United States Environmental Protection Agency
Pollution Prevention and Toxics (7409)
EPA742-F-96-002
February 1997_______________________________________________



        ENVIRONMENTALLY PREFERABLE PURCHASING PROGRAM


                          UPDATE #1

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     The goal of EPA's Environmentally Preferable
     Purchasing (EPP) Program is to make environmental
     performance a factor in Federal government
     purchasing decisions, along with product
     performance and cost.

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Environmentally Preferable Purchasing (EPP) promotes Federal
government use of products and services that have reduced
impacts on human health and the environment. Such purchases
are required by Executive Order 12873, Federal Acquisition,
Recycling, and Waste Prevention. The Executive Order also
directed EPA to develop guidance to help Federal agencies
rate environmental preferability into their purchasing
procedures.

This update is the first in a series of periodic updates
intended to inform other Federal agencies and the public of
the EPP Program's activities, progress, and direction.
Future updates also will identify upcoming meetings and
other events related to the EPP Program.


STATUS OF GUIDANCE

EPA published proposed Guidance on the Acquisition of
Environmentally Preferable Products and Services in the
Federal Register on September 29, 1995. The proposed
guidance is a framework that identifies key issues
associated with environmentally preferable purchasing.
Although the guidance focuses primarily on Federal
purchasing, EPA recognizes that it also might affect the
private market-place.

The publication of the proposed guidance was preceded by
many months of discussions and negotiations with industry,
environmental organizations, Federal agencies, the Office of
Management and Budget, the Office of Environmental Policy,
and the Office of the Federal Environmental Executive
(OFEE). After proposing the guidance, EPA organized a public
meeting, held on October 26, 1995, to solicit comments.
Approximately 20 organizations attended the meeting,
including representatives from Federal agencies, industry,
and environmental organizations. Although most participants
commended EPA's approach as a good first step, they differed
on how EPA should proceed. In addition, as of December 31,
1995, over 100 organizations had provided written comments
on the guidance to EPA. Most of the written comments were
supportive of the guidance but did not reflect a consensus
on any key issues.

At this time, EPA has no plans to "finalize" the proposed
guidance. Many of the concepts and principles it contains
are currently being tested for their applicability to actual
purchasing decisions through pilot projects. The Agency
believes further testing will be needed and, until more is
learned from these pilots, finalizing the guidance would be
premature.


STATUS OF PILOT PROJECTS

EPA believes that lessons learned from pilot projects can
provide useful information to guide implementation of the
EPP Program over the long term. As a result, EPA's early
efforts have relied on pilots to demonstrate the feasibility
of the guidance in current acquisition processes. The
following pilots have been conducted over the past year:


General Services Administration/EPA Cleaning Products Pilot
Project

The Cleaning Products project pre-dates Executive Order
12873 but fits perfectly within the EPP Program. The U.S.
General Services Administration (GSA) and EPA cooperatively
identified seven cleaning product attributes that can serve
as indicators of a product's environmental performance.
Vendors already on GSA's Biodegradable Cleaners/Degreasers
Schedule (similar to a product catalog) voluntarily provided
information on these attributes for inclusion in the
February 1996 schedule.

Federal purchasers can use this information, presented in a
matrix form, to make buying decisions. The GSA/EPA pilot
project team will assess purchasers' reactions to the
information to identify any necessary improvements.
Approximately 60 additional vendors have already expressed
interest in the schedule. Adding more vendors to the
schedule would bring more competition and a wider variety of
products available to Federal purchasers. Large, private
organizations from outside the Federal sector (e.g., Mobil)
have also shown interest in identifying and purchasing
environmentally preferable cleaning products. The Economics,
Exposure, and Technology Division (EETD) of EPA's Office of
Pollution Prevention and Toxics has been leading and
managing this pilot.

For additional information, contact Conrad Flessner of EPA
at 202 260-3918 or Bob Killough of GSA at 206 931-7527.


GSA/EPA Paints Pilot Project

GSA and EPA have also teamed up to identify key
environmental attributes for latex wall paints. Federal
consumers can use these attributes to make environmentally
preferable purchasing decisions on paints. The EETD team
responsible for the cleaning products pilot project is
leading this pilot as well.

For additional information, contact Conrad Flessner of EPA
at 202 260-3918 or Laura Davis of GSA at 206 931-7881.


Department of Defense/EPA Construction Pilot Project

This pilot project examines environmental preferability in
the context of parking lot renovations at the Pentagon in
Washington, DC. In contrast to the GSA/EPA cleaning products
pilot (which adopts a product focus), this pilot focuses on
how government contractors can be encouraged to consider
environmental preferability. The contractor selected to
perform the renovations will be given a financial incentive
to identify and use products that are environmentally
preferable. A draft Request for Proposals, which outlined
the environmental preferability factors, was published in
July 1996 to solicit comments on the adopted approach. In
addition to the parking lot renovation contract, a pilot for
general interior renovations and alterations is currently
being developed with an expected Request for Proposals
publication in early 1997.

The lessons learned and product information gained from
these pilots may be used in the much larger-scale
renovations currently underway at the Pentagon. Thus, the
potential spill-over effect of the parking lot pilots will
be tremendous.

For additional information, contact Ruth Heikkinen of EPA at
202 260-1803.


GSA/EPA Computers Pilot Project

EPA and GSA began work on this project intending to build on
the success of EPA's Energy Star program by expanding the
number of attributes considered in purchases of
environmentally preferable computers. This pilot sought
direct involvement of industry stakeholders in identifying
the key factors for determining environmental preferability.
Despite extensive information about environmental
characteristics of computers, agreement on ways to capture
this information for use within the Federal purchasing
context was difficult to reach. The electronics industry
also expressed its interest in maintaining its focus on
other Agency initiatives. Although work on this pilot was
suspended, collaborative efforts between EPA and the
electronics industry are continuing under other projects,
such as the Common Sense Initiative, Energy Star, and Design
for the Environment.

For additional information, contact John Shoaff (EPA) at
202-260-1831.


OTHER ACTIVITIES IN SUPPORT OF THE EPP PROGRAM

In addition to its pilot projects, the EPP Program initiated
two projects to examine environmental purchasing efforts at
other levels of government.


Case Study of State/Local Governments' Experience in EPP

This case study examines the experiences of six state and
local governments in implementing environmental purchasing
programs. Though most of these programs emphasize recycled-
content products (particularly recycled-content paper)
rather than products with multiple environmental attributes,
the study highlights key issues that these programs faced
and the basis for their success. EPA believes that insights
from the study will help in the support and implementation
of the EPP Program. The report will be available in early
1997.


International Perspectives

In cooperation with EPA's EPP Program, the Organization for
Economic Cooperation and Development's (OECDs) Pollution
Prevention and Control Group initiated a study to examine
innovative environmental purchasing programs in a number of
OECD member countries, including Belgium, Denmark, France,
Germany, Switzerland, and the United States. The primary
goal of this project is to identify key issues that cut
across national boundaries, such as how environmental
purchasing initiatives might affect trade.

OECD collected information from the countries through a
survey, developed through the project steering committee,
and in small national meetings. In late July 1996, the EPP
Program sponsored a series of small group meetings with key
stakeholders--industry, Federal agencies, and environmental
organizations to assist OECD in collecting information about
environmental purchasing efforts in the United States.
Summaries of these meetings will be available in early 1997.
Cross-cutting issues raised by meeting participants will be
further examined at an international workshop on greener
public purchasing in February 1997 in Biel, Switzerland.


Compiling Information Sources

EPA has initiated several additional activities in support
of the EPP Program, including the following:

Making environmentally preferable purchasing decisions
requires good information. EPA therefore compiled a list of
existing information sources describing environmental
attributes of products available to U.S. consumers, in both
the public and private sectors. While a number of
information sources exist, nearly all focus on a single
product attribute (e.g., recycled content, energy
efficiency). EPA identified the information available and
how it is presented (e.g., environmental labels, catalogs,
on-line information).

In Fiscal Year 1997, the Agency plans to include
environmental labeling standards and criteria developed in
other countries in this compilation and will share it with
other Federal agencies.


Product Category Seminars

In an effort to identify potential future pilot projects,
EPA identified the top 20 categories of products (by dollar
amount) purchased by the Federal government. Based on
feedback from other agencies, EPA may organize a series of
product category seminars that could lead to future pilot
projects.


Life-Cycle Assessment and Life-Cycle Costing Tools

One of the seven guiding principles in the proposed guidance
encourages the adoption of a life-cycle approach--that is,
examining a product's environmental impact along all stages
of its life, including manufacturing, distribution, use, and
disposal. Life-cycle assessment is a challenging concept to
implement, however. Organizations across the nation and the
globe are working to operationalize the life-cycle idea. For
every life-cycle tool available today, another 10 are under
development. While some tools address a single attribute
(e.g., energy efficiency), most aim to cover a variety of
environmental attributes. The focus of much of the ongoing
and past life-cycle assessment work has been on product
design, but product purchasers could require additional
types of information. EPA continues to monitor developments
in the field so that useful tools can be made available to
those who want to purchase environmentally preferable
products.


PLANS FOR 1997

EPP Program activities planned for 1997 fall into five
categories: pilot projects, documentation, outreach, tool
development/training, and policy development. Planned
activities for each of these categories are described below.


Pilot Projects and EPP Documentation

The EPP Program will continue to focus on implementing pilot
projects with Federal agency partners. These pilots will
apply EPP principles to the acquisition of particular
product categories (e.g., paints), as well as testing
different approaches (e.g., incorporating EPP concepts into
the procurement process, potential use of traditional
standard-setting organizations). Launching of additional
pilots will be encouraged through:

*    Pilot Challenge Program. EPA will design a Challenge
     Program to identify and nurture many innovative ideas
     and initiatives that exist throughout Federal agencies.
     A "tool" kit for how to start a pilot project will be
     developed as a part of the Challenge Program.

*    Product Category Seminars. EPA will sponsor a series of
     seminars to bring together environmental and product
     experts, as well as standard-setting organizations, to
     identify: (1) key environmental attributes associated
     with a chosen product category, (2) ways to measure
     these attributes, and (3) market trends associated with
     each of the product categories. Information from these
     seminars can serve as the basis for additional pilot
     projects. 


Outreach

The EPP Program also has planned outreach activities
designed to facilitate information exchange and
dissemination, particularly among small businesses that
manufacture environmental products.

*    Brochure for Vendors. Also in collaboration with OFEE,
     EPA is developing a reference brochure for vendors,
     especially small businesses, that wish to sell
     environmentally preferable products to the Federal
     government. This concise, easy-to-read brochure will
     contain answers to some of the most commonly asked
     questions about how to sell goods to the Federal
     government, as well as a list of procurement contacts
     at Federal agencies that are significant purchasers of
     such goods.

*    Environmentally Preferable Purchasing Symposium. In
     conjunction with OFEE and the U.S. conference of
     Mayors, the EPP Program will sponsor a two-day
     symposium on July 16-17, 1997, in Baltimore, Maryland.
     The symposium will bring together both the
     manufacturing sector and Federal agency personnel to
     introduce them to the principles of environmental
     preferability. A series of interactive workshops is
     planned to assist attendees in "greening" Federal
     purchasing.


Tool Development and Training

Work begun in 1996 to identify existing tools (e.g., sources
of environmental information, life-cycle assessment/life-
cycle costing) will continue in Fiscal Year 1997. Additional
work will take place to identify purchasers' training needs.
The GSA/EPA cleaning products team, for example, plans to
develop educational and training materials. The next EPP
Update will provide more detailed information on specific
Agency plans. 

The EPP Program will continue to develop and refine policies
and work to resolve key issues affecting EPP. The four
issues that will be examined in Fiscal Years 1997 include:

*    Third-Party Certification Programs and EPP.
     Certification programs have been among the most active
     advocates for environmentally preferable products.
     While their services are typically bought by product
     producers, their work is oriented toward consumers. The
     potential role of such programs in advising Federal
     purchasers has been controversial, with vendors
     concerned about certification criteria and access to
     certification.

*    ISO 14000 and EPP. The International Organization for
     Standardization (ISO) is best known for setting
     technical performance and compatibility standards for
     manufactured products. More recently, it has developed
     the ISO 9000 series of standards for quality assurance.
     For the last few years, under the auspices of ISO,
     experts from over 100 countries worldwide have been
     working to shape voluntary consensus standards covering
     such environmental topics as environmental management
     systems, ecolabeling, life-cycle assessment, and
     environmental aspects of product standards. Because
     these standards have the potential to foster or
     complicate the EPP Program's goals, EPA is monitoring
     the ISO process.

*    Trade and EPP. EPA understands that even the best-
     intentioned preference programs such as EPP can appear
     to interfere with free trade. The development of
     environmental product standards by trading partners
     could serve as a means for Federal agencies to identify
     environmentally preferable products or could lead to
     emerging trade-related conflicts. For example,
     ecolabeling requirements may be viewed as incompatible
     with the Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade.

*    The "Green Company" and EPP. Because identifying
     environmentally preferable products can be costly,
     time-consuming, or uncertain, the EPP Program will
     explore how the concept of the "green company" can be
     used to help guide Federal purchasing decisions. Key
     issues include how to identify such companies, for the
     purposes of the EPP Program, and how to operationalize
     the concept as an adjunct to the proposed EPP
     principles. 

The EPP Program will be taking an in-depth look at these
four policy areas and will develop publicly available issue
papers on them. Future updates will provide information on
the status of these issue papers.


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                  EPP DOCUMENT REQUEST FORM

Please check the documents you are interested in receiving,
complete the mailing information, and fold and return this
pre-addressed form to us c/o EPA's Pollution Prevention
Information Clearinghouse (PPIC).


____ EPA Guidance on the Acquisition of Environmentally
     Preferable Products and Services (as proposed in the
     Federal Register on September 29, 1995), 60 FR 50722.


____ Environmentally Preferable Products: Proposed Guidance
     (Brochure), EPA744-F-94-002.

____ Summary of Comments at the Public Meeting on Proposed
     Guidance on Acquisition of Environmentally Preferable
     Products and Services, Final Report, EPA742-R-96-005.

____ A Study of State and Local Government Procurement
     Practices that Consider Environmental Performance of
     Goods and Services, EPA742-R-96-007.

____ EPA/GSA Cleaning Products Pilot Project--A Case Study,
     EPA742-R-97-002.

____ EPA/GSA Cleaning Products Pilot Project--A Fact Sheet,
     EPA742-F-97-001.

Name:_____________________________Title:____________________

Organization:
____________________________________________________________

Address:
____________________________________________________________

Telephone: _( _____) ___________________Fax: ( ____)________

To help EPA track interest in EPP, please check the
appropriate category for your organization:

___ Academia            ____ Government ____ Not-For-Profit
___ Business & Industry ____ Legal
___ Consulting          ____ Other _________________________

Please let us know what kinds of specific information you
would like to see in future EPP Updates. Do you want to know
more about EPP tools (e.g., specifications, certifications,
contract language)? Do you want to know what's happening
with EPP in other countries? Do you have EPP information you
wish to share? Please jot down your ideas below and return
this pre-addressed form to us.

     Environmentally Preferable Purchasing Program
     Pollution Prevention Information Clearinghouse
     U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
     401 M Street, SW (7409)
     Washington, DC 20460

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