Go Green Products and Federal Government Contract Purchasing

Green procurement policy is a government contracting initiative that goes undetected by many small businesses and large contractors. There are several federal “green procurement” programs that encourage green purchasing.

There are several federal “go green procurement” programs that encourage green purchasing.

They include: the Green Procurement Program (GPP)Environmentally Preferable Purchasing (EPP), Comprehensive Procurement Guidelines (CPG), ENERGY STAR, and the Federal Energy Management Program (FEMP).

Executive Order for Green Purchasing

The Executive Order (EO) 13693, Planning for Federal Sustainability in the Next Decade, was signed by President Obama on 19 March 2015.

Given the current state of the global environment, the United States has taken a stance in green purchasing. The goal of EO 13693 is to maintain Federal leadership in sustainability and greenhouse gas emission reductions.

Promotion of Environmentally Friendly and Sustainable Purchases

Government agencies should be promoting environmentally friendly and sustainable acquisition and procurement by ensuring that each of the following environmental performance and sustainability factors are included to the maximum extent practicable for all applicable procurements in the planning, award, and execution phases of the acquisition:

• Purchasing preference for recycled content products designated by EPA;.
• Purchasing preference for energy and water efficient products and services, such as ENERGY STAR qualified and Federal Energy Management Program (FEMP)-designated products, identified by EPA and the Department of Energy (DOE);
• Purchasing preference for BioPreferred and biobased designated products designated by the United States Department of Agriculture; requirements of present and future generations of Americans (EO 13423, Section 9 and EO 13514, Section 19(l)).

EPA programs that further green products procurement and purchasing environmentally friendly and sustainable products and services identified by EPA programs including:

• Significant New Alternative Policy (SNAP) chemicals or other alternatives to ozone-depleting substances and high global-warming potential hydrofluorocarbons, where feasible, as identified by SNAP;
• WaterSense certified products and services (water efficient products);
• Safer Choice labeled products (chemically intensive products that contain safer ingredients); and
• SmartWay Transport partners and SmartWay products (fuel efficient goods and services);

Government contracting agencies seek to purchase environmentally preferable products or services that meet or exceed specifications, standards, or labels recommended by the EPA that have been determined to assist agencies in meeting their needs and further advance sustainable procurement goals.

Copier and printing paper supplies. Government contracting agencies have an obligation to play their part in go green purchasing of environmentally friendly products by reducing copier and printing paper use.  

• As a vendor, you should focus on selling products that include printing and writing paper containing at least 30 percent postconsumer recycled content or higher.

Speak to an Attorney & Get a Free Initial Consultation

How Should Agencies Evaluate Your Proposal Under The Green Purchasing Policy?

Government requirement: As a general rule, government contracting agencies should assess your commitment to stated Executive Orders that apply to green purchasing.  Unless there is some legal exception, source selection authorities should consider to the maximum extent possible a preference for environmentally sustainable products or services when developing best value evaluation factors.

For help with your Go Green purchasing initiatives and selling to the federal government, call our government contract attorneys at 1-866-601-5518. We offer a FREE complimentary consultation.