Good afternoon guests and thank you for participating to this interview. We are very glad to have you here and share with us your knowledge as practitioners in the field of public procurement, and your key takeaways from your participation to the big buyer project. Would you like to introduce yourselves?

Ms. Hepsø: Good afternoon, thank you for inviting us. I am Marit Hepsø and I work on green procurement in the building and construction sector in the City of Oslo. I have recently joined the Big Buyers project in the zero-emission construction sites group.

Mr. Mortensen: I am Philip Mortensen and I am Vice Mayor for Environment and Transport in the City of Oslo. I have followed this working group since the very beginning in 2019.

Let’s dive into the first set of questions. You both come from Oslo. According to the latest available figures, this city procures goods, services and works for an annual amount of more than € 25 bn. Could you explain to us the procurement strategies of Oslo? How is strategic procurement included in the purchase of public services? Do you have any examples or best practices in mind?

Mr. Mortensen: Strategic procurement has been part of our strategy since 2017 when it was adopted by the city government. The city wanted to reach four key goals: (1) provide citizens with solutions for today’s needs and the future; (2) support the ambition to be a greener city; (3) create a warmer city for its population; (4) support creativity in Oslo. Also, this strategy supports the goal of the city to become the first zero-emission capital by 2030. Here, procurement becomes key for the climate ambitions. For this reason, we have enacted in in 2019 the first pilot project for zero-emission construction works in the city. Now, we have standard climate requirements for construction sites and currently we have around 50 projects with different elements of zero-emission in transport and construction.

Ms. Hepsø: This has been the result of meticulous work, started even before 2019. In 2016-2017 we started the first fossil-free construction site, using biofuels, and since then we have built stone upon stone. The human factor is also at play, and it is important to change people’s habits to go forward. This is why it is important to share best practices. We have still a long way to go, but we have developed a “procurement muscle” to go forward.

In light of what Oslo is already doing in the field of strategic procurement, why did you feel the necessity to participate in the European project “Big Buyers for Climate and Environment” and collaborate with public buyers in other Member States? Could you please elaborate on the work you have carried out in your working group, focusing on zero-emission construction site?

Mr. Mortensen: We recognised that we were pioneering the field of zero-emission construction sites. There were several risks that we could not face by ourselves: the market did not have the knowledge nor the necessary equipment, and we were facing high-costs, especially for energy supply. These risks were mapped out and discussed in the working group. We are a small city in Europe, so going forward we needed to engage with other cities, the market and the supply chain to widen the field of different actors and mobilise public support. The Big Buyers project was an opportunity to create a fundamental network.

Philip, you have followed the works of the zero-emission construction site group step-by-step, since the beginning. To what extent do you think that public authorities, in their role of buyers, can pave the way to sustainable goals? How has the Big Buyer project helped in this context?

Mr. Mortensen: Being able to network with European cities has given us a platform to engage the market. For instance, we contacted industry organizations for machinery supplies, a meeting that allowed to start dialogue with industries at the European level. Approaching them as a community from the whole of Europe provided another kind of momentum to our work, and a greater bargaining power with the market.

Finally, we move to the results and the achievements of this initiative. Marit, during the closing event of the Big Buyer project that took place in Brussels, you called upon all participants to sign a Join Statement of Demand elaborated by your working group. Would you like to elaborate on what it is about? Do you have any updates on signatories since the closing event?

Ms. Hepsø: Our participation to the BB also aimed at creating a more friendly environment for zero-emission solutions at the European and international level (on legislation, R&D, funding). We needed an incentivising framework, and this is why we elaborated a Joint Statement of Demand. Among other elements, we promise as Big Buyers to:

Require fossil-free construction machinery in own public projects from 2025, with at least 20% emission-free machinery, where available.

Require fossil-free construction machinery in own public projects from 2030, with at least 50% emission-free machinery, where available.

So far, our signatories are Oslo, Copenhagen, Helsinki, Vantaa, Barcelona. We are still collecting more signatories, and we invite everyone who is interested to contact us or the ICLEI secretariat for further information.