Green Regulations
Agency Guidelines
Direction on sustainability comes from statutes and two Executive Orders (E.O.s). To learn more about what it means to "buy green", please view:
- E.O. 13423, Strengthening Federal Environmental, Energy, and Transportation Management, set acquisition-related goals for purchasing green products, alternative fuel vehicles, sustainable buildings, and green Information Technology (IT) products.
- E.O. 13514, Federal Leadership in Environmental, Energy, and Economic Performance, expands on the energy reduction and environmental performance requirements of E.O. 13423. The overall goals of E.O. 13514 are to establish an integrated strategy towards sustainability in the federal Government and to reduce greenhouse gases.
E.O. 13514 also states that 95% of all new applicable contracts, including non-exempt contract modifications, require products and services that are energy-efficient, water-efficient, biobased, environmentally preferable, non-ozone depleting, contain recycled content, or are non-toxic or less-toxic alternatives. “Applicable” means that one or more of the designated products will be supplied or used in the performance of the contract or contract action. The purchase of pet food, for example, is not applicable because there are no green requirements for pet food at this time.
GSA is “greening” the Multiple Award Schedules (MASs) to add more environmentally sustainable products and to limit certain products to green-only offerings, such as Energy Star appliances and electronics. GSA is living up to this commitment, not only in regards to the products and services it provides customers, but also in the way it conducts internal operations.
Learn more about GSA’s plan to reduce the environmental impact of the federal government, and its carbon footprint at www.gsa.gov/sustainable. GSA Schedules allow customers to more effectively Buy Green.
