The DEEP project, which finished in June 2007, was aimed at promoting opportunities for increasing energy efficiency in the public buildings sector.

 Read the Final Results Leaflet

 Read the Final Project Report

Buildings are major consumers of energy, responsible for 40% of final energy consumption in the European Community alone. EC research has indicated that by improving energy efficiency, carbon emissions from buildings and related energy costs could be reduced by 42%. Given the significance of public procurement in Europe and that approximately 40% of the procurement budgets of local authorities are spent on buildings, promoting energy efficiency of public buildings has an important role to play in contributing to this potential.

Public bodies also buy huge amounts of energy consuming equipment, such as computers, monitors and printers. Again here, buying energy efficient models can make major reductions in energy consumption.

Following liberalisation in the electricity sector, public bodies are also now able to choose their electricity supplier. With the public sector responsible for around 7% European electricity consumption switching to green electricity can have a huge impact in reducing CO2 emissions.

To contribute to increasing energy efficiency and green electricity purchases in the public sector the DEEP project has produced a number of tools:

•  Purchasing guidelines for:
  • energy efficient construction
  • green electricity
  • IT equipment

• The DEEP Energy Efficient Toolkit containing:
  • Guidance on developing and implementing an energy efficient procurement policy
  • LCCA Tool – for integrating “life-cycle costing” (LCC) into procurement
  • SASEATO tool – for carrying out a self-audit of energy consumption in public buildings

• The Procura+ Manual – A guide to cost effective sustainable public procurement - in English, French, German, Italian, Greek and Catalan

• Policy recommendations aimed at national and European decision-makers on how best to support the promotion of sustainable construction and green electricity through public procurement

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