Public procurement accounts for around half of construction activity in Norway, and a recent report points out that public purchasers need to make more ambitious climate demands.

“The construction industry will contribute to Norway reaching the target of a minimum 55 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030. To achieve this goal, stricter climate requirements should be imposed so that public procurement shifts its focus from “more roads for the money” to “better and greener infrastructure for the money”, says Helen Roth, CEO of VIA.

The report “Potential for Business Development - More Ambitious Climate Requirements for the Construction Industry” has been prepared by Multiconsult and Norconsult, commissioned by VIA — Vital Infrastructure Arena, a national cluster for safe, smart and sustainable infrastructure. The purpose of the report is to show how the construction industry with stricter climate requirements from the public can help reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and addresses heavier infrastructure such as roads and roads that are funded by public funds.

Clear recommendations‍

The report makes eight recommendations recommended action needed for the industry to take its share of emissions cuts. The recommendations cover everything from policy management, regulations, contract design, surveys and procurement requirements.

“Increased efforts in the field of climate and environment, in addition to clean sustainability gains, will also provide great opportunities for business development for the construction industry and Norway as a whole. We see that stricter requirements for the entire building, construction and real estate industries have a number of positive effects, whether it is related to reduced emissions, more people in work, but also the potential for financial gain for the entire value chain,” says Ketil Søyland, project director for Sustainability at Norconsult, who has been the mission leader for the report.

“Public construction projects constitute a large part of the Norwegian construction market, and this purchasing power should be managed as best as possible in order to stimulate the construction industry to develop in a greener direction. Often, measures for greenhouse gas reductions are implemented only if they are cost-saving at the same time, but one of the conclusions of the report is that the public should rather seek to develop better and greener infrastructure for the money,” says Nora O. Schjoldagar, strategic climate and sustainability advisor at Multiconsult, who has been instrumental in preparing the report.

The report was launched at a seminar on 26 April and handed over to State Secretary at the Ministry of Transport Mette Gundersen.

Recommendations from the report

The report outlines eight recommendations that summarize actions needed for the industry to take its share of the emissions cuts:

1. Direct and indirect emissions in the construction industry must be equalized.

2. Manuals and regulations need to be reviewed.

3. Contracts need to be more dynamic.

4th. Cost frameworks must be followed by associated greenhouse gas frameworks.

5. The industry must reduce its encroachments on nature and aim to be nature-neutral.

6. Cost/benefit assessments must be the basis for the choice of solutions, materials and methods.

7. Reuse mapping must be implemented in all projects to increase the rate of reuse in the construction industry.

8. Risks in developing and testing new solutions/methods to reduce greenhouse gas emissions must be distributed sensibly.