Winner: KAMP C, BELGIUM
 Aiming for the sky in circular construction
Kamp C, the Flemish centre for sustainability and innovation, placed circularity at the heart of their new office development project. To encourage a partnership approach and long-term commitment, they asked consortia of architects, engineers and builders to bid together for a 20 year design, build, maintain and energy (DBME) contract. The three-stage tendering process focused on functional rather than rigid specifications, giving room to the three bidding consortia to think of creative ways of meeting Kamp C’s ambitions. Through competitive dialogue, the bidders were encouraged to develop circular thinking across 7 topics, including materials, design finance and energy consumption. The contract value was fixed from the start, removing any pressure to compete on price. The project, which is now complete, has become a flagship example of circular construction in Flanders, and inspired 50 companies and 75 public authorities to learn about the procurement of circular buildings.

Runner-up: BRITTANY REGION, FRANCE
  Creating a local circular economy in construction and demolition
As the old gymnasium of the Félix Le Dantec highschool started to need replacement, the Council of the Brittany Region (France) placed circular economy objectives at the core of the demolition contract. Having performed a waste assessment, assessed local demand for recycled concrete and measured the volume and quality of materials that could be recovered from the existing buildings, they searched for a supplier who could meet their ambitions. The contractor would deconstruct the building in a way allowing over 90 percent of materials to be recovered, build a storage and processing platform on a nearby site and keep noise and traffic from the works to a minimum. Through a  social clause, the contract also secured  210 hours of work and tutoring for people excluded from the job market and an educational project for the school’s students. The information gathered during the market assessment and the building of a permanent storage platform will support other deconstruction initiatives in the region.

Winner: CITY OF KOPRIVNICA, CROATIA
 Innovation procurement for extensive reconstruction
In 2017, the City of Koprivnica set off to become the first public body in Croatia to start, run and deliver a process of Public Procurement of Innovation (PPI). One of the City’s kindergartens was suffering from serious structural defects that should have led to its demolition. However, demolishing it to reconstruct a new building would have resulted in high economic and environmental costs that the city was keen to avoid. Consequently, it used a PPI process with competitive dialogue to procure a solution to enhance the lifetime of the building. The intent was also to create a concept that would be replicable in other buildings. The City carried out an extensive needs assessment and published its goals through thorough market engagement, which included a dedicated project prospectus and a suppliers’ workshop. In 2019, it issued the call for tenders to secure a Design & Build partner. Quality and innovation criteria attracted 50 per cent of all marks available. The completed project extended the lifetime of the building by over 20 years for a cost 50% lower than a traditional new-build project, simultaneously delivered significant energy efficiency improvements. Through those results, Koprivnica is keen to demonstrate that small municipalities can be true leaders in the field of innovative  procurement. This project was a part of an EU project Prominent MED, Interreg MED programme.

Runner-up: CITY OF MALMÖ, SWEDEN
  Benefits for prisoners and society: creating post-imprisonment employment and self-empowerment with a multi-dimensional sustainable food approach in Dutch prisons
Procura+ participant City of Malmö found that the way they traditionally purchased ICT equipment did not meet their sustainability ambitions. They therefore looked for a strategic partner who could help improve their purchasing practices and leverage the City’s spending power to drive changes in the ICT market. Through a market dialogue procedure, they invited ICT resellers to propose a framework for ensuring any equipment purchased by the city met the highest sustainability standards. Bidders were also asked to propose solutions for the recycling of obsolete ICT. Finally, the tender criteria invited them to commit to take part in regular discussions with the city on the topic through a dedicated Sustainability Forum. The exercise was successful, making the arrangement between Malmö and its strategic partner the first of its kind in Sweden. Thanks to this contract, the City now consistently purchases a majority of certified ICT products and has recycled over 7,500 obsolete ICT objects. Malmö also takes part in their partner’s advisory board, coming together with other ICT users to discuss ways to push the industry towards greater sustainability.

Winner: BIG, AUSTRIA
 Developing ICT solutions for smart and efficient building management
The Austrian federal real estate agency (BIG) owns and manages more than 2,200 properties across Austria, with over 500,000 using the buildings every day. The buildings include public buildings such as schools and universities. BIG wanted to improve use efficiency of the building and the user experience with the help of a facility management app that would allow users to book rooms, thereby increase occupancy efficiency, and at the same time allow for smart heating/lighting management. The app was also required to include information on public transport services, routing through large buildings, and canteen menus. BIG opted for an innovation partnership because the required solution was not available on the market. Two companies entered the partnership with BIG and are currently developing a solution, which by the end of the process will also be made available to third parties.

Runner-up: FABULOS PROJECT, FINLAND
  PCP for on-demand driverless public transportns
The Pre-Commercial Procurement (PCP) project FABULOS (Future Autonomous Bus Urban Level Operation Systems) is the first European PCP on smart urban mobility and on automated driving. The project is developed by six public authorities with the goal to develop a turnkey transport-as-a-service solution, including software, hardware, fleet and services. Three vehicles are currently tested, driving in regular urban traffic (with speeds of 30km/h).  After an open market consultation, the group selected 5 consortia to be eligible to enter the next stages: Solution design, prototyping and lab testing, and the final phase, field testing. At each stage, only selected suppliers could proceed with eventually 3 supplier consortia advancing to the field testing stage. Once the developed solutions are tested and selected, the solution is tendered by the participating authorities and one supplier will be selected. The project is a major push toward automated public transport and can pave the way towards more coherent and safe regulation around procuring and operating these solutions.

Winner: CITY OF HAARLEM, THE NETHERLANDS
 A cooperative approach to supplier management to achieve a circular and sustainable city
The Procura+ participant City of Haarlem aims to procure green, fair and circular. The city is also committed to transition into a gas free city with a circular economy in which cooperation between businesses, government, knowledge institutions and citizens ensures effectiveness, innovation and sustainability. Throughout its procurements, the city aims for a cooperative approach with its suppliers, that makes sure suppliers and contractors are aligned with Haarlem’s vision of a green and circular city. Wherever possible, Haarlem opts for functional requirements that allows suppliers to develop their own solutions, while helping Haarlem to achieve its goals. For a recent framework agreement for public space maintenance and construction work execution, after the selection stage, the city asked bidders to submit proof of how they would collaborate with the city and its inhabitants (participation in decision making), how they would implement sustainability and circularity, cost effectiveness and political sensibility. Haarlem also includes so called social return on investment clauses in all its contracts. The contract partners have the obligation to spend 4% of their yearly revenue on including vulnerable to exclusion groups in their workforce. Among others, Haarlem’s initiative has led to decreased traffic congestion, a local hub for raw materials, and increased cooperation with its citizens on major reconstruction works

Runner-up: BBG, AUSTRIA
  Combining innovation and sustainability competence centres to bring procurement to the next level
The Austrian federal procurement agency BBG is Autria’s central public purchasing body, that negotiates and offers framework agreements to all public purchasers. In 2017, the agency decided to integrate sustainability and innovation in the core process of the public procurement services it offers. Previously, BBG operated both the Austrian competence centre for innovation procurement as well as the sustainable procurement service centre. By integrating these two services, BBG wanted to create synergies and increase the share of innovative and sustainable products in its portfolio and became a reliable partner for Austrian federal and local public purchasing bodies in delivering on societal goals. As a result, BBG has enabled companies that offer sustainable and innovative services to increasingly participate in tenders and has raised awareness among its clients that sustainable and innovation procurement can offer economic, environmental and social benefits.