Save the date: Big Buyers Working Together surveys changing procurement landscape

The 2026 Big Buyers Working Together annual event will take place in Brussels on 12 May, seeking to highlight how public buyers deliver impact in a changing public procurement landscape.

The EU increasingly sees public procurement as a strategic tool that can bolster its resilience, competitiveness and (economic) security, and is preparing a revision of the 2014 Public Procurement Directives in response. Within this context projects such as Big Buyers Working Together are crucial for supporting collaboration between public buyers with strong purchasing power and for promoting the wider use of public procurement for innovative and sustainable solutions.

The 2026 annual event will bring together public buyers, policymakers and stakeholders from across Europe to exchange experiences and explore how cooperation can strengthen the impact of strategic public procurement. Participants will have the opportunity to learn from the work carried out within the BBWT Communities of Practice (CoPs), which focus on key sectors such as zero-emission construction sites, heavy-duty electric vehicles, New European Bauhaus, sustainable solar panels, Zero-Emission Bus Systems and Services, Sustainability in ICT, Social, Healthcare Efficiency and Healthcare Sustainability. 

The annual event programme combines plenary discussions, interactive “Peer Labs” and study visits. In the morning, participants will hear concrete experiences from Communities of Practice and discuss how cooperation between public buyers can help scale impact. The afternoon will focus on interactive exchanges where participants can share practical solutions on topics such as measuring sustainability impact, innovation procurement, market engagement, collaborative procurement and socially responsible procurement.

The day concludes with study visits showcasing real-life implementation examples, followed by networking opportunities to continue the exchange and strengthen connections across the BBWT community.

Discover the full agenda below.

08:30 - 09:15 | Registrations and coffee  

09:15 - 09:30 | Welcome and Introductions 

• Danko Aleksic, BBWT Project Coordinator, Eurocities
• Henning Ehrenstein, Head of the Public Procurement Unit at DG GROW, European Commission
• Blagoy Stamenov, Project Advisor, EISMEA, European Commission 

09:30 - 10:30 | Panel 1: ‘Scaling Impact Through Cooperation: Experiences from BBWT CoPs’ 

This panel discussion will engage members of the BBWT Communities of Practice to explore the role public buyers play in driving a more sustainable, social and innovative Europe. The session will highlight the work carried out across the Communities of Practice, showcasing concrete experiences, challenges and lessons learned from collaborative procurement initiatives. 

Panelists:

• Lukas Sloet, Energy transition advisor, City of Amsterdam, Netherlands – Sustainable Solar Pv CoP
• Kjersti Koffeld, Senior sustainability advisor, City of Oslo, Norway, Social Procurement CoP
• Claus Wilhelmsen, Environmental Planner, City of Copenhagen, Denmark  – Zero Emissions Construction Site CoP
• Elisa Frenz, Managing Director of Health Proc Europe, Germany - Healthcare Sustainability CoP
• Pawel Kaczkan, Strategic Procurement Advisor, Climate KIC, Zero-Emission Bus Systems and Services & Circular Construction CoPs.  

This panel will be moderated by Marlene Grauer, Senior Project Manager, BME. 

10:30 - 11:00 | Coffee Break 

11:00 - 12:15 | Panel 2: ‘Sustainability, Innovation and Impact: Strategic Public Procurement in Practice’ 

The session will open with introductory remarks, setting the scene on the evolving European policy context, including the revision of the Public Procurement Directives and emerging EU priorities. This will be followed by a panel discussion bringing together public buyers and policymakers to explore how strategic public procurement can support sustainability, innovation and broader policy impact, with a focus on practical implementation and experiences from the field. 

Panellists  

• Lois Pimentel Iglesias, Policy Assistant for Public Procurement, DG GROW, European Commission
• Hallstein Bjercke, Mayor of Finance, City of Oslo, Norway
• Daniel Morris, Senior Adviser, Danish Institute for Human Rights, Denmark   
• Veerle Labeeuw, Circular Economy expert, Circular Flanders, Belgium
• Marta Cruz, Advisor at Madrid City Council, Spain

This panel will be moderated by Dominique Sandy, Head of Sustainable and Innovation Team, ICLEI Europe. 

12:15 – 14:00 | Lunch Break 

14:00 – 15:10 | Interactive Session: ‘Peer Labs: Practical Solutions from Public Buyers’ 

This part of the programme will provide a space for participants to exchange practical experiences and discuss common challenges in implementing strategic public procurement. Through thematic roundtables, we aim to explore how cooperation can help address implementation barriers and support the effective application of evolving EU procurement rules. 

Participants will join one ‘Peer Lab’ aligned with key priorities, including: 

• Measuring sustainability and procurement impact
• Innovation procurement and AI in practice
• Market engagement and supplier dialogue
• Collaborative and cross-border procurement
• Socially responsible procurement implementation 

Each of the ten roundtables will involve a 45-minute discussion, followed by a 15-minute plenary feedback session where key insights and recommendations from each group will be shared.

15:10 - 15:30 | Wrap-up, conclusions, closing of the event  

The closing words will be done by:  

• Dominique Sandy, Head of Sustainable and Innovation Team, ICLEI Europe
• Anita Poort, Public Procurement Policy Officer, DG GROW, European Commission 

15:30 - 17:30 | Study Visits 

Following the annual event, three study visits will be conducted:
1. Port of Brussels: Guided introduction and walking tour (Beco, Vergote dock, TIR Centrum) exploring sustainable inland port operations and urban logistics.
2. Sunflower: Visit showcasing how upcycled, energy-efficient micro-data centers enable sustainable, sovereign European cloud infrastructure and future-focused digital innovation.
3. Bruxelles Environnement: Visit highlighting sustainable public policy in action, including a tour of its eco-certified building and insights into green procurement and environmental management practices.

17:30 - 19:30 | Networking Drinks