Friday
September 29, 1995
Part IX
Environmental
Protection Agency
Guidance on Acquisition of
Environmentally Preferable Products and
Services, Solicitation of Comments and
Meeting; Notices
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Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 189 / Friday, September 29, 1995 / Notices
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
AGENCY
IOPPTS-00149; FRL-4760-5]
Guidance on Acquisition of
Environmentally Preferable Products
and Services; Solicitation of
Comments
AGENCY: Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Notice.
SUMMARY: This document announces a
proposed general guidance designed to
assist Executive agencies in
identification and acquisition of
environmentally preferable products.
Tills document also solicits comments
from all interested parties on the
proposed guidance. The proposed
guidance is in response to section 503
of the Executive Order 12873 on Federal
Acquisition, Recycling and Waste
Prevention.
DATES: All written comments must be
received on or before November 28,
1995.
ADDRESSES: Written comments must be
submitted in triplicate and identified
with docket number OPPTS—00149 to:
OPPP Document Control Officer (7407),
Office of Pollution Prevention and
Toxics, Environmental Protection
Agency, Rm. E-G99, 401 M St.. SW.,
Washington, DC 20460.
Comments and data may also be
submitted electronically by sending
electronic mail (e-mail)
to:nclc€>epamail.epa.gov. Electronic
comments must be submitted as an
ASCII file avoiding the use of special
characters and any form of encryption.
Comments and data will also will also
be accepted on disks in WordPerfect in
5.1 file format or ASCII file format. All
comments and data in electronic form
must be identified by the docket number
OPPTS-00149. No Confidential
Business Information (CBI) should be
submitted through e-mail. Electronic
comments on this proposed guidance
may be filed online at many Federal
Depository Libraries, additional
information on electronic submissions
can be found in Unit V. of this
document.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For
general information: Danielle Fuligni,
telephone number: 202-260-4172, e-
tnall: fuligni.danielle@epamail,epa.gov.
For computer information: John Shoaff,
telephone number: 260-1831, e-mail:
shoaff.johniPeparnail.epa.gov. For green
building information: Peter Thompson,
telephone number: 260-8612, e-mail:
thompson.peter@epamail.epa.gov. For
General Services Administration/EPA
Cleaners Project information: Tom
Murray, telephone number: 260-1876,
e-mail: murray.tom@epamail.epa.gov.
Mailing address for all contact persons
except for Tom Murray: Environmental
Protection Agency, Office of Pollution,
Prevention, and Toxics (7409), 401 M
St., SW., Washington, DC 20460.
Mailing address for Tom Murray:
Environmental Protection Agency,
Office of Pollution, Prevention, and
Toxics (7406), 401 M St., SW.,
Washington, DC 20460.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Introduction
On October 20, 1993, President
Clinton signed Executive Order 12873
entitled "Federal Acquisition, Recycling
and Waste Prevention." Section 503 of
this Executive Order requires EPA to
"issue guidance that recommends
principles that Executive agencies
should use in making determinations for
the preference and purchase of
environmentally preferable products."
EPA plans to hold a public meeting in
October 1995, in Washington, DC to
solicit input from interested parties
concerning this proposed guidance.
More detailed information about the
meeting will be published in the
Federal Register at a later date.
II. Process
To implement section 503, EPA
established a process to solicit public
input from all interested persons and
organizations prior to development of
the proposed guidance. EPA developed
a "concept paper" that outlined
preliminary thoughts on how the
guidance might be structured and some
guiding principles for implementation
of section 503. The public was given an
opportunity to comment on the concept
paper, and over 50 comments were
received. EPA also held a public
meeting at which over 20 Executive
agencies, companies, organizations, and
individuals presented testimony.
In addition, EPA held meetings with
"stakeholders" to give interested parties
an additional opportunity to present
their views on how EPA should proceed
in developing principles for Executive
agencies to use when making
determinations for the preference and
purchase of environmentally preferable
products (EPPs). Meetings were held
with over 20 stakeholders companies
and organizations. EPA also consulted
with the major purchasing agencies. Use
of this public process has given EPA an
appreciation for the diversity of views
and complexity of the issues involving
the acquisition of environmentally
preferable products. EPA is open to
alternate approaches and welcomes
comments on ways to encourage the
acquisition of environmentally
preferable preferable products.
This proposed guidance is meant to
serve as a framework for interested
parties to begin a dialogue on
environmentally preferability of
products and services as it is applicable
within the Federal purchasing context.
It is also EPA's first comprehensive
articulation of its policy on "green"
products and as such, it will evolve over
time as scientific and technical
understanding expands. What follows
should serve as a backdrop for
comments.
This proposed guidance reflects many
months of deliberations and discussions
with a wide variety of interested parties,
including companies, Executive
agencies, academia, environmental
organizations, and others. During the
process of developing this guidance, it
became apparent that different parties
had very divergent views on how EPA
should go about implementing the
Executive Order mandates. Given this,
EPA recognizes that the guidance
cannot meet all of the needs of all of the
interested parties. Instead, the
document attempts to capture these
many views within a single document
while presenting a possible approach
that EPA believes will lead to effective
implementation of the Executive Order.
EPA's effort to define and apply
environmental preferability is not being
done in a vacuum. Other initiatives are
underway that will impact the Federal
government's policies on acquisition
and environmental management, most
notably the National Performance
Review (NPR, also commonly referred to
as the "Reinventing Government"
initiative). Another initiative is the
interim rule amending the Federal
Acquisition Regulation (FAR) which
will allow consideration of broad
environmental factors in acquisition
decisions. 1
At the same time that the
Environmentally Preferable Products
guidance is being developed, for
example, efforts are being made to
streamline and simplify the Federal
government's procurement process
under the NPR. The result will be to
reduce the bureaucracy of Federal
procurement by delegating additional
purchasing authority away from
procurement personnel and towards all
government employees. To the extent
that the streamlining will result in
increasing the overall number of
1 "Federal Acquisition Regulation:
Environmentally Preferable Products," Interim
Rule, Federal Register (60 FR 28494, May 31, 1995).
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50723
government purchasers, this guidance
will have to be broadly distributed,
easily understandable, and
supplemented by education and training
for government purchases on the
environmental implications of their
purchasers as well as tools to improve
their purchasing performance.
The proposed guidance is intended,
like the NPR, to promote a government
that "works better and costs less." It
will work better by reducing its negative
impacts on the environment and
ensuring productive, sustainable natural
systems. And it will cost less by
incorporating environmental
considerations into its decisions (in this
case, purchasing decisions) and, from a
fiscal as well as an environmental
standpoint, operating its facilities and
programs more efficiently. 2
To help Executive agencies move
forward in acquiring environmentally
preferable products, and to help in the
further development of the tools and
knowledge base to support this
initiative, EPA is recommending that
voluntary pilot projects be undertaken
by Executive agencies. EPA believes that
these pilot acquisitions will serve as the
"laboratories" for applying this
proposed guidance, helping to test the
workability of the concepts presented
and providing valuable information that
can be used to improve .the guidance in .
the future. The proposed guidance
includes a more detailed discussion of
the pilots.
EPA believes that this proposed
guidance provides the first step in
bringing forward the key issues
surrounding the acquisition of
environmentally preferable products,
allowing Executive agencies to make the
necessary choices more effectively. This
proposed general guidance, however,
will not answer many of the questions
which may arise in acquisition of a
particular product category or service,
and thus is not intended for use by
individual procurement officials.
Instead, EPA envisions that the results
of the pilot acquisitions will more
closely address the needs of the
acquisition community. However, EPA
believes that this guidance will
nonetheless, inform procurement
officials interested in making decisions
involving environmental preferability.
EPA intends this proposed guidance
to serve as a broad framework for ,
acquisitions involving environmentally
preferable products or services.
Following the issuance of this broad,
umbrella guidance, EPA intends to issue
2 From "Creating a Government That Works
Better and Costs Less: Reinventing Environmental
Management," page 2.
more specific guidance on certain
product categories. Product categories
could include not just common supplies
but also services, facilities and/or
systems. Which product categories will
be the subject of specific guidance will
depend upon the plans of the individual
Executive agencies and on comments
that are solicited from the public. EPA
plans to use a public process to develop
the product category-specific guidances,
so as to draw on the extensive
knowledge from both within and
outside of the government.
III. Request for Comment
EPA request comments on all aspects
of this proposed guidance and is
interested in receiving comments as
they relate to the following sections in
this unit.
A. General Framework
• Will the framework suggested in the
guidance be effective in promoting
federal purchase of environmentally
preferable products and expand public
sector markets for these goods and
services? How might it be improved?
B. Guiding Principles
• The proposed guidance presents
seven guiding principles. Combined, do
these seven principles convey the multi-
dimensional and dynamic nature of
environmental preferability? Are these
the principles that Executive agencies
should follow? Are all of these
principles appropriate or of equal
importance to Executive agencies? What
are the best ways to operationalize these
principles so that they are easy for
procurement officials to use in
identifying and giving preference to
environmentally preferable products :.
and services?
• In collaboration with other
Executive'agencies, EPA plans to test
out many of the concepts contained in
the guiding principles through pilot
acquisitions focused on specific product
categories. EPA seeks comments on
ways that can best facilitate
operationalizing the concepts in the
guidance through pilot acquisitions and
other approaches and which will result
in practical, user-friendly tools.
• The proposed guidance promotes a
life-cycle perspective to determining
environmental preferability. EPA seeks
comments on the best and least
burdensome ways to encourage
reporting of life-cycle information and
to embark on practical life-cycle
approaches. Is it possible to determine
some minimum level of life-cycle
information that is necessary to
reasonably evaluate environmental
preferability of a product or service?
What is this minimum level? The
government's need for any information
needs to be weighed against the burden
on vendors of providing, and consumers
interpreting, that information.
• The concept of multiple attributes
has been presented as a separate
principle (Principle #2) from the
concept of life-cycle perspective
(Principle #3). EPA seeks comments on
whether some combination of attributes
can determine a product's overall
environmental performance or whether
such a determination can only be made
after assessing the environmental effects
during the product's life-cycle. If the
latter is more appropriate, EPA seeks
comments on whether these two
principles should be merged into a
single principle so that attributes
associated with products are always
viewed in the context of a life-cycle
perspective.
C. Proposed Menu of Environmental
Performance Characteristics
* As part of the guidance, EPA
proposes to offer a preliminary list of
attributes that can serve as a starting
point for presenting and comparing
environmental information of products
and services. This menu of
environmental performance
characteristics is attached to the ;
guidance as Appendix B(l). Are these
the right set of attributes? What should
be added or deleted? Should the list
include exposure factors associated with
the materials, e.g., potential for
exposure (low/high likelihood), number
of people exposed, duration of
exposure, magnitude of exposure, length
of time until exposure, number of acres
exposed, number of species exposed,
etc? If so, how should these exposure
factors be defined? How should the
environmental attributes be
characterized, i.e., in terms of
environmental releases or effects, risks
to human health and the environment,
or some other characterization? Who
should be involved in narrowing down
the list of attributes to determine
environmental preferability for a
specific product category?
D. Establishing Core Environmental
Values
Deciding whether one product is more
environmentally preferable than another
inevitably involves judgements that one
environmental impact or environmental
stressor is more important than another.
The EPA believes that it is appropriate
and important to establish a possible
framework for a discussion of
environmental priorities, and recognizes
that there are various ways in which the
government may establish
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Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 189 / Friday, September 29, 1995 / Notices
environmental priorities. One
possibility Tor establishing
environmental priorities is to use the
matrix of ecological stressors and the
list of high risk human health stressors
that were developed by EPA's Science
Advisory Board (SAB) and published in
Its 1990 report "Reducing Risk: Setting
Priorities and Strategies for
Environmental Protection."
EPA believes that this report and its
findings nay offer an appropriate
baseline around which to frame the
public discussion regarding the
establishment of environmental
priorities In the context of purchasing
environmentally preferable products or
services. It should be noted that the
rankings In the report are not perfect;
they may be incomplete and may
emphasize global-scale impacts, at the
expense of local ones. EPA is presenting
the following matrix of ecological
stressors and the list of stressors
presenting high risk to human health to
begin the public debate, and is very
interested in receiving comments on
whether this proposed approach should
be used for making decisions
concerning the relative environmental
priorities and thereby assist in
determining the preferability of
products or services.
EPA recognizes that determining
which environmental impacts are most
important and setting environmental
priorities involve certain value
judgements. Who should be responsible
for making decisions concerning the
relative environmental priorities? EPA
envisions applying this decision matrix
within the context of pilot acquisitions
in hopes of learning how Executive
agencies should establish environmental
priorities for making decisions about
environmental preferability. EPA is
interested in receiving comments about
this proposed approach. EPA proposes
including this decision matrix and the
list of human health impacts in the
guidance as Appendix E. Should this
approach be considered for inclusion as
an Appendix to the guidance?
1. Ecological priority impacts matrix.
The Decision Matrix for ecological
priority impacts, which is presented
below, would provide some guidance to
Executive agencies on making trade-offs
among various environmental attributes.
According to EPA's Science Advisory
Board, the ecological recovery time
affects the severity of the risk; the longer
the recovery time (the less reversible the
damage), the higher the risk of that
ecological stressor. Thus, the matrix
uses reversibility of the impact as the
horizontal axis for estimating the
severity of the risk associated with
environmental attribute information
provided by the vendor. Stressors whose
effects cause the ecosystem to take
centuries or an indefinite amount of
time to recover are given a greater risk
ranking than those that take years or
decades to recover. Non-renewable
resource consumption, for example, is
considered a more significant ecological
stressor than the discharge to water of
conventional pollutants such as
biochemical oxygen demand, loadings,
from which an ecosystem can recover in
years.
The Science Advisory Board also
considered significant the geographic
scale of the area subject to the stress and
the importance of the ecosystem that is
actually affected within the stressed
area. Thus, ecological stressors that have
impacts on a global or biosphere basis
are to be considered higher risk or more
significant than ecological stressors that
have an impact only on a local or
regional/ecosystem basis. The Agency
has, therefore, used geographic scale of
the stressor's impact as the vertical axis
for its matrix.
TABLE 1.—ECOLOGICAL PRIORITY IMPACTS MATRIX GEOGRAPHIC SCALE/REVERSIBILITY
Local/Regional
National
Global
Years
Rapidly Renewable Resource
Consumption.
Conventional Pollutants.
Hazardous Air Pollutants
Renewable Resource Consump-
tion.
Chemical Releases.
Decades
Bioaccumulative Pollutants.-
Centuries/indefinite
Non-renewable Resource Con-
sumption.
Ecosystem Impacts.
Ozone Depleting Chemicals.
Global Warming Gases.
2. List of stressors presenting high risk
to human health. The list of stressors
below have been identified by the
Science Advisory Board in its
"Reducing Risk" report as presenting
high risks to human health. The
stressors are not listed in any particular
order of Importance:
• Ambient air pollutants.
• Hazardous air pollutants.
• Indoor air pollution.
• Occupational exposure to
chemicals.
• Bioaccumulative pollutants.3
'The EPA l»s added bloaccumulatlve pollutants
lo (lie list of strcssors tliat pose high risks to human
licAllh, Willie not explicitly Identified In the SAB
report as a high risk strcssor. the report does
provide support for this addition. The Science
Advisory Board (SAB) did not consider
bloaccumulative pollutants as a high risk stressor In
part because "Unfinished Business" (an earlier
report that provided the basis for "Reducing Risk")
did not separately break out this category; that
report focused on pollutants based on the Agency's
organizational and regulatory structure. The SAB
report discusses bioaccumulative pollutants in
several sections, however, as posing potentially
high risks. For example, the report states: "It is also
noteworthy tliat certain environmental toxicants-
such as heavy metals, PCBs, and long-lived
radionuclides—tend to persist indefinitely in the
environment and may gradually become
concentrated in certain components of the human
food cliain. Consequently, such toxicants may
continue to pose a tlireat to human health long after
their release into the environment lias halted." See
Appendix B:The Report of Human Health
Subcommittee of Reducing Risk for a more
complete discussion of the human health stressors
EPA believes that this is one approach
to making decisions concerning the
relative environmental preferability of
products. EPA seeks comments on the
usefulness of the ecological impact
matrix as well as the list of high priority
human health impacts. In addition,
readers are encouraged to provide their
thoughts concerning the placement of
the impacts in the matrix, gaps in the
matrix, and whether or not the human
health impacts can be prioritized in a
similar manner. Comments on other
methods of prioritizing ecological and
human health impacts are also solicited.
listed above and how the SAB determined that they
presented a significant risk.
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E. Third Party Environmental
Certification Programs
EPA recognizes that a number of
public and private programs already
award "seal-of-approval" labels on
consumer products for certain
environmental attributes. Some
programs have developed a "report
card" approach whereby certain
environmental information about a
product or groups of products is
profiled. Yet others certify single
attribute claims made by manufacturers.
More than 20 countries have
environmental labeling programs and a
number of private companies and non-
profit programs claim to either identify
environmentally preferable products
here in the United States or label
products based on environmental
attributes. These third party
environmental certification prograrns
can play the important role of helping
consumers identify which products are
less environmentally damaging.4
Although these third party
environmental certification programs -
currently operate primarily in the
consumer sector, their influence In the
Federal marketplace could become
significant. For example; as streamlining
efforts allow more Federal employees to
make direct purchasing'decisions,
agency personnel, in their purchases of
commercially available or "off-the-
shelf items may come to equate the
"seals" or "report cards" of these
programs as being environmentally
preferable.5 In addition, as Executive
agencies begin to implement Executive
Order 12873, it is possible that
Executive agencies will look to these
programs to assist in identifying
environmentally preferable products in
specific procurement. However,
Executive agency decisions regarding
federal procurement, including those
involving the environmental
preferability of products, are considered
to be an inherent government function.
As such, Executive agencies need to
ensure that an acquisition decision does
not turn on an unverified policy, or
value judgment by a non-government
entity.
Currently, there are no widely
accepted standards for how these
programs should operate. Although
organizations such as the International
Standards Organization (ISO) have
4 The term, third party environmental
certification program, is used to capture the
different types of programs, including those which
verify single environmental claims, compile report
cards, award seals, etc.
5 This may not be warranted particularly if the
seal or report card does not provide sufficient
information about the criteria used to judge the
product.
initiated efforts to develop a "code of
conduct" for eco-labeling programs, the
resulting standards will not be finalized
for a number of years.6 Until
international standards or other
practices are developed, EPA believes
that it is appropriate for Executive
agencies to consider the following
questions if evaluating such programs
for use in making decisions regarding
the environmental preferability of
products. Does the program have:
• An open, public process that
involves key stakeholders (businesses,
environmental and consumer groups,
states etc.) in developing its criteria or
standards?
• Award criteria, assumptions,
methods and data used to evaluate the
product or product categories that are
transparent (i.e., they are publicly
available, easily accessed and
understandable to the lay person)?
• A system of data verification and
data quality?
• A peer review process (with
representation of all stakeholders) for
developing the standards or criteria?
• Criteria which are developed based
on a "systems" or life-cycle approach
(i.e., "craidle to grave")?
• An outreach program to educate the
consumer, which includes clear
communications to consumers that
provide key information concerning
environmental impacts associated with
the product?
• An established goal of updating
standards or criteria as technology and
scientific knowledge advance?
• Authority to inspect the facility
whose product is certified to ensure
compliance with the standards or
criteria?
• Testing protocols for the products
that are certified which ensure testing is
conducted by a credible institution?
• Access to obtaining the seal by
small and medium sized companies
(e.g., the'cost of the seal is not as high
as to prevent access by companies)?
• Compliance with the Federal Trade
Commission's (FTC) Guides for the Use
of Environmental Marketing Claims?
EPA believes that Executive agencies
should not make decisions regarding the
environmental preferability of products
based on third party environmental
certification programs that do not
generally meet these basic
characteristics. EPA is interested in
receiving comments on this proposed
approach to dealing with the use of
third party environmental certification
programs by Executive agencies in
making decisions regarding
environmental preferability. Although
EPA is not proposing that these
characteristics be used by individual
Federal procurement personnel and
does not plan for them to serve as a
model for Federal approval of third
party environmental certification
programs in the private marketplace, it
does believe that these characteristics
may nonetheless be helpful to
decisionmakers. EPA proposes to
include this discussion in the guidance
as an Appendix F. Should this be
considered for inclusion as an
Appendix to the guidance? Does the
existing FTC Guides help Executive
agencies to evaluate third party
environmental certification programs?
F. Other Issues
In addition to these specific topics,
EPA is also interested in soliciting ideas
from the public concerning tools (e.g., a
. computerized software tool for
evaluating products, etc.) that would be
useful to Executive agencies in
identifying and purchasing "green"
products. Finally, EPA is requesting
suggestions for product categories to
target for specific pilot acquisitions and
additional guidance. - -
IV. The Proposed Guidance
For the convenience of the reader, the
proposed guidance is published below
in its entirety.
Proposed Guidance on Acquisition of
Environmentally Preferable Products
and Services
/. Introduction
Executive Order 12873. On October 20,
1993, President Clinton signed Executive
Order 12873, entitled "Federal Acquisition,
Recycling and Waste Prevention." ' Section
503 of this Executive Order requires EPA to
"issue guidance that recommends principles
that Executive agencies should use in making
determinations for the preference and
purchase of environmentally preferable
products." "Environmentally preferable" is
defined in the Executive Order to mean
"products or services that have a lesser or
reduced effect on human health and the
6 Work on eco-labeling is being done under the
Technical Committee on Environmental
Management System (TC 207).
1 Executive Order 12873 is one in a series of
executive orders that President Clinton has signed
since 1993 that emphasizes Federal government
purchasing practices to promote environmental
goals. Other executive orders include: Executive
Order 12843, Procurement Requirements and
Policies for Executive Agencies for Ozone Depleting
Substances; Executive Order 12844, Federal Use of
Alternative Fueled Vehicles; Executive Order
12845, Federal Procurement of Energy Efficient
Computers; Executive Order 12856, Pollution
Prevention and Right-to-Know in the Government;
Executive Order 12902, Energy Efficiency and
Water Conservation at Federal Facilities;
Presidential Memorandum on Environmentally and
Economically Beneficial Practices on Federal
Landscaped Grounds.
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Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 189 / Friday, September 29, 1995 / Notices
environment when compared with
competing products or services that serve the
same purpose,"
The guidance proposed below is designed
to help Executive agencies meet their
obligations under this Executive Order to
identify and purchase environmentally
preferable products and services.2 It is
intended to draw on the extensive
procurement experience of the Executive
agencies and on the environmental expertise
of EPA and others both within and outside
of the government. EPA believes that this
guidance provides the first step in bringing
forward the key issues surrounding the
acquisition of environmentally preferable
products, allowing Executive agencies to
make the necessary choices more effectively.
EPA recognizes that this proposed general
guidance, however, will not answer many of
the questions which may arise in acquisition
of a particular product category onset-vice
and thus Is not intended, although it will be
* Section 401 of Executive Order 12873 requires
Executive agencies to consider the use of
environmentally preferable products In acquisition
planning for all procurement and In the evaluation
nnd award of contracts, as appropriate. Section 501
ofllKt Executive Order requires Executive agencies
to "review and revise federal and military
specifications, product descriptions and standards
to cittuncc Federal procurement of products" that
are environmentally preferable. Section S03(b) of
tire Executive Order requires Executive agencies to
use tlic guidance developed by EPA "to the
maximum extent practicable" In Identifying and
ptircttfttlng environmentally preferable products.
informative, for use by individual
procurement officials.
The guidance attempts to implement the
goals of the National Performance Review
and procurement reform objectives of making
Federal purchasing a simpler and not a more
complex process. This guidance also
recognizes that defining what is an
environmentally preferable product and
service may require a complex balancing of
different environmental factors. In sum, the
guidance does the following:
• Focuses on all types of acquisition, from
supplies and services to buildings and
systems.
• Establishes a general, umbrella guidance
and requests Executive agencies to select
voluntary pilot acquisitions or demonstration
projects.
• Establishes a framework for issuing more
detailed guidances on specific product
categories that are related to current or future
pilot acquisitions.
• Establishes a set of guiding principles.
• Outlines a number of steps for Executive
agencies' short-run and medium-run
implementation.
11. Broad Principles and Approach
A. Overall Approach
In implementing section 503 of the
Executive Order, EPA proposes an approach
that has two components. The first is the
publication of this general, umbrella
guidance. Following this, additional
guidances will be issued that will focus on
specific product categories. These will be
linked to the pilot acquisitions selected by
Executive agencies. A more detailed
discussion of how these pilot acquisitions
might work is included in Section III.B.
Although both components are meant, to
address multiple audiences (e.g., acquisition
community, companies, environmental
organizations, etc.), each has a slightly
•different target audience in mind. The first
component, which sets a broad policy
framework, is aimed primarily at policy
makers and others, both in the public as well
as in the private sector, who may be
interested in EPA's first comprehensive
statement on "green" products. The second
component, which will result in more
detailed and practical guidance on specific
product categories, will be aimed at the
procurement and the acquisition personnel.
By making clear its goals and directions, both
the general and product category specific
guidances (PCSGs) should also provide
pragmatic direction for companies who
desire to produce more environmentally
preferable products and services, and who
seek to sell those products and services to the
Federal government. The consideration of
environmental factors in purchasing needs to
be put in the context of other important
considerations such as performance, health
and safety issues and price.
Figure 1 illustrates the approach which is
described above.
BILLING CODE 6560-50-M
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Figure 1. Implementation Approach
T
1st COMPONENT
GENERAL GUIDANCE/EPA POLICY
SHORT TERM
IMPLEMENTATION
2nd COMPONENT
PUBLIC REVIEW
& COMMENT
MEDIUM TERM
IMPLEMENTATION
PUBLIC REVIEW
& COMMENT
FINAL PCSQ
USER'S GUIDE
FEEDBACK.
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B, Guiding Principles
The following seven principles are
recommended as a broad guide to help
Federal purchasers address environmental
prererability in Federal acquisitions.
Guiding Principle 1:
Consideration of environmental
prefcrability should begin early in the
acquisition process and be rooted in the ethic
of pollution prevention which strives to
eliminate or reduce, up front, potential risks
to human hen 1th and the environment.
ll lias been estimated that 70 percent or
more of the costs of product development,
manufacture, and use are determined during
the initial design stages.3 Thus, customized
purchases or projects where program
managers, architects, engineers, systems
designers, or others have influence over the
design phase afford the agencies an early
opportunity to apply environmental
preferability and offer a unique point of
leverage from which to address
environmental impacts.
Environmental preferability does not
involve just substituting one "green" product
for another, it also involves questioning
whether a function needs to be performed,
and how it can best be performed to
minimize environmental impacts. For
instance, in dcgreasing operations, the
question is often posed whether an efficient
cleaner using halogenated solvents is better
or svorsc for the environment than an
aqueous based cleaner. A more appropriate
question may be whether the cleaning/
degreasing step can be eliminated without
affecting the overall performance of the
product or system. This might be
accomplished for example, by consolidating
cleaning/dcgrcaslng in a later stage of the
manufacturing process or changing the
process itself.
Guiding Principle 2:
A product or service's environmental
preferabilfty is a function of multiple
attributes.
Environmental preferability is a function of
many attributes (e.g., energy efficiency,
impacts on air, water, and land and fragile
ecosystems, etc.), not just one or two.
Targeting a single environmental
performance characteristic for improvement,
like energy efficiency or recycled content,
may be much easier, because they are more
easily defined (most of the time), measured
and understood. By focusing on one
dimension of a product's performance,
however, one might overlook other
environmental impacts associated with the
product that may cause equal or greater
damage, Furthermore, it is possible that
improvements along one dimension may
result in other unintended negative
environmental impacts along another
dimension.
The menu of environmental performance
characteristics described in Appendix B
offers a preliminary list of product or service
attributes thai can help to identify
environmentally preferable products.
Guiding Principle 3:
3 From Office of Technology Assessment's "Green
Products by Design," pago 3.
Environmental preferability should reflect
life-cycle considerations of products and
services to the extent feasible.
Ideally, "environmental preferability" of a
product or service should be determined by
comparing the severity of environmental
damage that the product or service causes to
human health and ecological health across its
life-cycle with that caused by competing
products—from the point of a raw materials
acquisition, through product manufacturing,
packaging, and transportation to use and
ultimate disposal.
The term "life-cycle" is often interpreted
by different people to mean very different
things. To some, it,connotes an exhaustive,
extremely time-consuming and very
expensive analysis. To other life-cycle is an
abbreviated process whereby a long list of
potential environmental attributes and/or
impacts is narrowed to just a few which
provide the basis for comparison across a
particular product category. This guidance
promotes the latter interpretation and
encourages the use of tools which are
currently available. For starters. Executive
agencies are directed to EPA's document
"Federal Facility Pollution Prevention
Project Analysis: A Primer for Applying Life
Cycle and Total Cost Assessment Concepts."
(EPA 300-B-95-008,July 1995)
A more detailed discussion of issues
related to life-cycle considerations is
included in Appendix C.
Guiding Principle 4:
Environmental preferability should
consider the scale (global vs. local) and
temporal reversibility) aspects of the impact.
Determination of environmental
preferability may require weighing the
various environmental impacts among
products. For example, is the impact of
increased energy requirements of one
product more tolerable than the water
pollution associated with the use of another
product? While there is no clear hierarchy as
to which attributes or environmental impacts
are most important, EPA has articulated, in
its Science Advisory Board's 1990 report
entitled Reducing Risk, a statement of policy
on priority pollutants affecting
environmental and public health. In this
report, environmental stressors Were judged
to be significant based on two primary
criteria—the geographic scale and degree of
reversibility of the impact. Applying this
principle suggests that products with
pollutants whose effects are local and rapidly
reversible are to be generally preferred over
products that impose global and irreversible
environmental damages.
A matrix of priority ecological impacts that
reflects the scale and temporal consideration
of impacts, and a list of priority human
health impacts is included in a discussion in
proposed Appendix E.
Guiding Principle 5:
Environmental preferability should be
tailored to local conditions where
appropriate.
The importance of environmental impacts
may vary depending on geographic location
and other site-specific factors, such as the
variation in the availability of natural
resources and pollutant effects on a
particularly sensitive ecosystem. For
example, products that conserve water usage
may be valued more highly by those who live
in the southwest United States where water
is scarce than by resident of the northeast
where water is abundant. Thus, purchaser!;
may wish to consider local environmental
issues when evaluating life-cycle
environmental information provided by
offerers. When making purchasing decisions,
•these local issues would need to be carefully
weighed against other global and national
environmental problems, such as ozone
depletion and global climate change.
Guiding Principle 6:
Environmental objectives of products or
services should be a factor or subfactor in
competition among vendors, when
appropriate.
An approach to selecting environmentally
preferable products that promotes
competition on environmental grounds
among vendors is better than an approach
which inhibits competitive forces. The
consideration of environmental factors in
purchasing needs to be put in the context of
other important considerations such as
performance, health and safety issues and
price. A crucial element in fostering
competition and encouraging a market-driven
approach is to have disclosure of information
by vendors about their products and services.
Where appropriate, Federal personnel should.
seek meaningful information about the
environmental aspects of products in order to
judge whether one product or service is more
of less environmentally preferable than
another. The accessibility of the information
to the public (both the Federal personnel and
the general public) will help ensure its
accuracy and credibility (e.g., through "the
power of the spotlight") as well as to
stimulate continuous improvement in the
environmental performance of vendors'
products.
'Guiding Principle 7:
Agencies need to examine carefully
product attribute claims.
A number of sources of information about
environmental performance of products arc
currently available.4 Two general categories
of information sources can be distinguished.
The first is manufacturers who make claims
about their products either on the product
label or in their advertisements. Second,
some third party environmental certification
programs evaluate environmental aspects of
products and award "seals-of-approval" or
compile "report cards" of environmental
information. Others verify specifit claims
made by manufacturers (e.g., product
contains X percent recycled content). The
extent to which information conveyed
through claims and seals can assist Executive
agency personnel in identifying
environmentally preferable products may
vary depending on the types of product being
4 Information about environmental aspects of
products are much more abundant in the consumer
marketplace. However, as the Federal acquisition
system becomes more decentralized and allows for
more direct purcliasing of commercially available
products, the line that distinguishes the Federal
marketplace from the consumer marketplace will
become increasingly blurred and the information
flow between the two marketplaces will increase.
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50729
purchased and the legal requirements
applicable fora particular acquisition.
This guidance includes two tools to assist
Executive agency personnel in evaluating
attribute claims or "eco-labels" that appear
on products. First, a summary of the Federal
Trade Commission's (FTC) "Guides for Use
of Environmental Marketing Terms," appears
as Appendix D. Second, EPA proposes to
include a discussion of characteristics for
third party environmental certification
programs in the guidance as Appendix F.
Executive agency decisions regarding federal
procurement, including those involving the
environmental preferability of products, are
'considered to be an inherent government
function, therefore the EPA believes that
Executive agencies should not make
decisions regarding the environmental
preferability of products based on third party
environmental certification programs that do
not generally meet certain characteristics.
EPA has requested comment on this
proposed Appendix.
///. Executive Agency Implementation
This section recommends steps that each
agency can take to implement the
environmentally preferable provisions of
Executive Order 12873.
A. Policy Directive and Affirmative
Procurement Plans
Recognizing that effective implementation
will require clear direction and support from
the top levels of the agency, it is'
recommended that each Executive agency
issue a Policy Directive that promotes the
purchase of environmentally preferable
products and services. Elements in the policy
directive should include:
An overall statement of policy:
• Agency personnel should seek to reduce
the environmental damages associated with
their purchases by increasing their purchase
of environmentally preferable products and
services to the extent feasible, taking into
account other considerations such as
performance, health and safety issues and
price.
• Environmental factors should be taken
into account as early as possible in the
acquisition planning and decision-making
process.
A commitment to the following:
• Increase the acquisition of
environmentally preferable products and
services.5
• Identification of voluntary pilot projects
(see discussion below).
• Establishment of incentive and award
programs to recognize those people, teams,
and interagency work groups who are most
successful at promoting the purchase of
environmentally preferable products.6
5 This is pursuant to section 602. "Goal for
Increasing the Procurement of Recycled and Other
Environmentally Preferable Products," which states
"Agencies shall strive to increase the procurement
of products that are environmentally preferable or
that are made with recovered materials and set
annual goals to maximize the number of recycled
products purchased, relative to non-recycled
alternatives."
6This is pursuant to section 302(b)(2) of the
Executive Order that states that Agency
Environmental Executives shall "establish
Collaboration among agencies to provide
education and training is highly encouraged.
In order to minimize the burden on
Executive agencies, EPA recommends that
provisions of the Policy Directive to promote
environmentally preferable products be
incorporated into individual agency's
Affirmative Procurement Plans.7 This can be
done as agencies revise their Plans.
B. Pilot Projects
The discussion in Section II.B. identified
seven principles which are key to promoting
the purchase of environmentally preferable
products. To encourage Executive agencies to
move forward in acquiring environmentally
preferable products and to further develop
the infrastructure and knowledge base to
support this initiative, EPA is recommending
that voluntary pilot projects be undertaken
by Executive agencies.
The pilot acquisitions will be the
"laboratories" for applying the principles,
will help test their workability, and through
the' results of the pilots, provide actual
"lessons learned" as well as improved or
more effective policy for future acquisitions.
For each of the pilots, a product, category
specific guidance (PCSG) or "users guide"
aimed at the acquisition community will be
developed. EPA will seek involvement of
established commodity sources, such as the
General Service Administration (GSA) and
the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA), who
have experience and expertise concerning
their respective commodities in the pilot
projects. EPA plans to keep track of projects
that are planned or already underway and
thereby serve as a focal point for information
on government-wide activities related to
environmentally preferable products.
Information about different pilots will be
disseminated among the agencies to avoid
any duplication of efforts and to ensure that
lessons learned in one pilot project can be
shared to inform other pilot projects.
The discussion below further describes
how these pilots and demonstration projects
might work. Figure 2 illustrates this process.
1. Selection of pilots. Selection of pilots
acquisitions is at the discretion of individual
Executive agencies. Criteria that agencies
should consider in selecting pilots include:
• Potential for a reduction in risk to
human health and the environment.
• Feasibility/degree of flexibility in the
acquisition.
•, Products or services that are
representative or typical of the procurement
system; this maximizes the potential value of
the pilot acquisition in providing lessons as
to the effectiveness of the guidance as well
as future acquisitions.
2. Short-term implementation. There are
several demonstration projects-that are
incentives, provide guidance and coordinate
appropriate educational programs for agency
employees."
7 Under section 6002 of the Resource
Conservation and Recovery Act of 1976, procuring
agencies are required to establish affirmative
procurement programs for purchasing EPA-
designated recycled products. EPA recommends
that agencies expand the scope of their affirmative
procurement programs to include other
environmentally preferable products.
already in the planning or implementation
stages that illustrate how to promote the
purchase of environmentally preferable
products. These include:
GSA/EPA Cleaning Products Pilot
In 1993 at the request of GSA, EPA began
developing environmental performance
criteria that would help identify "green"
cleaning products. Stakeholder meetings
were held to develop the criteria, and a study
was undertaken to look at product efficacy
and the relationship between product
performance and environmental impact.
Using the results of these efforts, GSA's
Federal Supply Service is developing a
solicitation for a multiple award schedule
that will convey from vendors to federal
consumers information on attributes of
cleaning products that can serve as indicators
of environmental impacts. This information
will then be available to purchasers for their
examination when selecting products. As
part of this pilot, EPA will examine the
information provided on the
"environmentally preferable cleaning
products" schedule and will select cleaning
products for EPA facilities.
GSA/EPA Computer Pilot
Computer hardware accounts for
approximately $4.6 billion in purchases by
the Federal government annually. Currently,
the Federal government has been successful
in purchasing energy efficient Energy Star
computers which have resulted in significant
environmental benefits and cost savings.
Using its purchasing power, the Federal
government can and, in the case of Energy
Star, has stimulated product manufacturers
to make environmental improvements. EPA
and GSA, in collaboration with computer
manufacturers and others, are seeking to
expand the Energy Star model to identify
additional attributes that can be used in the
acquisition of environmentally preferable
computers.
Current Sources for Products With
Environmental Attributes
Executive agencies have the option of
acquisition products through various supply
sources available from GSA and DLA. GSA's
Multiple Award schedules (MAS) are one
such source of supply. With recent
modifications, these schedules offer to
purchasers some information on the
environmental performance of products. GSA
also currently publishes an Environmental
Products Guide which identifies those
products which vendors have associated with
an environmental claim and a New Item
Introductory Schedule that often includes
information on the environmental
performance of products.8 While agencies
should consider purchasing items from this
Guide, they should be aware that often the
claims refer to a single environmental
attribute (e.g., recycled content) and are not
verified by GSA. GSA is planning to enlist
EPA's assistance in implementing a
demonstration project that will involve
expanding these publications to include
8 Other catalogs of supply include GSA's Supply
Catalog and DLA's Energy Efficient Lighting
Catalog.
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Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 189 / Friday, September 29, 1995 / Notices
more comprehensive information on the
environmental performance of products.
3. Medium term implementation. In
addition to completing the aforementioned
pilous that have already been initiated, EPA
requests that Executive agencies select
voluntary acquisitions that would become
the next wave of pilots and which would also
benefit from lessons learned from those case
studies already underway or completed.
These voluntary pilots will be implemented
In three phases.
Phase I—Agencies will identify possible
pilot projects. Based on their selections,
additional guidance targeting specific
product categories will be developed and
published, EPA will support these pilots,
providing overall coordination and technical
assistance, as resources allow. The product
category ^specific guidances will include the
following
• A qualitative description of the most
Important environmental performance
characteristics for that product category; this
will involve a scoping process that will
include technical experts both inside and
outside U it* government,
• A description of standard methods by
which those characteristics can be measured.
Institutionalizing the purchase of
environmentally preferable products in the
long run requires that the efforts on the part
of the Executive agencies not end when these
pilots are completed. So that agencies will
continue to acquire "green" products, EPA
will coordinate an effort to develop
additional guidance documents for product
categories that will become the subjects of
future pilots. These guidance documents,
similar to the product category-specific
guidances described above, will describe
environmental performance characteristics
and measurement methods, and will be
developed through a process involving
technical experts both inside and outside the
government. The identity of the product
categories to be targeted for additional
guidance will be determined at a future date,
and will be influenced by suggestions that
are submitted during the public comment
period on this proposed guidance.
Phase II—Applying the product category-
specific guidance to the acquisition process,
agencies will actually purchase
environmentally preferable products. While
the acquisition strategy and method are left
to the discretion of the purchasing agency,.
Executive agencies are asked to select the
procurement strategy that:
• Maximizes the number of
environmentally preferable product choices
available to the purchasing Agency.
• Promotes competition across products in
terms of environmental performance.
• Stimulates product and process
innovation and continuous improvement.
• Allows for the consideration of local
environmental conditions.
• Promotes a definition of environmentally
preferable products thai: can improve over
time.
Phase III—Upon completion of the pilot
project, a compilation and analysis of lessons
learned in the acquisition process, data
gathered about product categories and results
of the pilots will be assembled. The results
of these joint efforts will be shared with other
agencies through the Electronic. Acquisition
Network process. EPA believes that the
lessons learned from these efforts will help
to refine the concepts and principles
contained in the general guidance and
thereby ensure the effective implementation
of the mandates in the Executive Order.
BILLING CODE 6560-50-M
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50731
Figure 2. Pilot Implementation
GENERAL GUIDANCE/EPA POLICY
SHORTTERM
IMPLEMENTATION
• Policy Directive
1 Pilots/Demonstration Projects
- Cleaners
- Computers
- Others
MEDIUM TERM
IMPLEMENTATION
> Preliminary PCSG
• PHASE II -
PCSG Goes to Pilot
Procurement,
Demonstrations, etc.
• Final PCSG/Users Guides
• Training/Education Programs
• Awards Programs
• Tracking
(EXPERT PANEL )
-». FEEDBACK
BILLING CODE 6560-50-C
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4, Long-term success. The experience
gained from the short- and medium-term
pilots will be key to determining the scope
and nature of EPA's long-term activities to
advance Federal acquisition of
environmentally preferable products and
services. The lessons learned from these
pilots as well as the partnerships formed
during die pilots will help to establish a
broader infrastructure to support this
Initiative. EPA may need to utilize existing
or help develop new mechanisms—guidance,
networks, data bases, etc.—in support of the
Federal purchasing community to build this
infrastructure. The infrastructure can serve to
bridge the gap between the environmental
and procurement expertise within the
Executive agencies.
All Federal personnel will have a role In
creating a demand for products and services
that have fewer environmental burdens.
Thus;, the infrastructure will also have to
support the development of tools that are
easy and convenient for Federal personnel to
use in selecting arid purchasing
environmentally preferable products.
Furthermore, in light of the evolving
acquisition landscape and the dynamic
nature of the marketplace, die infrastructure
will have to be flexible in order to meet the
changing needs of die acquisition
community. Given the increased
globalization of the economy and die trend
towards commercialization of the, Federal
marketplace, another important
consideration will be to coordinate this
initiative with new interntlonal trade-and
standardisation developments. Ultimately,
the measure of success of tills initiative will
be in terms of increased availability and
purchase of products and services that have
(ewer impacts on human health and the
environment
Appendix
The set of appendices that follows
sliould be viewed by procuring officials
and other government employees as
separate but related ''tools boxes" to be
used In determining preferability. As
with all tasks, the type and complexity
of the tools should be appropriate to the
magnitude and Importance of the job.
The EPA seeks comments on the
appendices that follow:
Appendix A. Glossary of Terms
Appendix B. Environmental
Performance Characteristics
(I) Preliminary "Menu" of
Environmental Performance
Characteristics
(2) Definitions for Terms in the Menu
of Environmental Performance
Characteristics
Appendix C. Applying a Life-Cycle
Perspective
Appendix D. Summary of FTC's
"Guides for Use of Environmental
Marketing Claims"
Appendix A. Glossary of Terms
Environmentally preferable. Products or
services uhat have a lesser or reduced effect
on human health and the environment when
compared with competing products or
services that serve the same purpose. The
comparison may consider raw materials
acquisition, production, manufacturing,
packaging, distribution, reuse, operation,
maintenance, or disposal of the product or
service.
Life-cycle assessment. The life-cycle
assessment is a process or framework to
evaluate the environmental burdens
associated with a product, process, or activity
by identifying and quantifying energy arid
material usage and environmental releases, to
assess the impact of those energy and
material uses and releases on the
environment, and to evaluate and implement
opportunities to effect environmental
improvements. The assessment includes the
entire life-cycle of the product, process, or
activity, encompassing extracting and
processing raw materials; manufacturing,
transportation and distribution; use/re-use/
maintenance; recycling; and final disposal.
Often the terms life-cycle assessment and
life-cycle analysis are used synonymously.
The Executive Order uses the latter and
provides a slightly different definition as
follows: "Life-cycle analysis is a
comprehensive examination of a product's
environmental and economic effects
throughout its lifetime including new
material extraction, transportation,
manufacturing, use and disposal.
Life-cycle cost. For the purposes of this
guidance document, life-cycle cost is defined
to mean all interns! and external costs
associated with a product, process, or activity
throughout its entire life-cycle—from raw
materials acquisition to manufacture to ...
recycling/final disposal of waste materials.
The term life-cycle cost has also been used
by the'Departmeht of Defense to mean the
amortized aririflal cost-of a product, including-
capital costs, installation.costs, operating
costs, maintenance costs, and disposal costs'
discounted over the lifetime of a product.
However, this second definition has
traditionally not included environmental
costs associated with systems and thus, the
first definition is used in the guidance.
Multiple Award Schedule (MAS). MASs,
contain a number of product listings for'"
which several vendors are available for a ' ''
particular product. Purchasers obtain ' .
information from the vendors and determine
from which vendor they want to buy.
Pollution prevention. Pollution prevention
means "source reduction," as defineti under
the Pollution Prevention Act of 1990, and
other practices that reduce or eliminate the
creation of pollutants through:
—Increased efficiency in the use of raw
materials, energy, water, or other
resources, or
—Protection of natural resources by
conservation.
The Pollution Prevention Act defines
source reduction to mean any practice which:
—Reduces the amount of any hazardous
substance, pollutant, or contaminant
entering any waste stream or
otherwise released into the
environment (including fugitive
emissions) prior to recycling,
treatment, or disposal; and
—Reduces the hazards to public health
and the environment associated with
the release of such substances,
pollutants, or contaminants.
The term includes: equipment or
technology modifications, process or
procedure modifications, reformulation or
redesign of products, substitution of raw
materials, and improvements in
housekeeping, maintenance, training or
inventory control.
Third party certification programs. Within
the context of this guidance, this general term
is used to include programs (cither non-profit
or for-profit, government-run, government
related or independent) that verify or certify
single attribute claims made by
manufacturers or other programs that
compile key environmental information into
"report cards" (e.g., those compiled by the
Scientific Certification Program). The term
also encompasses a large category of both
international and to a lesser extent, domestic
programs that award "seals-of-approval" to
those products that meet a specific set of
environmental award criteria. Award criteria
may reflect an analysis of environmental
impacts,'such as Canada's Environmental
Choice's standards for reduced-pollution
paint, or single categories, such as Japan's
EcoMark seal awarded for the recycled
content of paper. A seal is given only if a
product meets the standards established by
the program. Most of the major foreign
environmental certification programs use a
seal of approval approach. Active third parly
seal of approval programs include Germany's
Blue Angel, Canada's Environmental Choice,
Japaft',s EcoMark, Green Seal (U.S.), and the
.international Flipper Seal-of-Approval,
among others.
Participation by manufacturers or vendors
in the various programs is usually on a
voluntary basis.
Appendix B. Environmental
Performance Characteristics
The menu of environmental performance
characteristics listed below is designed to
help identify the attributes that can be
targeted for improvement. This, together with
the life cycle graphic which appears in
Appendix C, can be used by Federal
purchasers to help select, that product or
• service that minimizes environmental
impact. It is a preliminary list of the major
potential sources of human health and
environmental risk. Definitions for each of
the characteristics follow the menu.
This menu can be used by agency
personnel in two ways: (a) to provide a
standard framework for focusing in on ihe
most important environmental attributes of
products, systems,.and facilities, and
determining which product is preferable
based on those attributes, or (b) as a check-
list of environmental issues to be considered
when designing and acquiring systems or
buildings. Not all of the environemental
performance characteristics will apply to
each product; indeed, in some cases,
information on only a few key environmental
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50733
attributes may be needed to determine
environmental preferability. .
The menu of environmental performance
characteristics suggests that two different
approaches to soliciting information can be
used. The first includes consideration of
releases of pollutants that occur during the
life-cycle of the product. In the research on
product life-cycle assessments that have been
conducted over the past several years, these
releases are known as "inventory" items.
Alternatively, the risks (or risk surrogates)
associated with various life-cycle stages of a
product can be identified. This approach
seeks to identify actual environmental
impacts rather than solely environmental
releases. When calculating risks, general
population (both environmental and human)
exposures and occupational exposures need
to be considered. Executive agencies may
consider using both risk and release data in
their decisions to purchase environmentally
preferable products and services.
Additional guidance on how the menu may
be used within the context of a particular
product category as well as how the
Ecological Priority Impacts Matrix and the
List of Stressors Presenting High Risk
(discussed below in Appendix D) may be
applicable will be issued as part of specific
guidances that will follow based on
voluntary pilot acquisitions.
If vendors/offerers use the menu as a basis
for making environmental marketing claims,
they should conform to the Federal Trade
Commission's Guides for Use of
Environmental Marketing Claims (16 CFR
260.5). A summary of the FTC's Guides is
included as Appendix D. As explained in the
FTC guides, claims concerning a product's
environmental performance need to be
supported by environmental data provided
by offerers and offerers are encouraged to
have the information verified by a credible,
independent third party certifier to provide
product users, acquisition officials and
program managers with the assurance that
the information they are evaluating is
accurate and scientifically sound.
Appendix B(l). Preliminary Menu of
Environmental Performance :
Characteristics
A. Natural Resources Use
—Ecosystem impacts (endangered species,
wetlands loss, fragile ecosystem, erosion,
animal welfare etc.)
—Energy consumption (including source, if
known)
—Water consumption
—Non-renewable resource consumption
(>200 years)
—Renewable resource consumption (<200
years)
—Rapidly renewable resource consumption
(<2 years)
B. Human Health and Ecological Stressors
—Bioaccumulative pollutants
—Ozone depleting chemicals
—Global warming gases
—Chemical releases (Toxics Release
Inventory (TRI) list chemicals or others)
—Ambient air releases (other than TRI,
including volatile organic compounds &
particular matter)
—Indoor environmental releases (consumer
and occupational)
—Conventional pollutants released to water
—Hazardous waste .
—Non-hazardous solid waste (municipal
solid waste, large volume waste, surface
impoundments)
—Other Stressors
C. Positive Attributes
—Recycled Content
—Recyclability
—Product Disassembly Potential
—Durability
—Reusability
—Other attributes
D. Hazard Factors Associated With Materials
—Human Health Hazards
acute toxicity
carcinogenic! fy
developmental/reproductive toxicity
immunotoxicity
irritancy
neurotoxicity
sensitization
other chronic toxicity
—Eqological Hazards
aquatic toxicity
avian toxicity
terrestrial species toxicity
—Product Safety Attributes
corrosivity
flammability
reactivity
Appendix B(2). Definitions for Terms in
the Menu of Environmental
Performance Characteristics
A. Natural Resource Use
(1) Ecosystem impacts: Adverse impacts on
the ecosystem, e.g., endangered species,
wetlands loss, fragile ecosystems, erosion.
(Z) Energy consumption: The total amount
of energy consumed. Different sources of
energy are associated with different
environmental impacts (e.g., petroleum
consumption creates global warming gases
while hydroelectric power may have
localized site impacts on ecosystems and/or
species diversity).
(3) Water consumption: Refers to the water
resources that are consumed or used.
(4) Non-renewable resource consumption:
Those resources consumed that are not
renewable in 200 years (e.g., fossil fuels,
minerals).
(5) Renewable resource consumption:
Those resources consumed that are
renewable in 2 to 200 years (e.g., timber-
based products).
(6) Rapidly renewable resource
consumption: Those resources consumed
that are renewable in less than 2 years (e.g.,
grain-based feed stocks).
B. Human Health and Ecological Stressors
(l) Bioaccumulative pollutants: Those
chemicals that bioconcentrate in the
environment as described in the Significant
New Use Rule for new chemicals. (See 40
CFR 721.3)
(2) Ozone depleting chemicals: Ozone
depleting chemicals have been defined in the
Protection of Stratospheric Ozone Final Rule,
(58 FR 65018, December 10, 1993).
(3) Global warming gases: Global warming
gases are listed in Climate Change 1992, The
Scientific Report on the IPCC Scientific
Assessment, Table, A 2.1-,,
(4) Chemical releases: This refers to
ambient releases of chemicals of concern
such as those reported on the Toxics Release
Inventory (TRI) of the Emergency Planning
and Community Right-to-Know Act. The
current list is reported in 40 CFR 372.65.
(5) Ambient air pollutants: Refers to
pollutants for which ambient air quality
standards have been developed (see 40 CFR
50.4-50.12). These include nitrogen dioxide,
sulfur dioxide, ozone precursors, paniculate
'matter, carbon monoxide and lead.
(6) Indoor environmental releases: This
refers to releases to an indoor environment of
chemicals of concern such as those reported
on the TRI in both occupational and
consumer settings.
(7) conventional pollutants: Conventional
pollutants are defined in 40 CFR 401.16.
These include biochemical oxygen demand,
total suspended solids, fecal coliform, pH,
and oil and grease.
(8) Hazardous waste: Quality of Resource
Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) ^*
hazardous waste as defined in 40 CFR 261.3.
(9) Non-hazardous waste: Quantity of solid
waste as defined in 40 CFR 261.3. Includes
municipal solid waste, large volume (e.g., oil
and gas, mining, etc.) waste and solid
disposed of in surface impoundments.
(10) Other Stressors: Any other Stressors
associated with the product or service but not
captured elsewhere.
C. Positive Attributes
(1) Recycled content: Percentage of
recovered material content (see Federal Trade
Commission guidelines mentioned above for
more details). Executive agencies are
required to purchase EPA-designated items
with recycled content (40 CFR part 247).
Purchasers may want to consider whether the
material contains pre-consumer or post-
consumer recycled content. Post-consumer
recycled content or material that would have
otherwise been incinerated or landfilled is
considered to be better for the environment
than manufacturers' scrap material that
would have, in any case, been incorporated
into the product. Refer to FTC's "Guides for
the Use of Environmental Marketing Claims."
(2) Recyclability: Refers to products or
materials that can be recovered from or
otherwise diverted from the solid waste
stream for the purpose of recycling. It should
be noted, however, that although technically
most materials may be recyclable—i.e.,
processed and used—whether a product or a
material is actually recycled depends to a
large extent on the community availability of
collection and use programs for the materials.
Refer to FTC's "Guides for the Use of
Environmental Marketing Claims."
(3) Product disassembly potential: Refers to
the ease with which a product can be
disassembled for maintenance, parts
replacement, or recycling.
(4) Durability: Refers to the expected
lifetime of the product.
(5) Reusability: Refers to how many times
a product may be reused. Since reusable
products, in general, may require more up
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Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 189 / Friday, September 29, 1995 / Notices
front costs than disposable products they are
often subjected to a cost/benefit analysis in
order to determine the payback period.
(6) Other attributes: Any other positive
attributes that are associated with the
product but arc not listed here.
D. Hamad Factors Associated With Materials
Human Health Hazards
(1) Acute toxicity; The potential to cause
adverse health effects from short-term
exposure to a chemical substance.
(2) Careinogenlcity; Carcinogenicity is
defined EPA using a weight-of-evidence
approach (51 FR 33992. September 24, 1986).
When quantification is possible, slope factors
can also be used to express carcinogenic
potency,
(3) Development/reproductive toxicity:
EPA defines developmental toxicity as
adverse effects on the developing organism
that result from exposure prior to conception
(either parent), during prenatal development,
or postnatally to the time of sexual
maturation (S6 FR 63798, Decembers, 1991).
Reproductive toxicity is any adverse effect on
an organism's ability to reproduce.
(4) Immunotoxicity: Any adverse effect on
an organism's immune system that results
from exposure to a chemical substance.
(5) Irritaney! Irritancy can be reported
according to the Occupational Safety and
Health Administration (OSHA) Hazard
Communication Standard (29 CFR part
ID10 IHOO) or using the Draize scale.
(C) Netirotoxicity: Any adverse change in
the development, structure, or function of the
central and peripheral nervous system
following exposure to a chemical agent (59
FR 42272, August 17, 1994)..
(7) Sensitization: Sensitization is an
immunologically mediated cutaneous
reaction to a substance. EPA test methods for
evaluating Sensitization potential are found
in 40 CFR part 798.4100.
(8) Other chronic toxicity: The potential to
cause an adverse effect on any organ or
system following absorption and distribution
to a site distant from the toxicants entry
point.
Ecological Hazards
(1) Aquatic toxicity: The potential of a
substance to have an adverse effect on
aquatic species. Measurement methods for
aquatic toxicity can be found in 40 CFR part
797, subpart B.
(2) Avian toxicity: The potential of a
substance to have an adverse effect on avian
species.
(3) Terrestrial species toxicity: The
potential of a substance to have an adverse
effect on terrestrial species other than man.
Product Safety Attributes
(1) Corrosivity: EPA defines dermal
corrosion as the production" of irreversible
tissue damage in the skin following
application of a test substance. Test methods
for evaluating dermal corrosion can be found
in 40 CFR 798.4470.
(2) Flammability: Flammability is defined
by the OSHA Hazard Communication
FIGURE C-1.—LIFE-CYCLE STAGES
Standard (29 CFR 1910,1200) and ignitability
is defined in 40 CFR part 261.21.
(3) Reactivity: As defined in 40 CFR
261.23.
Appendix C. Applying a Life-Cycle
Perspective 9
The life-cycle stages are represented in the
graphic below. The "Design" heading below
the life-cycle stages is meant to reinforce the
fact that the most critical and effective time
to address the environmental impacts of a
product is in the design stage. Note that the
pre-manufacturing stages should reflect
environmental effects associated with raw
materials, acquisition, intermediate
processing, and all activities prior to
manufacturing.
To ensure reduction of environmental
impacts in as many of the life-cycle stages as
possible, the following information is
desirable: (1) a description of the
environmental impacts at each life-cycle
stage, and (2) an indication of at which
stage(s) the greatest environmental impacts
occur. Strategies can then be developed to
reduce environmental impacts at that stage.
For example, if the greatest impact occurs in
the use stage, Executive agencies could
develop strategies for proper maintenance or
training. While the federal consumer may be
tempted to focus on the last 2 stages, it is
possible for environmental impacts to be
greater in the first three stages.
Design
Prfi'mnnufacturG
Manufacture .
Distribution/packaging
Use, reuse, & mainte-
nance.
Waste management.
Appendix D. Summary of Federal
Trade Commission Guides for Use of
Environmental Marketing ClaimsI0
Background
The Federal Trade Commission's Guides
for the Use of Environmental Marketing
Claims are based on a review of data obtained
during FTC law-enforcement Investigations,
from two days of hearings the FTC held in
July 1991, and from more than 100 written
comments received from the public. Like all
FTC guides, they are administrative
interpretations of laws administered by the
FTC, Thus, while they are not themselves
legally enforceable, they provide guidance to
marketers in conforming with legal
requirements. The guides apply to
advertising, labeling and other forms of
* It Is recognized tliat It may be Initially difficult
to apply a full life-cycle perspective In determining
mid purchasing environmentally preferable
products^ However, despite the challenges
presented by applying tire llfe-cycle concepts, EPA
Mfongly believes that the life-cycle framework
offers the liollstlc and comprehensive perspective
needed to address adequately the Issue of
marketing to consumers. They do not
preempt state or local laws or regulations.
This Commission will seek public
comment on whether to modify the guides
after 3 years. In the meantime, interested
parties may petition the Commission to
amend the guides.
Basically, the guides describe various
claims, note those that should be avoided
because they are likely to .be misleading, and
illustrate the kinds of qualifying statements
that may have to be added to other claims to
avoid consumer deception. The claims are
followed by examples that illustrate the
points. The guides outline principles that
apply to all environmental claims, and
address the use of eight commonly-used
environmental marketing claims.
environmental preferability. As efforts are made to
apply the concepts more broadly, both In the
private and public sector and as the work of those
developing the methodology for establishing
standards for life-cycle assessment continue, tools
will evolve overtime that can facilitate application
of a life-cycle perspective to environmentally
preferable purchasing. Until then, users of this
General Concern -,
As for any advertising claims, the FTC
guides specify that any time marketers make
objective environmental claims—whether
explicit or implied—they must be
substantiated by competent and reliable
evidence. In the case of environmental
claims, that evidence often will have to be
competent and reliable scientific evidence.
The guides outline four other general
concerns that apply to all environmental
claims. There are:
(1) Qualifications and disclosures should
be sufficiently clear and prominent to
prevent deception.
(2) Environmental claims should make
clear whether they apply to the product, the
package, or a component of either. Claims
need not be qualified with regard to minor,
guidance are encouraged to apply as much of a life-
cycle perspective to their purchases of
environmentally preferable products and services as
possible.
10 Excerpted from FTC Press Release announcing
guidelines for environmental marketing claims.
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Federal Register / Vol. ^60, No. 189./-Friday. September 29, 1995 / Notices
50735
incidental components of the product or
package.
(3) Environmental claims should not
overstate the environmental attribute or
benefit. Marketers should avoid implying a
significant environmental benefit where the
benefit is, in fact, negligible.
(4) A claim comparing the environmental
attributes of one product with those of
another product should make the basis for
the comparison sufficiently clear and should
be substantiated.
(Summary of FTC Environmental Marketing
Guidelines)
The guides then discuss particular
environmental marketing claims. In most
cases, each discussion is followed in the
guides by a series of examples to illustrate
how the principles apply to specific claims.
General environmental benefit claims. In
general, unqualified general environmental
claims are difficult to interpret and may have
a wide range of meanings to consumers.
Every express and material implied claim
conveyed to consumers about an objective
quality should be substantiated. Unless they
can be substantiated, broad environmental
claims should be avoided or qualified.
Degradable, biodegradable, and
photodegradable. In general, unqualified
degradability claims should be substantiated
by evidence that the product willicompletely
break down and return to nature, that is,
decompose into elements found in nature
within a reasonably short period of time after
consumers dispose of it in the customary
way. Such claims should be qualified to the
extent necessary to avoid consumer
deception about: (a) The product or package's
ability to degrade in the environment where
it is customarily disposed; and (b) the extent
and rate of degradation.
Compostable. In general, unqualified
compostable claims should be substantiated
by evidence that all the materials in the
product or package will break down into, or
otherwise become part of, usable compost
(e.g., soil-conditioning material, mulch) in a
safe and timely manner in an appropriate
composting program or facility, or in a home
compost pile or device. Compostable claims
should be qualified to the extent necessary to
avoid consumer deception. (1) If municipal
composting facilities are not available to a
substantial majority of consumer or
communities where the product is sold; (2)
if the claim misleads consumers about the
environmental benefit provided when the
product is disposed of in a landfill; or (3) if
consumers misunderstand the claims to
mean that the package can be safely
composted in their home compost pile or
device, when in fact it cannot.
Recyclable. In general, a product or
package should not be marketed as recyclable
unless it can be collected, separated, or
otherwise recovered from the solid waste
stream for use in the form of raw materials
in trie manufacturer or assembly of a new
product or package. Unqualified recyclable
claims may be made if the entire product or
package, excluding incidental components, is
recyclable.
Claims about products with both recyclable
and non-recyclable components should be
adequately qualified. If incidental
components significantly limit the ability to
recycle a product, the claim would be
deceptive. If, because of its size or shape, a
product is not accepted in recycling '---'-
programs, it should not be marketed as
recyclable. Qualifications may be necessary
to avoid consumer deception about the
limited availability of recycling programs and
collection sites if recycling collection sites
are not available to a substantial majority of
consumers or communities.
Recycled Content. In general, claims of
recycled content should only be made for
materials that have been recovered or
diverted from the solid waste stream, either
during the manufacturing process (pre-
consumer) or after consumer waste (post-
consumer). An advertiser should be able to
substantiate that pre-consumer content
would otherwise have entered the solid
waste stream. Distinctions made between
pre- and post-consumer content should be
substantiated. Unqualified claims may be
made if the entire product or package,
excluding minor, incidental components, is
made from recycled material. Products or
packages only partially made of recycled
material should be qualified to indicate the
amount, by weight, in the finished product
or package.
Source Reduction. In general, claims that a
product or package has been reduced or is
lower in weight, volume, or toxicity should
be qualified to the extent necessary to avoid
consumer deception about the amount of
reduction and the basis for any comparison
asserted.
Refillable. In general, an unqualified
refillable claim should not be asserted unless
a system is provided for: (1) the collection
and return of the package for refill; or (2) the
later refill of the package by consumers with
product subsequently sold in another
package. The claim should not be made if it
is up to consumers to find ways to refill the
package.
Ozone Safe and Ozone Friendly. In general,
a product should not be advertised as "ozone
safe," "ozone friendly," or as not containing
CFCs if the product contains any ozone-
depleting chemical. Claims about the
reduction of a product's ozone-depletion
potential may be made if adequately
substantiated.
Appendix E—Establishing Core
Environmental Values [Reserved]
Appendix F—Establishing Third Party
Environmental Certification Programs
[Reserved]
V. Public Record
A record has been established for this
document under docket number
"OPPTS-00149" (including comments
and data submitted electronically as
described below). A public version of
this record, including printed, paper
versions of electronic comments, which
does not include any information
claimed as CBI, is available for
inspection from noon to 4 p.m., Monday
through Friday, excluding legal
holidays. The public record is located in
the TSCA Nonconfidential Information
Center, Rm. NE-B607, 401 M St., SW.,
Washington, DC2046,0.
Electronic comments can be sent
directly to EPA at:
ncic@epamail.epa.gov
Electronic comments must be
submitted as an ASCII file avoiding the
use of special characters and any form
of encryption.
The official record for this document,
as well as the public version, as
described above will be kept in paper
form. Accordingly, EPA will transfer all
comments received electronically into
printed, paper form as they are received
and will place the paper copies in the
official record which will also include
all comments submitted directly in
writing. The official record is the paper
record maintained at the address in
ADDRESSES at the beginning of this
document.
List of Subjects
Environmental protection.
Dated: September 25, 1995.
Carol M. Browner,
Administrator.
[FR Doc. 95-24284 Filed 9-28-95; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-M
[OPPTS-62150A; FRL-4980-3]
Guidance on Acquisition of
Environmentally Preferable Products
and Services; Notice of Meeting
AGENCY: Environmental protection
Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Notice of meeting.
SUMMARY: This Notice describes a
process that EPA has established to
solicit input from all interested parties
on the proposed guidance that
Executive agencies can use in
determining the preference and
purchase of environmentally preferable
products and services. As a part of this
process, EPA is announcing a public
meeting to be held in October. This
proposed guidance is being developed
to implement section 503 of Executive
Order on Federal Acquisition, Recycling
and Waste Prevention. The proposed
guidance in its entirety is published
elsewhere in this issue of the Federal
Register.
DATES: The meeting will take place on
October 26 and 27, 1995, starting at 9:30
a.m. and ending each day at 5 p.m.
unless concluded earlier. Registration
will occur one hour before the meeting
is scheduled to begin on both days. The
second day will only proceed if there
are more confirmed presenters than can
be accommodated on the first day.
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Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 189 / Friday, September 29, 1995 / Notices
Requests to present oral testimony
must be received on or before October
18,1995, and will be scheduled on a
flrsl'Come, first-served basis.
ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held at:
Hyatt Regency Crystal City, 2799
Jefferson Davis Highway, Arlington, VA,
Telephone number: 703-418-1234. A
small number of rooms have been set
aside for those participants staying
overnight. Reservations must be made
by October 4,1995, under "EPA's Public
Meeting on Environmentally Preferable
Products, " In order to get the special ,
meeting rate.
FOB FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Danielle Fullgni (7409), Office of
Pollution Prevention and Toxics,
Environmental Protection Agency, 401
tvl St., SW., Washington, DC 20460,
Telephone: (202) 260-4172, Fax: (202)
260-0178,
e mall;ful»Rni,danielle!»pamall.epa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background
On October 20,1993, President
Clinton signed Executive Order 12873,
entitled "Federal Acquistlon, Recycling
and Waste Prevention," (58 FR 5411,
October 22,1993). Section 503 of
Executive Order 12873 requires EPA to
"issue guidance that recommends
principles that Executive'agencies
should use in making determinations for
the preference and purchase of
environmentally preferable products."
The proposed guidance for
Implementing this provision is
published elsewhere in this issue of the
Register.
II. Process
This public meeting represents
another stop in EPA's effort to make the
development of section 503 guidance a
public process. As a part of this process,
EPA also developed a "concept paper"
that outlined preliminary thoughts on
how the guidance might be structured
and some guiding principles for
implementation of section 503.'The
public was given an opportunity to
comment on the concept paper, both in
writing and at a public meeting held in
February 1994.
EPA also held meetings with
"stakeholders" to give interested parties
an additional opportunity to present
their views on how EPA should proceed
in developing principles for Executive
agencies to use when making
determinations for the preference and
purchase of environmentally preferable
products. EPA will continue to solicit
input from all interested persons and
organizations as EPA finalizes the
guidance and conducts pilot projects.
To schedule oral testimony at the
public meeting and to obtain a copy of-
the proposed guidance, contact EPA's
Public Hearing Hotline, 110 Hartwell
Avenue, Lexington, MA 02173-3198;
telephone (617) 674-7374. Callers will
receive mail confirmation of their
scheduled testimony and logistical
information. Persons who wish to make
oral presentations must restrict
testimony to 7 minutes and are also
expected to provide three written copies
of their completed comments for
inclusion in the official record. If
interested parties are unable to attend
the public meetings, they are invited to
submit written comments to the Agency.
III. Approach
The Agency has been directed by
Executive Order 12873 to develop an
approach for Federal acquisition of
environmentally preferable products
that not only minimizes environmental
burden, but also provides incentives to
industry to continuously improve the
environmental performance of products
and services to the Federal government.
Ideally, the approach would guide
Federal agencies in comparing
environmental performance among
competing products and services, so
that the environmental impact becomes
a criterion like cost or performance
against which Federal agencies may
select products or services.
In implementing section 503 of the
Executive Order, EPA proposes an
approach that has two components. The
first is issuance of a broad, umbrella
guidance. Following this, additional
guidances focussing on specific product
categories will be issued based on pilot
projects. These pilots will help EPA and
other Executive agencies identify and
develop the necessary tools, education,
and training materials to facilitate the
application of the general guidance to
actual purchases of environmental
preferable products.
Dated: September 20, 1005.
William H. Sanders III,
Director, Office of Pollution Prevention and
Toxics.
[FR Doc. 95-24235 Filed 0-28-95; 8:45 anil '
BILLING CODE 6560-50-M
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