Sustainable Acquisition: Tools, Training, and Tips

The Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Part 23 covers sustainable acquisition in depth, however there are numerous additional ways to incorporate Green practices into procurement, including requirements development, evaluation, and working with our industry partners.

The Following Include Tools to Plan Sustainable Procurements:

• SFTool.gov:

The Sustainable Facilities Tool provided by the General Services Administration (GSA) is a popular and free-to-use online tool to identify and prioritize cost-effective strategies for high-performance buildings and workplaces. It provides best practices, case studies, and relevant regulations with the additional capability to compare building materials and systems. The SFTool also includes the Green Procurement Compilation that makes it easy to integrate sustainable purchasing requirements into the federal acquisition process by identifying which environmental programs apply and identifies federal sources of the products.

Example: the Green Procurement Compilation includes Cafeteria & Food Services and provides Sample Solicitation/Contract Language and Clauses and Provisions. This sample language includes requirements for Recycling/Waste Minimization and Management as well as Single-Service Items (e.g., trays, flatware, plates, and bowls).

• Commerce Acquisition Manual 1323.70 Green Procurement Program

This chapter provides Department-wide acquisition guidance for implementing an effective Green Procurement Program.

• BioBuzzGov:

This newsletter from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) highlights new products, sample contract language, and best practices for the use and purchase of biobased products.

The Following Include Training to Learn More About Sustainable Procurement: 

• FAC 028 GSA Schedules and Sustainable Acquisition: This course is available through the Federal Acquisition Institute (FAI) and will teach you about sustainability goals and ways the GSA Multiple Award Schedule can help achieve those goals.

• FAC 038 How to Integrate Green into Acquisition: This course is available through FAI and examines additional options for minimizing the environmental impact of your acquisitions beyond requiring the use or supply of green products. It is possible to incorporate environmental considerations into any acquisition, regardless of size, scope, type, or complexity.

• CLC 046 DoD Sustainable Procurement Program: This course is available through FAI and covers the purchase of products and services with favorable energy or environmental attributes in accordance with federally-mandated "green" procurement preference programs.

• FAC 095 Climate Adaptation for Program Managers: This course is available through FAI and provides program managers with high-level climate risk background information, authoritative sources, the necessity of climate adaptation in procurement, and risk management illustrations.

• The USDA’s BioPreferred Program provides the following training:

• Sustainable Purchasing with Biobased Products

• Fundamentals: Biobased Products and the USDA BioPreferred Program

• Incorporating Biobased Purchasing Requirements in Service and Construction Contracts

The Following Include Tips to Apply Sustainable Procurement Practices: 

• It is very important to correctly code environmental attributes into the Federal Procurement Data System (FPDS) to the extent they are available. Please ensure actions are correctly coded and reported. See Reporting of Environmental Attributes in the FPDS Product and Service Codes Manual.

• Review FAR Part 23 including the prescriptions for the following FAR provisions and clauses to identify requirements for your procurement. Also note that some of these clauses have reporting requirements for contractors (e.g. 52.223-2). Ensure that your contractors are completing these requirements!

If you have questions about the Department’s Green Procurement Program, please contact [email protected]. If you have an innovative idea or approach regarding sustainable procurement please contact the Department’s acquisition innovation lab, The Lab, click here to share with your acquisition colleagues!