United States 

Environmental Protection 

Agency

EPA742-F-97-003

November 1997

www.epa.gov/opptintr/epp

Pollution Prevention 

and Toxics

(7409)

Environmentally Preferable Purchasing In Action

Parking Lot Project Fact Sheet

Paving the Road to Success

1EPA

In June 1997, DOD awarded a 5-year, $1 million per year contract to

maintain and repair the parking lots and access roads at four Washington,

DC, facilities—the Pentagon, the Military Court of Appeals, the Navy

Annex, and the Hybla Valley Federal Building. In addition to stipulating

that the work must meet price and performance requirements, the contract

also promotes the use of products with positive environmental attributes

by providing opportunities for the contractor to earn a price differential.

In developing the contract, DOD and EPA considered several alternative approaches for promoting the use of environmental products.

Initially, the team considered developing an “approved products list” to

be used by contractors. The team realized, however, that it would be

difficult to continually update the list in order to ensure that the most

innovative products and processes are employed. Team members also

determined that they did not have the necessary resources to conduct

product research on every item. Instead, DOD and EPA used publicly

available information from sources such as the Harris Directory,

Thomas Directory, and the National Park Service’s Sustainable Design

and Construction Database to identify initial “baseline” environmental

features such as low levels of volatile organic compounds and high percentages of recycled content for the products covered under the contract. The DOD and EPA team focused on 20 product categories representing 90 percent of the materials to be used to repair and maintain the

parking lots. The categories are listed on the back of this fact sheet.

The DOD and EPA

team incorporated

environmentally

preferable

purchasing

principles into the

parking lot repair

and maintenance

contract.

T he Pentagon’s parking lots are turning “green” thanks to

an innovative Environmentally Preferable Purchasing pilot

project. The Department of Defense (DOD) and the U.S.

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) jointly developed a

contract for parking lot repair and maintenance that promotes

the use of products with positive environmental attributes. This

fact sheet briefly describes how DOD and EPA incorporated

environmental criteria into the contract.

Project Overview

2Printed on paper that contains at least 20 percent postconsumer fiber.
Detailed information about this EPP pilot project, including the DOD work sheets, is contained in

the case study Paving the Road to Success (document number EPA742-R-97-007). Copies of this and

other EPP case studies and guidance can be ordered from:

Pollution Prevention Information Clearinghouse (PPIC)

401 M Street, SW. (7409) 

Washington, DC 20460

202 260-1023

202 260-4659 (fax)

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

For additional information, contact Ruth Heikkinen with EPA’s Environmentally Preferable Purchasing

Program at 202 260-1803 or via e-mail at heikkinen.ruth@epamail.epa.gov, or contact Bob Cox of

DOD at 703 693-3765 or Rcox@ccmail.gov.ref.osd.mil.

Based on the information collected through this

research, the team created category-specific surveys

to gather additional environmental information from

potential suppliers. The information was used to

develop work sheets listing the baseline environmental attributes for each product category as well as the

performance requirements. The contractor must

submit a work sheet for DOD approval of the environmental and performance characteristics for each

product or process that the contractor plans to use. 

The contractor is eligible for a 2 percent price

differential for each baseline environmental

attribute included in the products it uses.

Contingent on DOD approval, the vendor also is

eligible to receive a price differential for identifying

and using products and processes with environmental characteristics that exceed or expand upon

the baseline attributes, up to a ceiling of 10 percent

per line item and an overall task order price differential of 5 percent.

From the start, this innovative maintenance and

repair contract has demonstrated how environmental impact considerations can be included in

procurement decisions. One month after beginning work, the contractor had already identified

several innovative products and a new process that

significantly improve environmental quality while

meeting or exceeding performance requirements.

A company representative stated, “We are really

excited about the project. Incorporating environmentally friendly products is the wave of the future

and should help our future business.”

For Additional Information

DOD’s Product Work Sheets

The following list identifies the 20 products for

which DOD furnished work sheets. The list can

be expanded by DOD or, with DOD’s approval,

by the contractor to include any product or service

associated with the parking lot repair and maintenance contract:

- Asphalt Base Course*

- Asphalt Surface Course*

- Traffic Paint—Yellow*

- Traffic Paint—Blue*

- Traffic Paint—Black*

- Traffic Paint—White*

- Traffic Signs—Panels*

- Traffic Signs—Posts*

- Reinforced Concrete Drainage Pipes*

- Drainage Steps*

- Concrete Curing Compounds*

- Silicone Sealant—Class A

- Silicone Sealant—Class B

- Silicone Sealant—Class C

- Hot Poured Asphalt Sealants

- Bituminous Prime and Tack Coats

- Epoxy Bonding Compounds

- Nonreinforced Concrete Drainage Pipes

- Emulsified Asphalt Slurry

- Asphalt Cement

* Indicates that the work sheet identified specific environmental performance attributes at the time the contract was awarded. The contractor can suggest additional attributes for any

product or process used to complete work under the contract.