This paper shows the experiences of two typologies of tender competition to achieve Nearly Zero Energy Buildings (nZEB) target, realized in 2013 in two cities: Barcelona (Catalunya) Spain and Merano (Bolzano) Italy. This work was carried out in the framework of AIDA Project assisting Municipalities in the Integrated Energy Design (IED) process by IREC and EURAC, as partners of the European project consortium. In particular, this paper shows the approach used during the evaluation of proposals in submission phase, from the analysis of the design solutions presented to achieve the energy target and the energy performance (demand and generation on site), as well also the score assignation (energy efficiency item). Moreover, the total score is the sum of different points from different criteria achieved (urban integration, architectural and functional quality, aesthetic, etc.). This means, that presently, the nZEB target is an important aspect, but not necessary, to reach to win the competition. In conclusion, this paper highlights the importance of the definition of tender and specification documents related to the Energy efficiency, from the early stages of the architectural design, to achieve a nZEB and integrated the IED process