COP26 Series: Kickstarting the market for green concrete and green steel – how can green public procurement create momentum?

Global construction projections point to a massive growth over the next couple of decades which equates to building something the size of New York City every month. Think about that… the steel… the cement… the co2 that is produced as a result. So all we need are green materials, right? In the short term the challenge lies in the “green premium” and how quickly the price for carbon negative or low carbon materials can be brought down by market forces. 

Governments around the world buy as much as 25% of steel and 40% of cement for infrastructure and building programs, so green public procurement has the potential to be an incredibly powerful lever. 

Rana Ghoneim, Chief of the Energy Systems and Infrastructure Division at the UN’s Industrial Development Organization, talks with Alex about the work she and her organisation are doing to drive green public procurement. Through their Industrial Deep Decarbonisation Initiative, they are signing up big government buyers of the co2-intensive materials to make pledges on procurement that can spark a global green market for critical materials. Join the discussion and find out about what the ‘right’ targets are, how to set standards for green products that create a healthy market and how to unpick institutional barriers to green procurement. The ultimate goal? Major buyers and a healthy market to drive further industrial decarbonisation. 

Show links: 

The UN IDO’s Green Public Procurement Report: https://www.industrytransition.org/insights/target-setting-for-green-public-procurement-programmes/

The UN IDO’s paper on green cement and steel procurement: https://www.industrytransition.org/insights/industry-transition-through-green-public-procurement-how-to-guide-cement-steel-sectors/

Link to the Industrial Deep Decarbonisation Initiative: https://www.unido.org/IDDI

Link to Decarb Connect and our work in industrial decarbonisation: www.decarbconnect.com

Thanks as ever to Sassy at Janno Media for her expertise and input.