Joint Declaration of Intent by the Circular Construction Working Group

The Circular Construction Working Group of the Big Buyers for Climate and Environment has developed a Joint Declaration of Intent aiming to indicate the unmet need in the field of road construction, in particular asphalt pavements. Since the issue of circular asphalt is in line with broader goals that concern sustainability and adaptation to climate change, it will be taken into consideration as part of implementing their climate and energy action plans.

The document aims to provide Public Buyers and the market with a recommended direction of investments in road construction, as regards the tendering approaches and issues that require further analysis to address the identified risks and the potential for broader use of circular asphalt. The Members of the Working Group recognise that in order to offer new high-quality sustainable solutions while remaining competitive and profitable, the asphalt industry needs to plan investments in innovative technologies with a certain degree of confidence in the expected volume of contracts, both as regards the scope, timeline and the conditions applied in future tenders. Such conditions would refer to, among others, the requested minimum and maximum percentages of reclaimed material in asphalt, if applicable, and the methods of bids evaluation and contract awarding under the Public Buyers’ procurement processes most commonly used in each member state. At the same time, the Members recognise that asphalt production is heavily dependent on local conditions, i.e., the availability of material and national regulations that vary across Europe.

The statement indicates a clear direction the cities aim to take, making future demand predictable and helping other public buyers across Europe to use procurement to effectively support innovation while ensuring sustainability and high quality. The joint declaration is still open to sign up to and organisations who align with them are encouraged to contact the project and join an ever-growing number of signatories.