Partnership Instrument - Low Carbon Brazil

1. Publication reference

EuropeAid/136478/DH/SER/BR

2. Procedure

Restricted

3. Programme title

Low carbon business action in Brazil

4. Financing

BGUE-B2014-19.050100-C1-FPI

5. Contracting Authority

European Union, represented by the European Commission,

CONTRACT SPECIFICATION

6. Nature of contract

Fee-based

7. Contract description

The overall objective of the initiative is greening industries by adopting low carbon technology (including energy efficiency) in areas such as energy production and consumption, transport, manufacturing process, waste management, agriculture and forestry. The service provider will be responsible for the technical assistance for: (a) Mapping of existing low emission initiatives in the targeted sectors in Brazil to identify technology needs and gaps in order to avoid duplication of ongoing efforts. This will include not only Brazilian initiatives, but also existing Member State actions on low emission in Brazil. The mapping should also identify potential, suitable financing institutions and instruments that could fund the implementation of the bankable proposals to be elaborated under Phase 2; (b) Identification and mobilisation of potential, interested partners in Brazil and Europe in the targeted sectors resulting in Declarations of Interest in cooperation with European counterparts; (c) Organisation of matchmaking activities, including screening of candidates, virtual online matchmaking sessions and matchmaking mission in Brazil and/or Europe, resulting in formalised Cooperation Partnership agreements.

8. Number and titles of lots

One lot only.

9. Maximum budget

EUR 3 000 000

10. Scope for additional services

The Contracting Authority may, at its own discretion, extend the project in duration and/or scope subject to the availability of funding up to a maximum not exceeding the length and value of the initial contract . Any extension of the contract would be subject to satisfactory performance by the Contractor.

CONDITIONS OF PARTICIPATION

11. Eligibility

Participation is open to all natural persons who are nationals of and legal persons [participating either individually or in a grouping (consortium) of tenderers] which are effectively established in a Member State of the European Union or in a eligible country or territory as defined under the Regulation (EU) N°236/2014 establishing common rules and procedures for the implementation of the Union's instruments for external action (CIR) for the applicable Instrument under which the contract is financed (see also heading 22 below) . Participation is also open to international organisations. All supplies under this contract must originate in one or more of these countries. However, they may originate from any country when the amount of the supplies to be purchased is below100,000 euros per purchase.

12. Candidature

All eligible natural and legal persons (as per item 11 above) or groupings of such persons (consortia) may apply.

A consortium may be a permanent, legally-established grouping or a grouping which has been constituted informally for a specific tender procedure. All members of a consortium (ie, the leader and all other members) are jointly and severally liable to the Contracting Authority.

The participation of an ineligible natural or legal person (as per item 11) will result in the automatic exclusion of that person. In particular, if that ineligible person belongs to a consortium, the whole consortium will be excluded.

13. Number of applications

No more than one application can be submitted by a natural or legal person whatever the form of participation (as an individual legal entity or as leader or member of a consortium submitting an application). In the event that a natural or legal person submits more than one application, all applications in which that person has participated will be excluded.

14. Shortlist alliances prohibited

Any tenders received from tenderers comprising firms other than those mentioned in the short-listed application forms will be excluded from this restricted tender procedure unless prior approval from the Contracting Authority has been obtained (see Practical Guide – PRAG- 2.4.3.). Short-listed candidates may not form alliances or subcontract to each other for the contract in question.

15. Grounds for exclusion

As part of the application form, candidates must submit a signed declaration, included in the standard application form, to the effect that they are not in any of the exclusion situations listed in Section 2.3.3 of the PRAG

16. Sub-contracting

Subcontracting is allowed

17. Number of candidates to be short-listed

On the basis of the applications received, between 4 and 8 candidates will be invited to submit detailed tenders for this contract. If the number of eligible candidates meeting the selection criteria is less than the minimum of 4, the Contracting Authority may invite the candidates who satisfy the criteria to submit a tender.

PROVISIONAL TIMETABLE

18. Provisional date of invitation to tender

16/03/2015

19. Provisional commencement date of the contract

15/08/2015

20. Initial period of implementation of tasks

30 months

SELECTION AND AWARD CRITERIA

21. Selection criteria

Same criteria for legal and natural person.

The following selection criteria will be applied to candidates. In the case of applications submitted by a consortium, these selection criteria will be applied to the consortium as a whole:

1) Economic and financial capacity of candidate (based on item 3 of the application form). In case of candidate being a public body, equivalent information should be provided.

• the average annual turnover of the candidate for the last three years must exceed 1 500 000 EUR.
• Proof of financial standing of the candidate (bank certificate to be annexed).

2) Professional capacity of candidate(based on items 4 and 5 of the application form)

• At least 5 of all staff currently working for candidate are in fields related to this contract;
• At least 10% of staff, as per the previous point, have been employed on a permanent basis during the last 2 years.

3) Technical capacity of candidate (based on items 5 and 6 of the application form)

• The candidate has provided services under at least two contracts each with a budget of at least that of this contract in fields related to this contract, which were implemented at any moment during the following period: 30/11/2011-31/12/2014.This means that the project the candidate refers to could have been started or completed at any time during the indicated period but it does not necessarily have to be started and completed during that period, nor implemented during the entire period.
• The candidate has worked successfully on at least one project, preferably in Latin America, with a budget of at least that of this contract in fields related to this contract in the past three years (declaration of successful performance to be annexed).

Previous experience which caused breach of contract and termination by a Contracting Authority shall not be used as reference.

An economic operator may, where appropriate and for a particular contract, rely on the capacities of other entities, regardless of the legal nature of the links which it has with them. It must in that case prove to the Contracting Authority that it will have at its disposal the resources necessary for performance of the contract, for example by producing an undertaking on the part of those entities to place those resources at its disposal. Such entities, for instance the parent company of the economic operator, must respect the same rules of eligibility and notably that of nationality, as the economic operator.

If more than 8 eligible candidates meet the above selection criteria, the relative strengths and weaknesses of the applications of these candidates must be reexamined to identify the eight best candidates. The only factors which will be taken into consideration during this re-examination are:

• the number of EU-funded technical assistance projects successfully carried out in fields related to, or including services similar to, those requested by this contract in the period from 2011 to 2014 in Latin America.
• Preference will be given to experience in Brazil.

22. Award criteria

Best value for money.

APPLICATION

23. Deadline for receipt of applications

12 pm local time on 27/02/2015

Any application received by the Contracting Authority after this deadline will not be considered.

24. Application format and details to be provided

Applications must be submitted using the standard application form, the format and instructions of which must be strictly observed. The application form is available from the following Internet address: http://ec.europa.eu/europeaid/prag/annexes.do?group=B

Any additional documentation (brochure, letter, etc) sent with an application will not be taken into consideration.

25. How applications may be submitted

Applications must be submitted in English exclusively to the Contracting Authority in a sealed envelope:

• EITHER by recorded delivery (official postal service) to :

Delegation of the European Union to Brazil
To the attention of the Partnership Instrument Section
SHIS QI 07 Bloco A – Lago Sul
Brasília-DF – 71615-205 – Brazil

• OR hand delivered (including courier services) directly to the Contracting Authority in return for a signed and dated receipt to:

Sandra de Sousa- telephone number: +55 61 2104 4865
Delegation of the European Union to Brazil
To the attention of the Partnership Instrument Section
SHIS QI 07 Bloco A – Lago Sul
Brasília-DF – 71615-205 – Brazil

The Contract title and the Publication reference (see item 1 above) must be clearly marked on the envelope containing the application and must always be mentioned in all subsequent correspondence with the Contracting Authority.

Applications submitted by any other means will not be considered.

26. Alteration or withdrawal of applications

Candidates may alter or withdraw their applications by written notification prior to the deadline for submission of applications. No application may be altered after this deadline.

Any such notification of alteration or withdrawal shall be prepared and submitted in accordance with Item 25. The outer envelope (and the relevant inner envelope if used) must be marked 'Alteration' or 'Withdrawal' as appropriate.

27. Operational language

All written communications for this tender procedure and contract must be in English.

28. Date of publication of prior information notice

12/12/2014

29. Legal basis

Regulation (EU) N°236/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 March 2014 laying down common rules and procedures for the implementation of the Union's instruments for financing external action

Regulation (EU) No 234/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 March 2014 establishing a Partnership Instrument for cooperation with third countries.

Commission Implementing Decision No PI/2014/37781 of 16.10.2014 on the Partnership Instrument Annual Action Programme for cooperation with third countries to be financed from the general budget of the European Union.

30. Additional information

N/A