Market consultation 'TOTEM Infrastructure'

Goal

Based on climate plan analyses, 82% of the policy area's greenhouse gas emissions are related to the construction and maintenance of infrastructure. The MOW policy domain therefore wishes to develop a new TOTEM (Tool to Optimise the Total Environmental impact of Materials) for infrastructure, along the lines of the existing TOTEM for buildings.

In order to realize this, a process has been initiated in collaboration with the Programme for Innovation Procurement (PIP) of VLAIO and Addestino. The TOTEM Infrastructure should be able to calculate the total environmental impact of infrastructure projects over the entire life cycle and at different stages of the procurement process. This should take into account 19 different environmental indicators. Use of the tool should enable MOW to better quantify the environmental impact of infrastructure projects, take this impact into account during the tendering process of new projects, and thus encourage the sector to use more environmentally friendly materials and techniques.

Purpose of this market consultation

During the market consultation we want to bring together and 'match' supply and demand sides. The aim is to find out to what extent companies can provide solutions or expertise that cover the needs and requirements of MOW and how feasible these solutions are in terms of technology, time, budget, maintenance, development trajectory, ...

No preparation (in the form of presentations or pitches) is expected from participating companies and organizations. Addestino will take an interactive approach and moderate the discussion. The needs of MOW will be presented in the form of use cases whose technical feasibility will be scored each time based on the participants' feedback. For a smooth discussion and good result, it is advisable to have your company represented by an employee with technical expertise (rather than by a sales or PR person). They can usually better and more quickly assess what the technology solutions might be for each use case.

The goal? Through the market consultation, we want to determine to what extent companies can provide solutions for this challenge and how feasible these solutions are in terms of technology, time, budget, etc. The insights we hope to gain through the market consultation will allow us to place one or more public contracts in the market later this year to have the tool developed. 

Who are we looking for?

On the one hand, we are looking for developers of software solutions for performing life-cycle analyses (LCAs), including providers of existing software packages. In doing so, the tool should be able to support one or more of the following activities:

• Optimizing the carbon footprint of new designs.
• Comparing and selecting sustainable materials.
• Generating Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) for new materials from suppliers.

Ideally, the developer/provider will have a focus on or extensive experience with the construction or infrastructure sector.

On the other hand, we are looking for service providers with LCA expertise in the construction or infrastructure sector with experience in one of the following areas: support in conducting LCAs, support for preparing EPDs, ISO standards and calculation methodology for conducting LCAs, development of sustainability standards or frameworks, or exchange and use of input data from LCA and EPD databases.

Where and when?

The market consultation will take place on Friday, February 21 from 9 am to 1 pm and will take place in Brussels in the large auditorium of the Marie-Elisabeth Belpaire building.

A few days before the market consultation, you will be sent the necessary information (including agenda) to participate. In case there are non-Dutch speaking participants, the market consultation will be conducted in English. The results of the market consultation will be made publicly available on our website. To stay informed, please subscribe to the PIO newsletter.

A few days after the market consultation, there is the possibility to have a short 1-on-1 conversation with MOW to discuss topics or ask questions that were difficult to address in the group context of the market consultation itself. Interested parties can indicate this in the registration form to participate in these conversations.   

Registration

Participation is of course free, but registration is required. You can do this through the registration form on this page. Registration is possible until Feb. 17.