FAQ

Questions about the use of short range timber (Low Carbon Timber)? Here you will find answers to the most frequently asked questions. The list will be extended continuously.

Does the specification of LOW CARBON TIMBER imply a restriction of competition?

In principle, of course, each specific requirement in a tender limits the possible group of bidders (e.g. the procurement of electric cars, green electricity or Blue Angel colours etc.). The decisive question is whether the limitation is justified and to what extent it is sufficient. Under European law and policy, a limitation of competition is permissible for important reasons, but this limitation must not be the actual purpose. Such important reasons are - especially since the amendment of public procurement law - environmental protection. Here, climate protection is particularly important as one of the central environmental policy objectives of the European Union. The tendering of short distances, e.g. with reference to the eco-label Holz von Hier (Low Carbon Timber), does not per se represent a restriction of competition. It merely specifies the requirements for the material to be used. The certification of products is open to any bidder who complies with the criteria. Holz von Hier is also not a national limitation of the circle of bidders, as in case of doubt wood from the neighbouring country is more climate-friendly than wood from further away parts of the own country.

Why limit the transport distances?

A limitation of transports with reference to climate protection is not permissible or feasible in principle and in every tender. An important prerequisite is the reference to the procurement object. If this is not the case, it may be suspected that the limitation merely aims to limit the group of bidders to local companies. An important question here is the significance of transport for the actual environmental balance of the product or service. For example, when purchasing vehicles or electrical appliances, it is not possible to justify limiting the supplier's transport routes for reasons of climate protection. There is therefore also no comprehensible connection to the procurement object. The situation is completely different, especially in the case of wood products.

When using wood, a central motivation and justification is the contribution to climate protection due to the CO2 storage effect of wood. It is therefore an absolutely consistent logic to also consider the entire life cycle of wood when using it. Since wood products are inert in the user phase and do not consume any energy or resources, the manufacture of the products plays the absolutely dominant role. Here again, transport distances (unless they are particularly short along the entire processing chain) have the lion's share. They are therefore the main influencing factor and lever to reduce the CO2 emissions associated with production. The limitation of transport distances, on which the criteria of the Ecolabel Holz von Hier (Low Carbon Timber) are based, is ecologically justified, as they are below the average transport distances for the products concerned. Thus, the transport limitations represent the simplest indicator and control mechanism, which is also comparatively easy to control and prove.

Do I get enough offers?

There is sometimes a concern that, if requirements are imposed for short distances along the processing chain, or if proof of Low Carbon Timber is required, too few bidders would be left and the contracting authority would not have sufficient choice. While it is generally the case that any specifying requirement in a tender potentially limits the number of bidders, there is little risk that this will lead to a disproportionate number of bids. In most cases, the production and processing structures are available to a sufficient extent to allow for appropriate labelling.

Especially with regard to Holz von Hier (Low Carbon Timber), it is important to know that this is not an operational certification for which a company may have to make time-consuming preparations, but rather a product certification which a bidder can have carried out at any time, even if only in relation to the current order. It is therefore not necessary for bidders to be already registered in the company network of Holz von Hier (Low Carbon Timber). On the one hand, product certification is open to all bidders and on the other hand can be carried out at short notice, so that no significant restriction of the offers is to be expected.

Does it cost more?

No general statement can be made here. Whether a procurement with the specification according to regional wood or the eco-label Holz von Hier (Low Carbon Timber) costs more or less is a question of the market relationship between supply and demand at a given location or at a given time and also depends on the respective product used. In general, however, environmentally sound sustainable procurement can be associated with higher costs, as at present external costs of production and resource consumption are generally not yet internalised in prices. Therefore, there should be a basic willingness to bear any such additional costs that may arise.

How do the bidders have to provide evidence of timber of short distances?

Proof of compliance with the requirements can be provided, for example, by presenting a certificate in accordance with Holz von Hier (Low Carbon Timber) for the wood products delivered / used. The verification system is open to any bidder.

The bid must be accompanied by proof of the bidder's registration with HOLZ VON HIER (Low Carbon Timber) or a declaration of commitment to register in the event of a knockdown. As the materials for the specific order are usually only procured once the contract has been awarded, it is of course not yet possible to present a product-specific certificate here.

The final proof shall be provided upon delivery / acceptance of construction by presenting a product-specific certificate according to HOLZ VON HIER for the wood products delivered / used.

This dichotomy is analogous to the verification requirements in the Federal Government's procurement decree for wood products.

How can compliance be checked? Whether the requirements for the concrete procurement are actually fulfilled must be checked by the procurer. If there is a proof according to HOLZ VON HIER (Low Carbon Timber) for the products, this is very simple. Each certificate is provided with a unique individual ID number as a check digit. The procurer or builder can immediately check the authenticity of the certificate online by entering the ID number on the website www.holz-von-hier.de.

Do the products I need even exist with proof?

It is not always easy to prove that products have been produced in closed regional processing chains with short transport distances. Here there are isolated regional initiatives or regional labels that document the short distances. However, this type of label is hardly ever used for procurement procedures and in the context of tenders. In addition, geographically defined regional initiatives often have the problem that certain wood products are not available due to the lack of corresponding companies in the respective region. In this case, it is therefore possible that corresponding labelled products are not available. This is different with regard to the use of the Hier Hier timber certificate. On the one hand, Holz von Hier (Low Carbon Timber) is not geographically defined and bound to certain borders but functions across borders. Marked products should be available everywhere. For this reason, the criteria are set differently depending on the assortment, according to the motto "as close as possible, but as far as necessary to be able to get a product labelled".

On the other hand, Holz von Hier (Low Carbon Timber) is open to any company willing to comply with the criteria for the product or delivery batch in question. It is thus also possible for companies to label products according to Holz von Hier that have not yet been registered in the network or supplier directory of Holz von HIer (Low Carbon Timber, to be found at: http://www.holz-von-hier.de/anbieter-finden/ or http://www.holz-von-hier.de/produkte-suchen/).

What else to consider

In general, many things are possible within the framework of tenders and the procurer has a great deal of freedom in describing the requirements of what he wants to procure. This also includes environmental aspects. The decisive factor here is that it is equally clear to every bidder which requirements he has to meet and how he can do so.

Transparency is the top priority here. Requirements must not be vague or blanket. For example, the wording "climate-friendly timber" would be too imprecise without further explanation, as the bidders cannot know what this means for them, or it would open up a wide scope of interpretation which would cause problems in the comparability and verifiability of the bids.

Therefore, even where reference is made to an eco-label, the relevant criteria or their weighting in the evaluation of the tenders requested by the contracting authority must be indicated, either directly in the specifications or at least by reference to where tenderers can find them.

It must also be made clear in the invitation to tender how the bidders are to document their compliance with the requirements, either by submitting evidence through the relevant environmental label, e.g. Holz von Hier, or in which alternative way this can still be done.