DoD, GSA, and NASA Amend Federal Acquisition Regulation to Require Agencies to Procure Sustainable Products and Services

On April 22, 2024, the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD), General Services Administration (GSA), and National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) issued a final rule amending the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) to restructure and update the regulations to focus on current environmental and sustainability matters and to implement a requirement for agencies to procure sustainable products and services to the maximum extent practicable. 89 Fed. Reg. 30212. The final rule adds several definitions, including defining biobased product as “a product determined by the U.S. Department of Agriculture [(USDA)] to be a commercial product or industrial product (other than food or feed) that is composed, in whole or in significant part, of biological products, including renewable domestic agricultural materials and forestry materials, or that is an intermediate ingredient or feedstock. The term includes, with respect to forestry materials, forest products that meet biobased content requirements, notwithstanding the market share the product holds, the age of the product, or whether the market for the product is new or emerging.” Sustainable products and services are defined as products and services that are subject to and meet the following applicable statutory mandates and directives for purchasing:

• Statutory purchasing programs:
  • Products containing recovered material designated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) under the Comprehensive Procurement Guidelines;
  • Energy- and water-efficient products that are ENERGY STAR^® certified or Federal Energy Management Program (FEMP)-designated products;
  • Biobased products meeting the content requirement of USDA under the BioPreferred^® program; and
  • Acceptable chemicals, products, and manufacturing processes listed under EPA’s Significant New Alternatives Policy (SNAP) program, which ensures a safe and smooth transition away from substances that contribute to the depletion of stratospheric ozone.
• Required EPA purchasing programs:
  • WaterSense^® labeled (water efficient) products and services;
  • Safer Choice-certified products (products that contain safer chemical ingredients); and
  • Products and services that meet EPA Recommendations of Specifications, Standards, and Ecolabels in effect as of October 2023.

The final rule will be effective May 22, 2024.