13 September 2022

New Procura+ Award category sees three finalists

This year, for the first time in their history, the Procura+ Awards have included the category ‘Circular Procurement of the Year'. This is an important signal that European public authorities increasingly, and successfully, uptake circular procurement projects. The jury has selected three finalists in this category: the City of Malmö (Sweden), the city of Tampere (Finland) and the city of Quimper (France)

Through the Circular PP project, Malmö has piloted the procurement of “non-new furniture” for its city hall. The city has now replicated this circular approach to road and navigation signs. These include both signs that are used in public buildings and on streets. The municipality aims to reuse these signs as much as possible. If that is not possible, then the signs are sent back for reuse or redesign to the supplier. Recycling is considered as the last resort option. For each square meter of reused aluminium, 56 kilos of Co2 are saved.

Tampere decided to carry out the renovation of one of its main streets, Yliopistonkatu, using new public circular economy criteria as part of the Design&Build operating model. The criteria were developed by the city of Tampere, together with the KIEPPI Project, experts from the university, research programmes, the UUMA4 programme and companies. The city pioneered this approach, as it is the first time in Finland that this type of circular economy public procurement criteria are applied.

Finally, Quimper decided to use a circular approach for the renovation of its railway station, aiming to reuse on-site as many materials as possible, as well as use reclaimed materials from other sites. The municipality collaborated with the cooperative design practice ROTOR to identify and integrate reclaimed and reused materials into the Railway-Park project's outdoor facilities and roadways. Through this site study, they identified various materials such as natural stones, cobblestones, and wooden elements that could be reused. To avoid cutting them, 16 trees were transplanted and reused in another community project.

The first Procura+ ‘Circular Procurement of the Year’ winner will be announced in a live ceremony, on 12 October in Brussels. More information on the finalists and their work can be found on the Procura+ website.