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Federal law, the Federal Acquisition Regulation and Presidential Executive Orders require the purchasing of biobased products by federal agencies. Federal agencies and their contractors are required to give a purchasing preference to biobased products.
The following contract samples provide model biobased product purchase language for solicitations and contracts. Sample Biobased Contract Language for:
To inform contractors to give preference to biobased products, two contract clauses are required:
Clause 52.223-23 - Sustainable Products and Services (DEVIATION FEB 2025) (which informs the contractor of the statutory requirement to give a purchasing preference to biobased products)
Clause 52.223-2 - Reporting of Biobased Products Under Service and Construction Contracts (DEVIATION FEB 2025) (which requires reporting of biobased product purchasing in the System for Award Management)
If the supplies being purchased fall within categories designated for preferred federal purchasing, two clauses are required:
Clause 52.223-1 - Biobased Product Certification (DEVIATION FEB 2025)
Biobased Quick Reference Guide for Contracting Officers Provides a quick check off list for including biobased purchasing requirements in solicitations and contracts, including contractor reporting requirements.
Recommended Methodologies for Establishing "Biobased-Only Contract" Annual Purchasing Targets This document presents the recommendations of the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development, Rural Business-Cooperative Service, USDA BioPreferred Program for methodologies to establish annual targets for contracts with biobased-only requirements.
The following are some sources of agency-specific biobased purchasing information.
The GSA Sustainable Facilities Tool offers an ability to determine the federal requirements for different types of products. For example, if you are searching for animal repellants, this tool will indicate that "animal repellants" should be 97% biobased.
The DoD Sustainable Products Center integrates information on sustainable products and serves as DoD's informational repository for these products and their respective performances. The Sustainable Products Center includes biobased products.
Sample Agency Procurement Plan for the Federal Purchasing Preference for Biobased Products in Categories Designated by the United States Department of Agriculture.
