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Federal EPP Efforts

EPA Headquarters in DC

The Environmentally Preferable Purchasing Program works with numerous other programs within EPA and at other federal agencies.

Collaboration on Products

Biobased Products

The Department of Agriculture qualifies biobased products through their BioPreferred program. Federal acquisition of biobased products is required by Executive Order 13514 and the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002, Section 9002.

Energy-efficient Products

EPA works with the Department of Energy to qualify energy-efficient products and building practices through the ENERGY STARĀ® program.

The Department of Energy also designates purchasing specifications for energy-efficient products through the Federal Energy Management Program (FEMP) .

Federal acquisition of energy-efficient products is required by Executive Order 13514 and acquisition of ENERGY STAR-qualified and FEMP-designated products is required by Energy Policy Act of 2005, Section 104.

Recycled-content Products

EPA's Comprehensive Procurement Guideline program provides procurement guidelines for recycled-content products. Federal acquisition of recycled content products is required by Executive Order 13514 and the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, Section 6002.

Safer Chemical Products

EPA's Design for the Environment labels chemical products that have the less harmful effects on human health and the environment compared to chemicals in the same class. Federal acquisition of non-toxic or less toxic alternatives is required by Executive Order 13514.

Water-efficient Products

EPA's WaterSense program qualifies water-efficient products and services. Federal acquisition of water-efficient products is required by Executive Order 13514.

Designated Green Products for Federal Procurement

The Office of the Federal Environmental Executive published the Designated Green Products for Federal Procurement, which is a compilation of the products for which EPA, the Department of Energy, and Department of Agriculture have provided environmental or energy attribute recommendations.

Environmentally Preferable Purchasing at EPA

EPA is committed to reducing its environmental footprint by:

More information about environmentally preferable purchasing at EPA is available on the Greening EPA Web site.

Environmentally Preferable Purchasing at Other Federal Agencies

In 2000, EPA completed a study, Qualitative Measurement of Environmentally Preferable Purchasing Among Federal Employees in 2000 (PDF) (61 pp, 328 KB, About PDF), that measured the awareness of environmentally preferable purchasing among Federal employees and the extent to which they practice environmentally preferable purchasing.

The Environmentally Preferable Purchasing Program has also published and compiled environmentally preferable purchasing case studies summarizing efforts to incorporate environmental considerations into purchasing decisions at various federal agencies and other organizations.

Please see our Related Links - Federal Government Web Sites for links to federal environmentally preferable product catalogs, federal agency green purchasing programs, and other relevant federal Web sites.


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