Subpart 523.1 - Sustainable Acquisition

Policy

Parent topic: Part 523 - Environment, Energy and Water Efficiency, Renewable Energy

Technologies, Occupational Safety, and Drug-Free Workplace

523.101 General.

FAR part 23 requires GSA to purchase sustainable products and services. This subpart outlines the

specific steps the contracting officer or designated acquisition team member must take throughout

all procurements to comply with this requirement. In accordance with GSAM 523.404, this Subpart

contains the GSA affirmative procurement program.

523.102 Definitions.

[Reserved]

523.103 Applicability.

This policy applies to contract actions executed by GSA personnel, whether in support of GSA

operations or on behalf of another agency.

523.104 Procedures.

(a) Pre-Award Procedures.

(1) Market Research. Use the Green Procurement Compilation located within the Sustainable

Facilities (SF) Tool at https://sftool.gov/ to determine whether the intended contract action must

include sustainable requirements in accordance with FAR part 23 if not already detailed in the

requirements package (see 511.002 (a)).

(2) Requirement Development.

(i) Consider the sustainability requirements discussed in FAR 11.002(d) and 511.002(a) and ensure

coordination, as necessary, with any designated sustainability point of contact (see 504.7104).

(ii) Include post-award procedures for verifying contractor compliance with sustainable

requirements contained in the contract. For best practices in verifying evidence of compliance,

review the Verification Guide for Purchasers of Sustainable Products available at https://sftool.gov/.

(iii)If a procurement cannot comply with the minimum sustainable requirements as outlined in

GSAM 523.104(a)(1) due to significant impact on cost, schedule, or performance, the contracting

officer must document the exception used and supporting rationale as detailed in GSAM 523.105.
(3) Acquisition Planning. The contracting officer shall follow 507.104 for acquisition plan

requirements for addressing sustainable acquisition requirements.

(4) Solicitation. If the procurement has sustainable requirements, confirm that all applicable

provisions and clauses are included in the solicitation and that the statement of work or specification

contains the minimum sustainable requirements.

(b) Award Procedures. Review GSAM 504.606(b) for instructions on GSA FPDS sustainability coding.

The GSA FPDS Sustainability Code Guidelines provides instructions on reporting sustainability data

for individual procurements in FPDS and can be found on GSA's Acquisition Portal at

https://insite.gsa.gov/acquisitionportal.

(c) Post-Award Procedures.

(1) Receipt of Sustainable Products and Services.

(i)The contracting officer must take reasonable steps to validate any required sustainable products

and/or services were received. Review the best available evidence of compliance such as

manufacturer product documentation, design submittals, and federal or third party ecolabels. Utilize

random sampling techniques when reviewing documents/evidence to limit the time required for

review. Staff/Service Offices may prioritize which products and/or services to focus on when

performing compliance reviews.

(ii)The contracting officer must note any discrepancies with sustainable acquisition requirements in

the contract and take the appropriate corrective action. For best practices in verifying evidence of

compliance, review the Verification Guide for Purchasers of Sustainable Products at

https://sftool.gov/.

(2) Contractor Sustainability Reports. The contracting officer must confirm that any required

sustainability reports are submitted by the contractor.

(i) Biobased Report. For service or construction contracts that include FAR Clause 52.223-2, the

contractor must provide annual information on the USDA-designated biobased products

(BioPreferred products) purchased each fiscal year by submitting a report in the System for Award

Management. If this reporting is required by the contract, the contracting officer must take the

following steps:

(A)Review the reports submitted by the contractor in SAM for reasonableness.

(B)Report any non-compliance by the contractor within the “Other Areas” portion of the CPARS

evaluation form.

(ii) Recycled Content Report.

(A)FAR Clause 52.223-9 requires the contractor to submit a report to the contracting officer that

estimates the percentage of the total recovered material content for the Environmental Protection

Agency’s Comprehensive Procurement Guidelines (CPG) designated products delivered and/or used

in contract performance. Only include this clause when a contract meets both of the following

criteria:

(1)The contract requires (CPG) products that are not commercial off-the-shelf products; and

(2)The value of the contract is over $150,000.
(B)If this reporting is required by the contract, the contracting officer must–

(1)Review the report submitted by the contractor for reasonableness.

(2)Report any non-compliance by the contractor within “Other Areas” portion of the CPARS

evaluation form.

523.105 Sustainability Exceptions.

(a) Allowable Exceptions. An exception for acquiring sustainable products or services is available if

any of the following conditions exist:

(1)Product or service cannot be acquired competitively within a reasonable performance schedule.

(2)Product or service cannot be acquired that meets reasonable performance requirements.

(3)Product or service cannot be acquired at a reasonable price.

(i)The price shall be deemed unreasonable when the total life cycle costs are significantly higher for

the sustainable product or service versus the non-sustainable product or service.

(ii)For more information on conducting a life cycle cost analysis (LCCA), review the guidance

available at https://sftool.gov/.

(4)A specific statutory exemption applies.

(b) Documentation Process. If at any point during the acquisition the contracting officer determines

that a contract action cannot comply with the sustainable requirements outlined in GSAM

523.104(a)(1) due to an allowable exception, the contracting officer must document within the

contract file the exception being used under GSAM 523.105(a) and provide supporting rationale for

using the exception. The exception can be documented in the Environmental and Energy

Conservation Objectives section of the acquisition plan under FAR 7.105(b)(17) or in a separate

memorandum that is included in the Acquisition Plan section of the contract file.

523.106 Compliance Monitoring and Reporting.

(a) Review Process. GSA Office of Acquisition Policy is responsible for monitoring and reporting

sustainable acquisition activity to the GSA Chief Sustainability Officer in support of the agency’s

semiannual status report to Office of Management and Budget. This semiannual audit covers only

applicable contract actions as defined in GSAM 523.103. This review will utilize existing GSA

databases and processes to the maximum extent practicable in order to limit manual data collection.

These reviews will focus on ensuring that GSA requires and receives sustainable products and

services in all applicable acquisitions.

(b) Determining Compliance. See the GSA Sustainable Acquisition Review Criteria document

available on GSA's Acquisition Portal at https://insite.gsa.gov/acquisitionportal for the specific

criteria that will be used to determine compliance with sustainable acquisition reviews.