GSA Schedule program to feature Sustainable Products
Last year, President Obama issue a new executive order (EO 13514) requiring that 95% of new contract actions to be "sustainable.
A sustainable product is defined as:
- Energy-Efficient (Energy Star Federal Energy Management Program [FEMP] designated)
- Water-efficient
- Biobased
- Environmentally preferable (e.g., Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool [EPEAT] certified)
- Non-ozone depleting
- Containing recycled content
- Non-toxic (or a less toxic alternative)
GSA is actively training its acquisition workforce to comply with this order, and 2011 wil be very active. You will be hearing more from GSA on this. in the meantime, GSA contractors should:
- Review your catalog to determine if your products currently meet any available sustainability standards:
- ENERGY
- STAR,
- CPG,
- EPEAT, etc.
- If a product meets one of these standards be sure the symbol is displayed in your GSAAdvantage! catalog.
- Check to see if your products comply with the standards in EO 13514