green public procurement, procurement, Procuramed project, cases

Challenge

Climate change is a fact. Although faced with dire effects directly resulting from climate change, the Barcelona Metropolitan Area also counts with a few advantages: the population density makes the use of public transport a viable and sustainable alternative; it is supplied by a sea with 42 km of coastline, two rivers, countless aquifers and a reclaimed water system under construction; it has three natural parks that occupy 52% of the territory, with 900 km of connection between the urban fabric and natural areas, as well as green infrastructures; and it enjoys mild temperatures, high levels of solar irradiation and a constant sea breeze, ideal for the production of photovoltaic and wind energy.

Objectives

To respond to this challenge, the Sustainability Protocol establishes environmental criteria to be met by projects and works contracted by the authority of the Barcelona Metropolitan Area. It is a guide for building housing and public facilities, as well as for carrying out urban planning interventions in streets, squares and parks that respect the environment.

The Sustainability Protocol has a two-fold objective:

• Mitigation, i.e. to reduce the effects of climate change: the Sustainability Protocol proposes to reduce the material used in construction, energy consumption, emissions and water consumption, as well as to favour the generation of clean energy.
• Adaptation, i.e. to enable adaptation to climate change: the Sustainability Protocol promotes wastewater reuse, biodiversity and urban renaturation, sustainable mobility and improved human health.

Solution

Published for the first time in 2024, the Sustainability Protocol is a transversal tool with an integral vision that allows for taking into account the environmental impact throughout the design and execution of any architectural or engineering action. The Protocol is a guide that aims to improve resource management, advance in the reduction of water and energy demands, limit the embedded carbon footprint, and promote biodiversity, sustainable mobility, renewable energie,s and urban renaturalisation; all of this to mitigate climate change and adapt to it.

The Protocol is not a scoring methodology: it incorporates 19 criteria to assess projects qualitatively and quantitatively in terms of sustainability. They include aspects associated with six cross-cutting areas:

• Cross-cutting monitoring and analysis
• Energy
• Water
• Materials
• Comfort and health
• Site sustainability

It is an ambitious protocol, but it sets a starting point and achievable targets from the outset. The intention is to facilitate the incorporation of sustainability criteria from the earliest stages of project planning. Including for public procurement. The criteria set final targets with the intention that they will be met as far as possible, based on programme and design optimisation strategies, to minimise the need to incorporate additional elements or technologies.

The criteria are broken down into a number of requirements which set out different demands depending on the type of project they refer to: equipment; housing; and urbanisation.

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