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1
Overview
F
ederal laws, regulations, and executive orders have imposed require-
ments for federal agencies to move toward the sustainable acquisi-
tion of goods and services, including the incorporation of sustain-
able purchasing into federal agency decision making. In particular, two
Executive Orders—EO 13423, Strengthening Federal Environmental, Energy,
and Transportation Management, signed in 2007; and EO 13514, Federal
Leadership in Environmental, Energy, and Economic Performance, signed in
2009—include specific goals and objectives for sustainable purchasing by
agencies. Federal government green purchasing efforts, however, can be
traced back to at least EO 12759 signed by President Bush in 1991. The
federal government spends tens of billions of dollars on goods and ser-
vices each year. Since the federal government is such a significant player
in the market, its move to incorporate sustainable procurement practices
could have a profound impact on the types of products being developed
for the market as a whole.
The General Services Administration (GSA) has played a key role
in furthering sustainable procurement practices throughout the federal
government. GSA is responsible for formulating and maintaining govern-
ment-wide policies covering a variety of administrative actions, including
those related to procurement and management. GSA has several ongoing
activities related to sustainable procurement, many of these related to Sec-
tion 13 of EO 13514, which directed the agency, in coordination with other
key agencies, to assess the feasibility of working with the federal sup-
plier community—vendors and contractors that serve federal agencies to
1
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2 SUSTAINABLE PROCUREMENT CONSIDERATIONS
measure and reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the supply chain while
encouraging sustainable operations among suppliers. GSA has also been
actively developing programs to assist federal agencies in making sustain-
able procurement decisions. As federal agencies cannot directly fund the
development of sustainable procurement tools, they are particularly inter-
ested in understanding how to foster innovation and provide incentives
for collaboration between developers and users of tools for sustainable
purchasing throughout the supply chain. The training of procurement
professionals is also a priority for these agencies.
Agencies also face challenges related to whether and how suppliers
collect and provide data on the sustainability of their operations. For
example, suppliers may not be collecting data on their greenhouse gas
emissions or may not be willing to provide the data to agencies due to
concerns about confidentiality or competition. Agencies are actively eval-
uating opportunities to encourage suppliers to disclose relevant data on
sustainability performance. Ultimately, procurement professionals may
need to access these types of data to make decisions about sustainable
acquisition activities for their agencies.
To assist efforts to build sustainability considerations into the pro-
curement process, the National Research Council appointed an ad hoc
committee to organize a two-day workshop that explored ways to bet-
ter incorporate sustainability considerations into procurement tools and
capabilities across the public and private sectors. The workshop was
designed to help participants assess the current landscape of green pur-
chasing tools, identify emerging needs for enhanced or new tools and
opportunities to develop them, identify potential barriers to progress,
and explore potential solutions. Participants also considered the work-
force and associated training required to realize the full benefits of these
tools. Participants at the workshop included: users of sustainable procure-
ment tools (including federal, state, and local governments and industry),
experts in sustainable procurement, developers and users familiar with
open data, and individuals from companies that develop and provide
procurement tools and software. The workshop provided an opportunity
for participants to discuss challenges related to sustainable purchasing
and to developing new procurement tools.
Presenters discussed tools currently used in sustainable procurement,
such as databases for ecolabels and standards, codes, or regulations; cal-
culators that track environmental footprints; software for traceability of
materials; and life-cycle assessment (LCA) software. Some participants
viewed the development of apps for smartphones and tablets as a useful
emerging capability with significant potential for incorporating procure-
ment tools and applications. Other nontechnological tools were discussed
as well, such as procurement policies, frameworks, rating systems, and
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3
OVERVIEW
materials or product indexes. In considering existing tools and require-
ments for new ones, several overarching themes and associated criteria
emerged from the workshop presentations, breakout groups, and discus-
sion sessions, including:
• Integration of sustainability criteria for products and services
• Data management and cloud computing
• System integration and interoperability
• Encompassing the full extent of the procurement process
Participants discussed the enormous amount of data that would be
required to give procurement professionals access to real-time information
in order to make up-to-date, effective decisions. Integrating procurement
systems with other systems—especially financial ones—was discussed
by many participants as key to new tools for sustainable procurement.
Many participants also noted that agreement on a standard language—
semantics and syntax—is important in furthering progress in systems
integration and ultimately to entire sustainable purchasing networks.
In addition, some participants pointed out that culture and workforce
training are critical to ensuring the success of any new tools developed
for sustainable purchasing systems. Sustainable procurement results from
a complex system of suppliers, vendors, program managers, contracting
officers, and procurement professionals. Some participants noted that
making information and tools available at points earlier in the procure-
ment process—not just at the purchasing phase—would allow sustainable
procurement to be approached more holistically. Empowering procure-
ment professionals to make more informed decisions was also suggested
as key to making change in these areas. Pilot projects, training, and col-
laboration were presented as ways to build “buy-in” from procurement
professionals and leadership, which is important in ensuring that sustain-
able purchasing practices and tools are used to their full potential.
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