ACR+ joins new coalition on green public procurement saying Europe must ‘buy better to build better’

21 May 2025 Press releases, Built Environment, Policy and Governance

Brussels, Belgium – ACR+ represents local and regional authorities in the new coalition "Buy Better to Build Better", joining actors from across the construction value chain, calling for green public procurement to drive sustainable building via smarter public spending in the EU.

ACR+ joins a new coalition on green public procurement (GPP) — Buy Better to Build Better (BBBB) — that 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.

Francoise Bonnet, ACR+ General Secretary said: Without strong public procurement measures, the EU won’t be able to reach its climate targets. It is an essential tool to encourage the development and adoption of circular, low carbon solutions. We are proud to be part of the BBBB Coalition and sign its manifesto. For our network it is an opportunity to empower cities and regions to fully harness GPP for their transition and drive circularity in construction, fostering ongoing dialogue with all actors.

How to boost competitiveness using purchasing power

Europe's public purchasing power - the amount of goods, services, and works paid for by public authorities of the European Union - amounts to around EUR 2 trillion per year, representing around 14% of GDP. Spent effectively, these funds can provide their necessary functions while accelerating Europe's industrial transition and competitiveness. Green public procurement will therefore 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.

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.

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.

Nuría Cases i Sampere, Project Manager on Public Procurement, ACR+: Public Procurement is one of the most powerful tools cities and regions have to accelerate the transition to circular and low-carbon construction. Across our network, we already see promising practices on the ground—but scaling them requires supportive policy frameworks. By joining this Coalition, ACR+ commits to working closely with stakeholders to define what is needed to unlock the full potential of green public procurement and to ensure Europe can truly ‘buy better to build better’.

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.

Serena Lisai, Thematic Area Lead Built Environment, ACR+: Europe is disseminated of examples of cities and regions that introduced GPP criteria into their construction projects. Nevertheless, much more must be done to turn these cases into local embedded practices. Networks such as ACR+ can foster replication and learning exchange for a strong turn of mindset in procurement practices. The BBBB Coalition is a great opportunity to boost a strong dialogue and collaboration among LRAs and the construction sector industry in order to build the right ecosystem to support the waste hierarchy and apply a circular transition.

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Notes to editors

[1] Buy Better to Build Better coalition website: http://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://www.acrplus.org/docs/en/2025005954_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. Its members are: