WESF plays a role in promoting standardization and eliminating global trade barriers.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has published updates to its Recommendations of Specifications, Standards and Ecolabels for Federal Purchasing (Recommendations), which help federal government purchasers and other buyers select products that are more sustainable and more climate-friendly and contain safer chemical ingredients.
About the Recommendations for Greener Purchasing
According to the EPA, the expanded guidelines help buyers “cut through the clutter” of the more than 460 ecolabels and standards in the marketplace in order to identify and procure products and services that conserve energy or water, include more recycled content, reduce PFAS exposure and contamination, and lower the consumption of single-use plastics. The Recommendations have been expanded to include 14 standards and ecolabels in the new categories of healthcare, laboratories, and clothing and uniforms.
The Recommendations are intended to support President Biden’s Executive Order (EO) 14057 on Catalyzing Clean Energy Industries and Jobs Through Federal Sustainability, which directs federal agencies to maximize the procurement of sustainable products and services and to prioritize those that meet EPA’s Recommendations. According to the EPA, federal purchasers spend more than $730 billion every year. By guiding them to environmentally preferable products, EPA’s Recommendations can help save taxpayers money, reduce climate impacts, and prevent pollution.
EPA’s website provides a tool to browse ecolabels by product or service category and a full history of the updates.
The Recommendations follow EPA’s announcement of its new label program to help federal purchasers and other buyers find and buy cleaner, more climate-friendly construction materials and products. In early 2024, the agency requested public input on the draft work for this effort, which is part of President Biden’s Investing in America agenda.
EPA Seeks Standards and Ecolabels for Evaluation
With its announcement, the agency invites organizations to voluntarily submit their standards and ecolabels for evaluation. The EPA reports that with the new updates, the agency has implemented stronger eligibility criteria that standards and ecolabels must meet to be included in the Recommendations, including the existence of a third-party verification program and an up-to-date directory of qualifying products and services.