Government is Going Green

On May 31, 2011, the Department of Defense (DoD), the General Services Administration (GSA), and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) issued a lengthy interim rule on green procurement in response to President Obama's 2009 executive order on green management.  The executive order specifies that “in the face of changing environmental circumstances and our Nation's heightened energy demands, the Federal Government must lead by example to create a clean energy economy that will increase prosperity, promote energy security, protect the interests of taxpayers, and safeguard the health of our environment.”  The heads of the DoD, GSA and NASA will be required to ensure that 95 percent of new contract actions are for products and services that are energy efficient, water efficient, bio-based, environmentally preferable or non-ozone depleting, adhering to criteria set out by the Environmental Protection Agency and the Agriculture Department.  With the exception of weapons systems, agencies also must aim to procure items that contain recycled content and are nontoxic.

The lengthy interim rule is very specific as to the requirements for green procurement, going as far as to specify the post-consumer fiber content of paper and also that all paper documents must be double-sided, if not submitted electronically.  Although these requirements appear more stringent than those previously required for contractors, the DoD, GSA, and NASA do not expect this interim rule to have a significant economic impact on most contractors because the majority of the requirements have been implemented through previous Executive orders, laws, and sustainable programs.  In fact, it is expected that the rule may have overall pluses that create opportunities for niche products for small businesses because agencies have to ensure that 95 percent of new contract actions advance sustainable acquisition.

Interested parties should submit written comments to the Regulatory Secretariat on or before August 1, 2011 to be considered in the formulation of a final rule.

For additional information please see the related article with links to the interim rule at:
http://www.govexec.com/story_page.cfm?articleid=47921&dcn=e_gvet