On paper, government should be able to give the biobased economy a considerable boost. However, in practice this is far more intractable. Complexity, the dominance of circularity and the lack of substantial evidence block progress. Remarkably it is a conservative sector, the civil and hydraulic engineering sector, that is taking the lead. What works and what doesn\u2019t work?
\nMarjolein Roggen
\nE<\/p>\n
Each year, government spends approximately 70 billion euros on procurement. You can achieve a lot of sustainability with this. There is no lack of good will and agreements. From ministries and provinces to municipalities and from the Directorate-General for Public Works and Water Management (Rijkswaterstaat) to water authorities, sustainability and circularity are high on the procurement agenda. More than 160 government organisations have signed the Socially Responsible Procurement (MVI) manifesto and have formulated action plans. Furthermore, Green Deals are eagerly pursued. \u2018There is nothing wrong with the policy,\u2019 confirms Robbert Naus<\/p>\n
of Dura Vermeer. \u2018But there is a huge gap between policy and implementation. Once you reach the project stage, project managers, schedules and budgets take the upper hand.\u2019 This is where things come to a halt.
\nBlanketed<\/p>\n
The situation is even more pressing for biobased procurement. Biobased procurement is one of the MVI manifesto\u2019s themes. But you will find very little mention of this in the various documents, such as the MVI action plans, and even less in actual practice. According to data supplied by government organisations themselves, the share of such procurement is staying stuck at 2-3 percent. For circular procurement this is three times as high (see sidebar)<\/p>\n
.<\/p>\n
Biobased procurement would appear to be becoming the victim of the popularity of socially responsible and circular procurement. \u2018We are seeing a shift from biobased to the circular economy, CO2 reduction and energy,\u2019 says Martin Scherpenisse
\nof the Province of Zeeland, who since 2013 has pioneered biobased procurement. \u2018Biobased procurement is being pushed into the background. This is not a good thing. Biobased procurement is essential for achieving circular objectives. It surprises me that this relationship is not clear to everyone.\u2019 Diederik Heij<\/p>\n
of the PIANOo Dutch Public Procurement Expertise centre also sees this happening: \u2018Circular procurement is absolutely blanketing biobased procurement. Biobased procurement is not an aim in itself. You have to be very careful about this. It must provide added value. Circular is the cake, biobased the cherry. However, ultimately there will need to be a large share of biobased materials if you want to replace fossil raw materials.\u2019
\nComplex<\/p>\n
It is rather difficult for procurement officers to do all this well. For the average procurement officer, socially responsible sounds more familiar than biobased. \u2018Biobased procurement is complex,\u2019 Heij explains. \u2018Experts are quick to express themselves using chemical terminology. If you are not familiar with this, you quickly disengage.\u2019 Scherpenisse also acknowledges this. \u2018A procurement officer may very well tell an architect to use biobased materials, but the chances are great that the procurement officer will have no idea what is going to be installed.\u2019<\/p>\n
This complexity may explain why most projects are in the civil and hydraulic engineering and construction sector. Of the 35 initiatives mentioned on PIANOo\u2019s MVI Biobased Map, 18 are in the civil and hydraulic engineering sector, 9 are in the public space and 2 are in the construction sector. \u2018Strange, really,\u2019 says Naus. \u2018It is a conservative sector. It is difficult to get new things off the ground here.\u2019 According to Heij, the reason for this elevated share is due to the many engineers working in this sector. \u2018They are more easily inclined to make biobased purchases. Entities such as Rijkswaterstaat and the Central Government Real Estate Agency (Rijksvastgoed) often have their own knowledge departments. These play a key role in direction-setting.\u2019 According to Heij and Scherpenisse, high volumes are furthermore involved here with which a relatively high gain in sustainability can be achieved. \u2018We look at those areas where we can have the most impact,\u2019 says Scherpenisse. \u2018Furthermore, you want to develop in areas with visibility. Everyone likes to open a biobased road.\u2019<\/p>\n
Nevertheless, biobased procurement only represents a minor share in these sectors as well. Heij: \u2018People are more apt to perceive opportunities for achieving sustainability gains in the technical cycle rather than in the bio cycle. Yet, this gain can also be achieved when you replace fossil materials with biobased materials.\u2019 Naus also acknowledges this: \u2018If we are given the opportunity, we incorporate it, but the number of customers prepared to experiment with this are few and far between.\u2019<\/p>\n
Are the supply and demand actually sufficiently in sync? Naus: \u2018I believe so. Climate and circular objectives are at the forefront for customers. For example, for us bitumen for asphalt is becoming more scarce because refineries are increasingly producing other products from oil. This is why we need to look for alternatives. Even if it\u2019s driven by different considerations, we\u2019ll find each other in the end.\u2019<\/p>\n
\u2018There is nothing wrong with the policy, but there is a huge gap between policy and implementation\u2019<\/p>\n
Upscaling<\/p>\n
We need to scale up, the involved parties emphasise. \u2018We need to leave the domain of inspiring examples behind and move towards increased mass and professional specifications,\u2019 says Heij. According to Scherpenisse, the supply has not been developed far enough. While every product group now offers something, the mass is lacking. \u2018The first project is easy,\u2019 Naus adds. \u2018It creates a lot of publicity for both parties. The second and third projects are also fairly easy. But I don\u2019t really see the fourth and subsequent projects happening. This is when you run into issues with price, availability and cold feet. If biobased materials were to be undisputed, and the quality just as high as and cheaper than fossil versions, we would succeed within a year. But this is not the way it is.\u2019<\/p>\n
Why is that? Have we not been talking about scaling up for years? What is really helping according to Heij are the 13 Sustainable Buyer Groups
\n13 sustainable Buyer Groups
\ninitiated at the start of 2020. In these groups, the Central Government, the Association of Provincial Authorities (IPO), the Association of Netherlands Municipalities (VNG) and the Employee Insurance Agency (UWV) are working on a joint market vision and strategy designed to make a product category sustainable. They want to send a clear signal to the market this way. \u2018You must do this together with the market,\u2019 says Heij. Naus endorses this. The road builder is involved in the Chaplin
\nproject to process lignin in asphalt. \u2018A collective of customers. contractors and knowledge institutions is researching the technical and commercial aspects. Municipalities have been asked to make test sections available. In two years\u2019 time we will be able to judge whether the quality is the same. If so, it will then be offered to all customers. This is the right method.\u2019 Dura Vermeer has also constructed a one-kilometre biobased section for the N213 provincial road<\/p>\n
in the Province of North Holland
\nBiobased road
\n. \u2018It\u2019s good to see that the province is simply going ahead and doing this,\u2019 says Naus. \u2018Research will have to demonstrate how this turns out over the coming years. They are not going to wait 10-20 years if there is any damage. Furthermore, when we have something new, we are obliged to provide it. It is a ten-year testing ground and therefore much more than a demonstration project.\u2019
\nTesting is Indispensable<\/p>\n
For a roundabout
\nRoundabout
\nin the N62 provincial road (Tractaatweg) in the Province of Zeeland, it was the contractor who suggested biobased frames with directional arrows. Scherpenisse: \u2018It is now up to us to test these frames to ensure they do not warp, blow away or are crushed by traffic. When these frames are produced in series of a thousand, they are even cheaper than regular frames. The lower transport and installation costs are a further benefit.\u2019 This is why, for the purpose of upscaling, Scherpenisse has been arguing for years for a database with biobased products. \u2018When you don\u2019t know what\u2019s available for sale, you can\u2019t ask for it. Without a database, you are forced to approach every supplier.\u2019<\/p>\n
When you want to scale up, it is even more crucial for a product to be demonstrably biobased. \u2018If you do not know what it is, you need specialists who can tell you whether the product is biobased,\u2019 says Scherpenisse. \u2018Because all suppliers are suddenly saying that their products are biobased. You have to be able to test this.\u2019 Naus concurs: \u2018When you manufacture wooden guiderails or traffic signs made of laminated bamboo, this is visible. But you cannot see the lignin mixed in with asphalt. When, as customer, you ask for a biobased binding agent, all kinds of suppliers all of a sudden claim that their product meets this criteria. How do you check this? You need a certification system that excludes \u201ccowboy behaviour\u201d. This does not worry me too much for a test section, but it is a concern when larger projects are involved.\u2019<\/p>\n
\u2018When you don\u2019t know what\u2019s available for sale, you can\u2019t ask for it. Without a database, you are forced to approach every supplier\u2019<\/p>\n
Procurement Obligation<\/p>\n
Has the time come for imposing certain procurement obligations? There is a difference between an obligation imposed by the Central Government and a minimum requirement imposed by government organisations. Currently, the Central Government has not set a certain mandatory percentage for biobased materials. While government organisations have signed a manifesto, they are not held to account for this. An obligation imposed from above works, but it is of course better when there is a decentralised desire and need to procure biobased materials together with the market.\u2019 Scherpenisse is observing an increase in the pressure exerted by the national political establishment. \u2018However, 50% circular by 2030 is not a provincial target. The Association of Provincial Authorities (IPO) is working on an administrative order directing all procurement officers to start working on a circular basis. In my view, biobased should form part of this. However, it will not be possible to make this mandatory in every province, because unfortunately it does not have the same priority everywhere.\u2019<\/p>\n
\u2018Biobased is not an aim in itself. You have to be very careful about this. Circular is the cake, biobased the cherry\u2019<\/p>\n
Would it help if the organisation itself made it mandatory? Heij: \u2018A procurement officer can include a hard requirement for biobased materials. Such a requirement would be black and white. He can also include it as an award criterion whereby biobased is one of the sustainable alternatives. Government organisations are more inclined to include it as a requirement rather than an award criterion. When you include it as a requirement, you exclude other alternatives that may be more sustainable. Government organisations are struggling with this.\u2019 This is not as much of a concern for Scherpenisse. \u2018We really delve into this. For all tenders in excess of \u20ac50,000 we review the possibility of purchasing biobased. Prescribing a biobased alternative is a conscious choice. Even if this may be against the rules. We provide many grants and help start-ups. So it does not make any sense if you subsequently fail to ask for biobased.\u2019 The Four-Year Action Plan
\nThe four-year plan of action
\nof the Province of Zeeland included twelve biobased projects. After three years this has risen to fourteen. \u2018Twelve is not a huge number,\u2019 says Scherpenisse, \u2018but the Board is really held accountable.\u2019 According to Naus, an obligation works by definition. \u2018But the question is whether it would make sense at the present time. We still have insufficient knowledge about biobased materials. A customer could certainly make it mandatory at some point in time.<\/p>\n
I am convinced of that. In the beginning you could give it a boost through means of the award criteria. This way you stimulate companies. Over time it can be specified as a requirement, after which it becomes the standard.\u2019
\nKeep Asking<\/p>\n
Things are taking very long. Can this not be sped up? Heij: \u2018Procurement should be done very differently. Making the transition to the organisation and budgets takes time. The tendering process should be turned on its head. Procurement officers must look beyond the acquisition price and also include other benefits: payoffs earned further along during the service life and the social costs. Due to the EMAT criteria, the acquisition price has already become less dominant. Organising circularity is important. Solely focusing attention on biobased origin is unwise if you did not make arrangements in advance about how the material is going to be reused or recycled after its service life. This is not something that can be settled over a period of one to two years.\u2019<\/p>\n
As far as Scherpenisse is concerned, his province should further refine its targets. \u2018As government you must keep asking for biobased products. Otherwise the initiates will fall apart again, such as the biobased scooter. While everyone thought it was a great idea, it never became more than a gadget. Unfortunately, the supplier has since gone bankrupt.\u2019 Naus does not think it matters too much if things take longer. \u2018Of course this is not what I am hoping for, but I can understand it. You need to give it a chance to grow. This does not need to happen all at once. I am certain that things will move in the right direction.\u2019 Scherpenisse: \u2018We will simply keep moving forward.\u2019<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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