Marketing Your “Green” Products and Services to Federal Agencies

November 17th, 2009 | Posted by Vanessa Payne

How can you market your “green” products and services? As noted in our 11/10/09 post, GSA Schedule contractors have new opportunities to sell to federal agencies. This comes as a result of Executive Order 13514 on Federal Sustainability, and in particular, the green procurement policy which will cover 95 percent of new contracts and acquisitions. If you’ve worked with the government for any length of time, you know everything old is new again. For example, in 1998, the Planet GSA Agency Initiative focused on Buying, Building, Driving, and Saving Green. So… what’s likely to be in demand this time? Listed below are “Green”-focused products, services, and policies to assist agency compliance with the procurement responsibilities outlined in federal environmental laws and regulations, including efforts to:

• Reduce energy and water consumption;
• Purchase renewable energy, environmentally approved electronics, and recycled products;
• Support waste management practices;
• Encourage sustainable practices in buildings; and
• Use alternative fuel vehicles.

To help agencies comply with legislative mandates, executive orders and other relevant environmental policies, an Environmental Specialty Category has been added to the GSAAdvantage!® and GSA Global Supply online purchasing systems. Environmental products are categorized as follow:

• Comprehensive Procurement Guideline Products and Other Recycled Products;
• ENERGY STAR Qualified Products and Other Energy Efficient Products; and
• Safer Paints, Cleaning, and Other Chemical Products

In addition to these products, GSA Schedules offer environmental and energy management services to help agencies meet federal environmental, health, and safety regulations. The Environmental Management Schedule (899 EAS) covers environmental planning, compliance, occupational training, waste management, and recycling and reclamation services. The Facilities Maintenance and Management Schedule (03FAC) includes energy management program support and energy audit related services.

What can GSA Vendors Do? Vendors can denote whether their products and services meet the mandates of environmental regulations and specifications and determine which symbols to display in their GSA Advantage catalog (see icons below). Note: GSA Contract Specialists do quality assurance checks. For more information on selling and procuring “green” products via GSA Schedule Contracts, contact Vanessa Payne, 301-231-6200, vpayne@aronsoncompany.com.

Biobased CA Air Quality Compliant CPG Item Energy Star Compliant Environmentally Friendly	EPEAT ETV FEMP Energy Efficient item Green Seal of Approval NESHAP Compliant	Non-Toxic Items PRIME Item Recycled Content S.N.A.P. Approved

Tags: 03FAC, EAS, energy compliance, Energy Star, EO13514, Green, GSA, Marketing

This entry was posted on Tuesday, November 17th, 2009 at 6:13 pm and is filed under Federal Agency Spending, GSA. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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