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Barry McVay's FEDERAL CONTRACTS DISPATCH

DATE: April 26, 2000

FROM: Barry McVay, CPCM

SUBJECT: "Greening the Government" Executive Orders

SOURCE: Federal Register; April 26, 2000, Vol. 65, No. 81, page 24593

AGENCIES: The President

ACTION: Issuance of Executive Orders

SYNOPSIS: On April 22, 2000, the 30th anniversary of Earth Day, President Clinton announced he had issued three executive orders intended to insure the government's energy is used more efficiently and reduced: 13148, Greening the Government Through Leadership in Environmental Management; 13149, Greening the Government Through Federal Fleet and Transportation Efficiency; and 13150, Federal Workforce Transportation.

EDITOR'S NOTE: Other "Greening the Government" executive orders are Executive Order 13101 of September 5, 1995, Greening the Government Through Waste Prevention, Recycling, and Federal Acquisition; Executive Order 13123 of June 3, 1999, Greening the Government Through Efficient Energy Management; and Executive Order 13134 of August 12, 1999, Developing and Promoting Biobased Products and Bioenergy.

EFFECTIVE DATE: April 22, 2000.

SUPPLEMENTAL INFORMATION: The following are the key provisions of the three executive orders, with particular emphasis on acquisition-related actions:

• Executive Order 13148: The first of the three executive orders concentrates on "ensuring that all necessary actions are taken to integrate environmental accountability into agency day-to-day decisionmaking and long-term planning processes, across all agency missions, activities, and functions." It directs each federal agency to:
  
  
  • comply with environmental regulations
    
    
  • inform the public of possible sources of pollution resulting from facility operations
    
    
  • reduce its reported Toxic Release Inventory (TRI) releases and off-site transfers of toxic chemicals for treatment and disposal by 10% annually, or by 40% overall by December 31, 2006
    
    
  • reduce its use of selected toxic chemicals, hazardous substances, and pollutants, or its generation of hazardous and radioactive waste types at its facilities by 50% by December 31, 2006
    
    
  • develop a plan to phase out the procurement of Class I ozone-depleting substances for all nonexcepted uses by December 31, 2010
    
    
  • promote environmentally sound landscaping practices
    
    
  • place a high priority on obtaining funding and resources needed for implementation of the "Greening the Government" executive orders
    
    
  • establish a pilot program to apply life cycle assessment and environmental cost accounting principles
    
    
  • develop and implement a "pollution prevention return-on-investment" program
    
    
  • incorporate the goals and requirements of the executive order into existing agency environmental directives, policies, and other documents within 12 months or, if such documents do not already exist, prepare with 12 months a strategy to achieve the goals and requirements of the executive order
  
  Most of the remainder of the executive order discusses the establishment of task groups, the conduct of facility compliance audits, the development of environmental leadership awards programs, and similar administrative matters. However, the following pertain to federal acquisition:
  
  
  • "The Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Council shall develop acquisition policies and procedures for contractors to supply agencies with all information necessary for compliance with this order. Once the appropriate FAR clauses have been published, agencies shall use them in all applicable contracts. In addition, to the extent that compliance with this order is made more difficult due to lack of information from existing contractors, or concessioners, each agency shall take practical steps to obtain the information needed to comply with this order from such contractors or concessioners." (Paragraph (c) of Section 305, Policies, Strategies, and Plans)
    
    
  • "Facility environmental audits shall be conducted periodically. Each agency is encouraged to conduct audits not less than every 3 years from the date of the initial or previous audit...As appropriate, each agency shall include tenant, contractor, and concessioner activities in facility audits." (Paragraph (c) of Section 402, Federal Compliance Audits)
    
    
  • "To ensure awareness of and support for the environmental requirements of this order, each agency shall include training on the provisions of the Greening the Government Executive orders in standard senior level management training as well as training for program managers, contracting personnel, procurement and acquisition personnel, facility managers, contractors, concessioners, and other personnel as appropriate." (Paragraph (a) of Section 404, Management Leadership and Performance Evaluations)
  
  In addition, Part 7, Acquisition and Procurement, requires the following:
  
  
  • Section 701, Limiting Procurement of Toxic Chemicals, Hazardous Substances, and Other Pollutants: (1) within 12 months, "each agency shall implement training programs to ensure that agency procurement officials and acquisition program managers are aware of the requirements of this order"; and (2) "each agency shall follow the policies and procedures for toxic chemical release reporting in accordance with FAR [Subpart] 23.9 [Toxic Chemical Release Reporting] effective as of the date of this order, and policies and procedures on Federal compliance with right-to-know laws and pollution prevention requirements in accordance with FAR [Subpart] 23.10 [Federal Compliance with Right-to-Know Laws and Pollution Prevention Requirements] effective as of the date of this order."
    
    
  • Section 702, Environmentally Benign Adhesives: "Within 12 months after environmentally benign pressure sensitive adhesives for paper products become commercially available, each agency shall revise its specifications for paper products using adhesives and direct the purchase of paper products using those adhesives, whenever technically practicable and cost effective."
    
    
  • Section 703, Ozone-Depleting Substances: "Each agency shall follow the policies and procedures for the acquisition of items that contain, use, or are manufactured with ozone-depleting substances in accordance with FAR [Subpart] 23.8 [Ozone-Depleting Substances] and other applicable FAR provisions."
    
    
  • Section 704, Environmentally and Economically Beneficial Landscaping Practices: "Within 18 months of the date of this order, each agency shall have in place acquisition and procurement practices, including provision of landscaping services...for the use of environmentally and economically beneficial landscaping practices...In implementing landscaping policies, each agency shall purchase environmentally preferable and recycled content products, including EPA [Environmental Protection Agency]-designated items such as compost and mulch, that contribute to environmentally and economically beneficial practices." (EDITOR'S NOTE: The EPA publishes a "Comprehensive Guideline for Procurement of Products Containing Recovered Materials" which lists items that are or can be made with recovered materials. For more on the Guideline, see the January 19, 2000, FEDERAL CONTRACTS DISPATCH "Comprehensive Guideline for Procurement of Products Containing Recovered Materials and Recovered Materials Advisory Notice III (RMAN III)." Also, see EPA's website at http://www.epa.gov/cpg for the guideline and lists of manufacturers and vendors of products containing recovered materials.)
  
  
• Executive Order 13149: This concentrates on "improvements in fleet fuel efficiency and the use of alternative fuel vehicles (AFVs) and alternative fuels." It establishes the following as the government's goal: "Each agency operating 20 or more motor vehicles within the United States shall reduce its entire vehicle fleet's annual petroleum consumption by at least 20% by the end of FY [fiscal year] 2005, compared with FY 1999 petroleum consumption levels" (Section 201, Reduced Petroleum Fuel Consumption). Among the options mentioned in the executive order are: "the use of alternative fuels in light, medium, and heavy-duty vehicles; the acquisition of vehicles with higher fuel economy, including hybrid vehicles; the substitution of cars for light trucks; an increase in vehicle load factors; a decrease in vehicle miles traveled; and a decrease in fleet size" (Section 202, Performance Strategies).
  
  Section 403, Procurement of Environmentally Preferable Motor Vehicle Products, states that "effective 6 months after the date of this order, no Federal agency shall purchase, sell, or arrange for the purchase of virgin petroleum motor vehicle lubricating oils when re-refined motor vehicle lubricating oils are reasonably available and meet the vehicle manufacturer's recommended performance standards." In addition, "agencies shall acquire and use United States EPA-designated Comprehensive Procurement Guideline items, including but not limited to retread tires, when such products are reasonably available and meet applicable performance standards. In addition, Federal agencies should consider acquiring other recycled content products, such as tires containing a minimum of 5-10% post-consumer recovered rubber." (See "EDITOR'S NOTE" above about the Comprehensive Procurement Guideline.) Finally, Section 403 encourages agencies to use "biobased motor vehicle products when such products are reasonably available and meet applicable performance standards."
  
  
• Executive Order 13150: This executive order directs agencies to "implement a transportation fringe benefit program that offers qualified Federal employees the option to exclude from taxable wages and compensation...employee commuting costs incurred through the use of mass transportation and vanpools..." up to $65 a month. In addition, it encourages agencies to "use any nonmonetary incentive that the agencies may otherwise offer under any other provision of law or other authority to encourage mass transportation and vanpool use."
  
  For federal employees in the "National Capital Region," agencies must implement a "transit pass" transportation fringe benefit program by October 1, 2000 (agencies provide their employees with passes, in addition to their pay, in amounts approximately equal to employee commuting costs, but not to exceed $65 a month). Also, the Department of Energy, Department of Transportation, and the Environmental Protection Agency are to implement the "transit pass" program agency-wide for three years as a pilot program by October 1, 2000.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Barry McVay at 703-451-5953 or by e-mail to BarryMcVay@FedGovContracts.com.

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