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FIEC, the European Construction Industry Federation, together with The European Innovation Council (EIC) and The European Union Drugs Agency EuDA, has commissioned Ramboll to undertake a comprehensive comparative study on the methodologies used or proposed in European countries to measure and evaluate CO₂e emission reductions in public works tenders.
The study responds to accelerating EU climate legislation – including the revised Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD) and Construction Products Regulation (CPR) – and the forthcoming revision of the EU Public Procurement Directives.
Objective
The objective is to map, compare and evaluate the methodologies currently used across Europe (and selected third countries) to measure and assess carbon emissions in public works procurement, covering both infrastructure and buildings. Crucially, the study will identify best practices and develop recommendations to support a harmonised and workable EU approach, ensuring that bidders’ capacity to reduce CO₂ emissions can be fairly and effectively used as an award criterion.
The selected methodologies include leading national tools such as Klimatkalkyl (Sweden), DuboCalc (Netherlands), the TII Carbon Tool (Ireland), RE2020 (France) and TOTEM (Belgium), alongside a peer review of Australia’s NSW infrastructure approach. The study will examine their technical design (LCA scope, system boundaries, standards alignment), practical implementation in procurement, and legal implications for contractors.
Importantly for CIF members, the work will assess how CO₂ criteria are integrated into tendering models, including life-cycle costing under Directive 2014/24/EU, and will explore the role of Early Contractor Involvement (ECI) as a mechanism to achieve meaningful carbon reductions in practice.
CIF is contributing to this important pan-European initiative to ensure that emerging procurement rules are technically robust, proportionate, and deliverable in practice. The final report, due mid-2026, will provide a strong evidence base for industry engagement with EU Institutions and national governments at a critical moment in the evolution of climate-aligned public procurement.