United States 

Environmental Protection 

Agency

EPA742-F-98-001

April 1998

www.epa.gov/opptintr/epp

Pollution Prevention 

and Toxics

(7409)

Environmentally Preferable Purchasing Program

Quick Reference Fact Sheet

1EPA

Objectives:

• To encourage, motivate, and assist Executive agencies to include the environment

as a factor in their purchasing decisions along with price and performance. 

• To provide guidance to procurement officials on how to procure environmentally

preferable products and services that have lesser or reduced effects on human

health and the environment when compared to others that serve the same purpose.

Background: 

President Clinton’s 1993 Executive Order 12873 on Federal Acquisition, Recycling,

and Waste Prevention required 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’s Environmentally

Preferable Purchasing (EPP) Program was established to issue such guidance and to

serve as a point of contact for government agencies. On August 22, 1997, EPP

became part of the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR). The FAR revisions

require federal agencies to “implement cost-effective contracting preference programs favoring the acquisition of environmentally preferable and energy-efficient

products and services.”

2Printed on paper that contains at least 20 percent postconsumer fiber.

1. Consideration of environmental preferability 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 health and the environment.

2. A product’s or service’s environmental preferability is a function of multiple attributes.

3. Environmental preferability should reflect the lifecycle considerations of products and

services to the extent feasible.

4. Environmental preferability should consider the scale (global versus local) and temporal

reversibility aspects of a product’s or service’s impact.

5. Environmental preferability should be tailored to local conditions where appropriate.

6. The environmental objectives of products or services should be a factor or subfactor in

competition among vendors, when appropriate.

7. Agencies need to examine product attribute claims carefully.

Guidance on Environmentally Preferable Purchasing:

EPA identified seven guiding principles to help Executive agencies incorporate

environmental preferability into their procurement practices. The following principles were proposed in the Federal Register (FR) in EPA’s “Guidance on

Acquisition of Environmentally Preferable Products and Services” (60 FR 50722):

The federal 

government is the

single largest U.S.

consumer, purchasing more than $200 

billion worth of

goods and services a

year.

Purchasing decisions

can greatly influence

the goods and 

services provided by

the marketplace.
Pilot Projects:

Agencies are gaining practical experience in purchasing

environmentally preferable products and services by applying the above principles to a specific product or service

acquisition. Pilot projects generate more detailed information. Executive agencies are encouraged to participate in

pilot projects or provide examples of EPP practices; this

information will be shared with other agencies to avoid

duplication of effort. 

Selected Accomplishments to Date:

✔ U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) and EPA

Cleaning Products Pilot Project.

✔ U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) and EPA Parking Lot

Renovation Pilot Project.

✔ Federal Green Purchasing Symposium for federal agencies

and the private sector to examine EPP issues and barriers

in the federal marketplace.

Projects Underway:

• DOD and EPA Interior Renovation Pilot Project for the

Pentagon.

• GSA and EPA Paints Pilot Project.

• Compilation of sample EPP contract language to be used

in federal procurement practices.

• “Greening Uncle Sam” interactive procurement tool to

provide federal procurement officials with EPP background and information.

• “Pioneers in EPP” initiative to identify current EPP activities and initiate pilot projects within federal agencies.

• Green Conferences tool kit to provide Executive agencies

with EPP information to utilize during conference coordinating.

• An examination of EPP practices in the private sector.

Available Case Studies:

• Cleaning Products Pilot Project (EPA742-R-97-002).

• Leading by Example: Two Case Studies Documenting How the

Environmental Protection Agency Incorporated Environmental

Features into New Buildings (EPA742-R-97-006).

• Paving the Road to Success—The Department of Defense’s

Parking Lot Repair and Maintenance Contract: An

Environmentally Preferable Case Study (EPA742-R-97-007).

• A Study of State and Local Government Practices That Consider

Environmental Performance of Goods and Services

(EPA742-R-96-007).

• The City of Santa Monica’s Environmental Purchasing: A Case

Study (EPA742-R-98-001).

• Green Spending: A Case Study of the State of Massachusetts’

Environmental Purchasing (EPA742-R-98-002). (To be published mid-1998.)

1EPA

United States

Environmental Protection Agency

(7409)

Washington, DC 20460

Official Business 

Penalty for Private Use

$300

For more information on the EPP Program or to order

publications, contact:

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

Pollution Prevention Information Clearinghouse (PPIC)

401 M Street, SW. (7409)

Washington, DC 20460 

Phone: 202 260-1023

Fax: 202 260-4659

E-mail: <ppic@epamail.epa.gov>

Or visit the EPP web site at 

<www.epa.gov/opptintr/epp>.

Environment + Price + Performance =