Industry: Alliance for Low-Carbon Cement & Concrete (ALCCC), Architects Council of Europe, Autodesk, Cemonite, Corporate Leaders Group Europe, Ecocem, EIHA, EuRIC, FEAD, FIR, ORI Martin, Ramboll, RIVA Group

Civil society: Bellona Europe, Bioregional, Bond Beter Leefmilieu, Climate Strategy & Partners, Concito, DUH – Deutsche Umwelthilfe, ECCO, ECODES, ECOS – Environmental Coalition on Standards, EEB – European Environmental Bureau, Energy Policy Group, EPICO KlimaInnovation, E3G, Future Clean Architects, Green Transition Denmark, IISD, INCIEN, Natuur & Milieu, Open Contracting Partnership, Zero