Every tonne of carbon
has a price.
Let’s make it count.
A carbon price doesn't just measure emissions — it changes decisions. For three years, cities across North-West Europe have used it to show the true cost of emissions and write tenders that reward doing things differently.
On 5 November we bring the results of these decisions to Brussels — the pilots, the tools and the people who made it work in practice.
05 Nov
Thursday, 2026
Brussels
Square Brussels Convention Center
Rue Ravenstein 2,
Third floor
Full day event
Keynotes · workshops · roundtable
CARBON BUDGETING · GREEN PROCUREMENT · PRACTICAL TOOLS · CITY CASE STUDIES · PEER LEARNING
The biggest climate decisions in a city are made
when you decide what kind of project to launch
and what it has to deliver. Set different priorities, and different
tenders follow.
Procurement is where those priorities become real: put a price on the carbon inside a tender, and companies start to compete on reducing emissions, not just on cost.
DeCarb-Pro spent three years learning how cities take those decisions and how tendering drives them home. Here's what came out of it.
15%
of CO₂ emissions in North-West Europe can be decreased by impactful public procurement.
THE PROBLEM, IN ONE NUMBER
€30M
in climate damage avoided per year across the Green Metropolitan Region pilot by buying green gaz.
ARNHEM-NIJMEGEN · GMR
12
cities and agencies piloting carbon pricing, from Paris and Amsterdam to Essen and Strasbourg.
THE PARTNERSHIP
THE SHAPE OF THE DAY
Less conference, more workshop.
You’ll leave with methods
you can use on Monday
10:00
Welcome and opening
Setting the scene on where carbon pricing sits in Europe’s wider decarbonisation push.
PLENARY
Hall 300
10:25
Keynote: the bigger picture
An inspirational take on what it means to price carbon into how municipalities decide and spend by Benoit Leguet
PLENARY
Hall 300 EN/FR/DE
11:15
Hands-on workshops · round one
From “CO₂ pricing in 60 minutes” to the CO₂ Performance Ladder in practice — for Newcomers and experienced practitioners.
PARALLEL TRACKS
STUDIOS 311–316
12:15
Standing lunch
Built for bumping into the person whose city solved the exact thing you’re stuck on.
NETWORKING
CIRCLE 310
13:30
Hands-on workshops · round two
Pay now or pay later? Modelling future carbon costs, building-stock data for low-carbon procurement, and more.
PARALLEL TRACKS
STUDIOS 311–316
14:30
City roundtable: what actually changed
Strasbourg, Paris, Amsterdam, Arnhem and Essen compare notes — wins and friction included.
PANEL
HALL 300
15:45
Drinks & informal networking
CIRCLE 310
THE WORKSHOPS
Six hands-on sessions, running in parallel across two rounds in Studios 311, 312, 314 and 316. Pick one in the morning and one in the afternoon.
1. DIY: CO₂ Pricing in 60 Minutes
Michiel van der Hagen
Groene Metropoolregio Arnhem-Nijmegen (GMR)
Build a working internal carbon price before the coffee gets cold.
A build-it-yourself session: leave the room with a first version of an internal carbon price for your own organisation.
2. CO₂ Performance Ladder: Practical Workshop
Thijs Wentink (SKAO)
Juliette Gautier Ville et Eurométropole de Strasbourg
Hands-on with the standard that rewards carbon performance in tenders.
A practical introduction to the CO₂ Performance Ladder as both a certification scheme and a procurement tool, including a hands-on scoring exercise.
3. Pay Now or Pay Later?
Bengisu Izat City of Essen
Emma Greiveldinger and Belén Gagliardi Strasbourg Climate Agency
What does today's "cheap" option really cost tomorrow?
An interactive workshop exploring how factoring in future carbon and societal costs supports better municipal decision-making and climate-informed action.
4. Using Building Stock Data to Support Carbon Pricing and Low-Carbon Investment Decisions in Public Buildings
Stacey Phelan South East Energy Agency
Turn building data into carbon-smart investment decisions.
A case-study workshop showing how digital tools (RetroKit) create carbon baselines, model renovation scenarios, and support evidence-based, carbon-aware investment and procurement across public building portfolios — including EPBD readiness.
5. From Your Enthusiasm to Impact: Turning a CO₂ Pricing Idea into Action
Marc Vermeeren Flux50
Maaike Rotteveel
Klimaatverbond
Great ideas rarely succeed on their own, or by you alone. How do you find and engage your "partners in crime"?
In this interactive workshop you'll discover that creating change is not only about your job title or formal responsibilities. Learn how to engage others, build support, and advance a CO₂ pricing idea by drawing on your strengths, connections and influence. Connect with like-minded people and leave with a concrete next step towards a CO₂ pricing pilot in your organisation.
6. Getting Your Organization (and Others) on Board with Carbon Pricing — in All Its Manifestations
Alexander Heusschen
Provincie Utrecht
The honest story of embedding carbon pricing across an organisation: what worked, what we
ran into, and how to break the patterns.
How we work to get our own organisation and others on board with pricing in all its forms: the social cost of carbon in social cost–benefit analyses, MVOI, ECI/MKI, shadow calculations in biobased construction, and the difficult policy documents around investment, valuation and exploitation.
WHO SHOULD BE IN THE ROOM
If your decisions have a carbon footprint, this is for you.
01
Project managers & sustainability leads
02
Policy makers & strategy officers
03
Elected representatives & decision-makers
04
Procurement & tender professionals
FINDING US ON THE DAY
Square Brussels Convention Center
Rue Ravenstein 2, 1000 Brussels
Square is hosting several events on 5 November, so please note: Rue Ravenstein 2 is not Square's main entrance. Use the Ravenstein entrance and follow the DeCarb-Pro signage to the third floor, where the whole day takes place.
Square sits between Brussels Central Station and the Mont des Arts, a few minutes' walk from Central Station.
Hall 300 — plenary: opening, keynote, roundtable and closing
Studios 311, 312, 314 & 316 — parallel workshops
Circle 310 — lunch, coffee and drinks
