EIC Blue Book
The procurement process should inspire the participating tenderers to make optimal use of their experience, technological and financial capabilities and creativity to provide solutions which optimises the balance between technical and financial considerations.
EIC believes that much benefit would accrue to private or public clients if innovative forms of procurement are more frequently adopted and has summarised its recommendations in the “EIC Blue Book on Sustainable Procurement”.
Sustainable Construction requires Sustainable Procurement
Sustainable Procurement starts with an efficient pre-qualification of applicants, followed by a tender process based on high-quality documents and balanced contract conditions. The period that follows the submission of bids, and which runs until the contract becomes effective, is not only the part of the procurement process that is least prescriptive but is also the most underutilised. It is the period when the contractor’s offer must be rigorously tested to ensure that it is completely compliant with the requirements of the client. Such requirements must be technically robust, clear and unambiguous.
Quality-based Selection of Contractors
To ensure the highest quality for the lowest price, i.e. the most sustainable project solution, clients should consider applying, in particular in case of large and complex projects, innovative tender procedures that allow qualified bidders to bring their expertise to the competition. Whilst applying the traditional design-bid-build approach, they have the possibility to foster the submission of reasoned tenders by adopting selection criteria beyond cost, such as basing the award on the Most Economically Advantageous Tender (MEAT), implemented by applying a two-envelope system, or inviting Alternative Proposals in appropriate cases.
A more innovative option for clients is to make better use of the tenderers’ skills in the design phase by procuring a “turnkey” or “design-build” project. They can extend this principle to require the contractor to achieve a specified level of performance in terms of “output” and delegate the delivery of a service under long-term contract that comprises planning, construction, rehabilitation, maintenance and operation. The ultimate option for a client is to use a Build-Operate-Transfer or Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model and to outsource the delivery of a public service to the private sector, including the arrangement of the financing.