City of Rotterdam - Procurement Plan Zero Emission Delivery of Construction Materials

The vast majority of construction materials are delivered on-site in trailers of 30-40 tonnes. From our CO2 transportation footprint analysis1 it appeared that over 95% of total emissions caused by the transportation of purchased goods could be allocated to construction materials. With an estimated of 350,000 tonnes and allocated distance of approximately 300,000 kilometres a year, sand has a dominant contribution to the overall transportation footprint of construction materials. Freight vessels are used to carry sand to a hub, from where it is delivered by a heavy duty truck to several construction sites within the city. It is obvious that ZE transportation from the industrial facility to the project sites will lead to a reduction of total environmental impact. Whether the LCA outcomes as award criterion incentives the uptake of ZE transportation depends on the relative contribution of transport emissions to the overall life cycle. This new approach was piloted in a tender for the supply of bricks, published on 1 June 2018