The EU Strategy on Adaptation to Climate Change includes several actions tackling the climate risk of the built environment, while being mindful of the cross-cutting relevance of buildings within the European climate policy. The Strategy flags the need to improve the preparedness of buildings to climate change. Furthermore, the Strategy is mindful of buildings’ role in large-scale adaptation, for instance in curbing the urban heat island effect by means of green roofs and walls, and of the need for more accurate predictions of climate change stresses on the built environment. At the building level, investment policy decisions need to be underpinned with solid climate data – including household-scale decisions on whether to renovate. In terms of buildings’ insurance, a key priority of the Strategy is to close the climate protection gap for infrastructure and for the built environment. The water-energy nexus is also crucial, and the building sector can help tackling the related vulnerabilities.

The Strategy, and the Adaptation Mission which is a key implementing vehicle of the Strategy at the local level, gives priority to nature-based solutions such as green roofs and walls. In buildings, for instance, nature-based solutions can be a sustainable alternative to the sole use of air conditioning for cooling. Green infrastructure measures (green corridors, green urban areas, trees in cities as well as green roofs and walls) can increase resilience of the built environment particularly when integrated in urban planning and coupled with nature-based solutions. The PCP should look at nature-based solutions as priority; other approaches or combination with those are not excluded, when duly justified.

The PCP should deliver successful innovative and fully tested product(s) and/or service(s) that meet the common needs of the buyers’ group (consortium of procurers) to procure research, develop innovative marketable solutions, speed up the time-to-market and provide best value for money.

This action supports the follow up to the July 2023 Communication on EU Missions assessment.

Activities should include:

• Preparation of the relevant documentation needed to launch and implement the procurement procedure;
• Joint research activities relating to the customisation/pre-operationalisation of prototypes end-user services in the area of climate change adaptation and mitigation validating the PCP strategy;
• Activities for the follow-up of the joint procurement, such as activities for awareness raising, networking, training, evaluation, validation and dissemination of results.

The core of the consortium should be a qualified “buyers’ group” (public procurement consortium), able to implement the action. Additional partners such as business/SME support organisations, innovation agencies or sectoral organisations may be included to assist procurers in knowing what is available on the market through market consultations. The project is expected to have a maximum estimated duration of 3 years.

The proposal should describe the jointly identified challenge, indicating how it fits into the mid-to-long-term plans of the consortium partners to improve climate resilience in their territories, why solutions currently available on the market or under development are not meeting their needs, and put forward concrete targets for the desired functionality/performance improvement in the quality and efficiency of the required solutions.

The proposal should also explain clearly how the creation of jobs, sustainable economic growth and new businesses will be assessed as an integral part of the successful application.