Background
Oslo is making rapid progress in transitioning to zero-emission construction sites. In 2024, 85 per cent of energy used for machinery in municipal construction projects—representing an annual investment of approximately €1 billion—was emission free/electric. From January 1, 2025, all municipal construction sites are required to be emission-free. In early 2025, the Norwegian Ministry of Climate and Environment adopted a new regulation to limit emissions from construction sites (FOR-2025-04-03-594). The regulation grants municipalities the authority to require the use of zero-emission solutions and biogas on all construction sites. It is authorised under Section 9 of the Pollution Control Act. The next step is for the municipality to draft and politically adopt a local regulation requiring zero-emission solutions and biogas on construction sites in Oslo. The regulation may apply to all construction sites within Oslo’s municipal boundaries, regardless of the project owner, and is expected to establish a gradual phase-in toward fully zero-emission operations by 2030. Exceptions must be allowed in line with national guidelines, where requirements are not technically feasible or would result in disproportionately high costs. Electrification of construction comes with important benefits: no direct GHG emissions, improved energy efficiency and lower maintenance cost. In urban areas, reduced noise and improved air quality are other key benefits.
In this very early stage of transition there is a need for more knowledge and insights. Even though machinery producers are providing new zero-emission equipment at a record pace, limited availability of machinery and suitable energy supply solutions are still an issue in most local markets. And whereas public procurement by the City of Oslo has been a powerful tool to shape the market, there is now a need for a better understanding of what opportunities and barriers exist for adoption by private sector development construction projects at scale across Europe. In particular, there is a need to seek evidence to support the hypothesis that across European markets zero-emission construction will be a profitable and competitive solution in the long run.
About the request
The City Expert Support Facility (CESF), through NetZeroCities / Climate-KIC, are requesting for a European-level road map, impact assessment and policy options/recommendations study to understand the wider market opportunities for, and impacts of, transitioning to zero-emission construction sites in European cities, both for infrastructure and buildings.
The assessment should include an assessment of the implications of increasing construction costs as a result of transitioning to zero-emission construction sites in the short vs long-term. It should assess the technical impacts on energy supply, grid loads, and flexibility needs, and cost implications thereof, as well as positive impacts such as reduced fuel cost and energy efficiency gains, benefits on air quality and noise in urban environments, identifying possible gaps in data. The assessment should take into account the wider context of (emerging) developments in construction and infrastructure in Europe such as a shift towards a greater emphasis on retrofitting over new-build, different material use, etc.
Another important aspect is to explore the legal basis for municipalities to impose zero-emission requirements on machinery, encompassing both public and private developers, including potential justifications under public health regulations as well as elaborate on the potential for regulatory innovation and stronger national frameworks to accelerate private-sector adoption of zero emission construction practices.
The assessment by the selected supplier will explore the following topics:
Part 1 Baseline
- Evidence review: High-level overview of the level of construction activities performed in European cities, economic turn-over, employment, purchasing power of cities and joint market value vis-a-vis private real estate development, using best available data and state of the art professional (and where relevant academic) literature.
- Evidence review: Related (construction site and machinery) energy use, GHG emissions and impact on air quality and noise levels across Europe. Here it would be also important to conduct a gap analysis on the data available and further needs for research.
Part 2 Road mapping and impact assessment [all-Europe]
- The potential role of zero-emissions construction (ZEMCON) in the wider low carbon transformation, and existing policies, economic incentives, regulations across Europe (choosing 5-10 most regions / countries based on the baseline study – priority regions/countries are to be agreed with the City of Oslo after Part 1).
- Impact of zero-emissions construction adoption on energy supply, grid load, and strategies to manage energy supply and increase energy flexibility.
- Cost implications of this transition, related to both absolute cost and relative cost related to projects in different sectors – with a particular emphasis on the housing sector and housing affordability. The hypothesis that short-term cost increases can be managed and that the long-term benefits outweigh these, also in financial terms, is to be tested.
- Wider implications of ZEMCON for greening the European construction industry, decarbonization and global competitiveness.
Part 3 Policy options
- In the 5-10 most important regions (to be agreed at the implementation stage), a high-level overview of options for a policy mix to shift towards zero-emissions construction sites, including both public procurement and complementary measures to foster private sector adoption.
- The legal basis for municipalities to impose zero-emission requirements on private developers, including the role of EU-wide regulations in this domain, and potential justifications under health and other regulations due to reductions in air pollution and noise levels.
- Opportunities to strengthen regulatory frameworks at local and national levels to accelerate the transition in the private sector.
- Options to mitigate cost increases where relevant.
- Policy recommendations at local, national and European level for key markets in Europe.
The aim of the assessment is to be valuable for both policymakers and industry stakeholders in accelerating the transition while ensuring cost-effectiveness.
Proposals to undertake this study should also outline a detailed and realistic plan for how to deliver the various interrelated tasks within an appropriate timeline. We assume that the analysis should be completed in a maximum of 4 months, using
Please find all further relevant information including key tasks, foreseen timeline, full detailed scope, out of scope, milestones, and all related information below.
Timeline and additional information
Interested parties are invited to submit their proposals by 2 July 2025 to Luisa Carretti [CESF@netzerocities.eu]. Proposals should include and address all specific requirements related to the request which can be found below.
