What is the BioPreferred Program?

The USDA BioPreferred Program is the federal government's official market accelerator for biobased products.

Managed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), the goal of the BioPreferred Program is to increase the purchase and use of biobased products. The BioPreferred Program was created by the 2002 Farm Bill and reauthorized and expanded in subsequent Farm Bills, most recently as part of the Agricultural Improvement Act of 2018 (2018 Farm Bill).

The Program's purpose is to spur economic development, create new jobs, and provide new markets for farm commodities. The increased development, purchase, and use of biobased products reduces our nation's reliance on petroleum, increases the use of renewable agricultural resources, and contributes to reducing adverse environmental and health impacts.

Our primary goals are to:

• Spur economic development and provide new markets for farm commodities
• Increase the development, purchase, and use of biobased products
• Create new jobs
• Support people in rural America
• Promote innovation
• Contribute to a growing and thriving bioeconomy

How Does the Program Meet its Goals?

There are two important avenues for reaching our goals:

• Federal Purchasing Requirements - The Farm Bill requires federal agencies and their contractors to give purchasing preference to biobased products when they procure products. Day to day, we promote these mandates, offer a variety of training opportunities for procurement professionals and contracting specialists, monitor solicitations for compliance, and manage an online Catalog of qualified product options. These efforts generate demand for and boost sales of biobased products.
• Biobased Product Certification - Through the BioPreferred Program, companies may apply for certification of their biobased products. The USDA Certified Biobased Product label reassures buyers that a product's claims regarding its biobased content are accurate. Since the label guards against greenwashing, it helps manufacturers build greater credibility and trust between their brands and consumers. We maintain an online Catalog of USDA Certified Biobased Products.

About Preferred Federal Purchasing

Federal Law, the Federal Acquisition Regulation, and Presidential Executive Orders direct that all federal agencies and their contractors purchase biobased products in categories identified by USDA. USDA has designated 141 categories (e.g. cleaners, carpet, lubricants, paints) of biobased products for which agencies and their contractors have purchasing requirements. Each category designated for preferred purchasing specifies the minimum biobased content for products within the category. The BioPreferred Program provides acquisition tools, the BioPreferred Program Catalog and training resources to assist in meeting biobased purchasing requirements.

About Product Certification

As consumers consider purchasing options, USDA wants to make it easy for consumers to identify biobased products. A business with a biobased product that meets USDA criteria may apply for certification, allowing them to display the USDA Certified Biobased Product label on the product. This label assures a consumer that the product contains a verified amount of renewable biological ingredients (referred to as biobased content).

Consumers can trust the label to mean what it says because the manufacturer's claims concerning the biobased content are third-party certified and strictly monitored by USDA.

What Are Biobased Products?

The term "biobased product" means a product determined by the USDA to be a commercial or industrial product (other than food or feed) that is

1. composed, in whole or in significant part, of biological products, including renewable domestic agricultural materials, renewable chemicals, and forestry materials; or
2. an intermediate ingredient or feedstock.

Biobased products are derived from raw materials such as plants and other renewable agricultural, marine, and forestry materials. Biobased products generally provide an alternative to conventional petroleum derived products and include a diverse range of offerings such as lubricants, detergents, inks, fertilizers, and bioplastics. Biobased products do not include food, feed, or fuel.

This document provides more information about biobased content and how it is determined. Products participating in the BioPreferred Program have their biobased content measured using ASTM D6866 as part of the certification process.

USDA has identified minimum biobased content requirements for 141 categories of biobased products. Many USDA Certified Biobased Products are listed in the BioPreferred Program Catalog.