Mr. Giovanni Impoco:

When the Senator mentioned evaluation and using the right evaluation criteria, one good example came to mind. In the Netherlands, there was a municipality that needed a public building. It knew that the municipality would eventually be absorbed by the Amsterdam area so there was a limited time, of 15 years, in which this building would be used. They conducted a good evaluation that included economics and CO2 emissions. They also specified criteria and reached the conclusion that building with a design for reconstruction would be a win-win for everyone. That is what they did and after 15 years they moved this building somewhere else and it became a library. As the Senator said, we can specify different metrics apart from CO2 emissions which include cost, percentage rates and so on to facilitate green public procurement.

Regarding demolition, the question can only be answered on a case-by-case basis. To take the example of Opera Square, they used a pre-demolition audit and a waste management plan which allowed them to achieve 98% of secondary material use off site and on site. More than one tonne of stones were used elsewhere in Limerick, as well as bricks using the channel in Limerick. All of the timber was recycled, the metal was quantified and 100% of it was sent for recycling. On the issue of incentives, the introduction of some bands for the use of the right tools could be applied as well. We need a carrot-and-stick approach.