[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 28 (Thursday, February 10, 1994)]
[Unknown Section]
[Page 0]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-3151]


[[Page Unknown]]

[Federal Register: February 10, 1994]


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GENERAL SERVICES ADMINISTRATION

48 CFR Part 552

[GSAR Notice No. 5-383]

 

General Services Administration Acquisition Regulation; 
Contractor Identification of Products With Environmental Attributes

AGENCY: Office of Acquisition Policy, GSA.

ACTION: Proposed rule.

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SUMMARY: This notice invites written comments on a proposed revision to 
the General Services Administration Acquisition Regulation (GSAR) 
(published as an interim rule, 59 FR 3657, January 26, 1994). The 
revision revises the multiple award schedule (MAS) clause at 552.238-
75, Identification of Energy-Efficient Office Equipment and Supplies 
Containing Recovered Materials or Other Environmental Attributes to 
require MAS contractors to identify such products and briefly describe 
the environmental benefit associated with them.

DATES: comments are due in writing on or before April 11, 1994 to be 
considered in the formulation of the final rule.

ADDRESSES: Comments should be addressed to the GSA Desk Officer, room 
3235, NEOB, Washington, DC 20503 and to Ms. Marjorie Ashby, General 
Services Administration, Office of GSA Acquisition Policy, 18th and F 
Sts., NW., Washington, DC 20405.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Paul Linfield, Office of GSA Acquisition Policy (202) 501-1224.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

A. Background

    Various statutes, including the Energy Policy and Conservation Act, 
as amended (42 U.S.C. 6201 et seq.), the Energy Policy Act of 1992 
(Pub. L. 102-486), the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990 (Pub. L. 101-
549), and the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act of 1976, as 
amended (42 U.S.C. 6901 et seq.), require Federal agencies to consider 
energy-efficiency and other environmental considerations in their 
procurement practices. These requirements are reinforced in a number of 
executive orders, including Executive Order 11912, 12759, 12843, 12845 
and 12873. As a major procuring agency, the GSA, through its multiple 
awards schedule programs, provides encouragement to suppliers to 
produce products with environmental attributes and can assist Federal 
agencies in meeting their responsibilities expressed in the various 
statutes and executive orders through the identification of those 
products.

B. Executive Order 12866

    This rule was reviewed by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) 
in accordance with Executive Order 12866, Regulatory Planning and 
Review.

C. Regulatory Flexibility Act

    Under multiple award schedules, contractors currently are required 
to submit certain marketing information with their offers and to public 
and distribute to ordering agencies commercial catalogs and/or 
pricelists. This rule would require those contractors to identify and 
describe those products that have environmental attributes.
    This change may have an economic effect on a substantial number of 
small entities. Accordingly, an initial regulatory flexibility analysis 
has been prepared and submitted to the Acting Chief Counsel for 
Advocacy of the Small Business Administration. Copies of the initial 
regulatory flexibility analysis are available for public comment from 
the office identified above. GSA awarded approximately 2,800 multiple 
award schedule contracts valued at approximately $4.19 billion during 
fiscal year 1992. Approximately 74 percent of these contracts were 
awarded to small business concerns.

D. Paperwork Reduction Act

    The revised clause at 552.238-75 contains an information collection 
requirement that is subject to the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. 
3501 et seq.) and it has been submitted to OMB for approval under the 
Act. The title of this collection is Identification of Products with 
Environmental Attributes. Requiring contractors to identify and 
describe products with environmental attributes is intended to 
stimulate the development of products that incorporate pollution 
prevention technologies and facilitate the marketing of such products 
to the Federal Government, the Nation's largest single consumer. 
Federal agencies are required to give preference to such products, when 
doing so is cost-effective and meets performance requirements. The 
estimated annual burden for this collection is 14,000 hours. This is 
based on an estimated average burden hour per response of 5 hours, a 
proposed frequency of one response per respondent, and an estimated 
number of likely respondents of 2,800.
    Comments on the information collection requirement in this rule may 
be directed to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs of OMB. 
Attention: Desk Officer for GSA, Washington, DC 20503, and to Ms. 
Marjorie Ashby, Office of GSA Acquisition Policy, room 4006, 18th and F 
Sts., NW., Washington, DC 20405.

List of Subjects in 48 CFR Part 552

    Government procurement.

    Accordingly, it is proposed that 48 CFR part 552 be amended to read 
as follows:
    1. The authority citation for 48 CFR Part 552 continues to read as 
follows:

    Authority: 40 U.S.C. 486(c).

PART 552--SOLICITATION PROVISIONS AND CONTRACT CLAUSES

    2. Section 552.238-75 is revised to read as follows:


552.238-75  Identification of Energy-Efficient Office Equipment and 
Supplies Containing Recovered Materials or Other Environmental 
Attributes

    As prescribed in 538.203-71(d), insert the following clause:

Identification of Energy-Efficient Office Equipment and Supplies 
Containing Recovered Materials or Other Environmental Attributes (XXX 
1994)

    (a) Definitions. Energy-efficient office equipment, as used in 
this clause, means office equipment that provide equivalent or 
better performance and value to users, but uses significantly less 
energy than competing models.
    Recovered materials, as used in this clause, means waste 
material and by-products which have been recovered or diverted from 
solid waste, but such term does not include those materials and by-
products generated from, and commonly reused, within an original 
manufacturing process (42 U.S.C. 6903(19)).
    (b) The offeror shall identify in its offer and include in any 
commercial catalogs and pricelists submitted to the Contracting 
Officer, energy-efficient office equipment and supplies that contain 
recovered material or other environmental attributes. Additionally, 
a brief description of the environmental attribute associated with 
any item so identified must be included with the offer. An example 
of energy-efficient office equipment is microcomputers and 
associated equipment identified by the Environmental Protection 
Agency's (EPA's) Energy Star Logo. Supplies that contain recovered 
materials and other environmental attributes include products 
identified in EPA procurement guidelines (40 CFR parts 248 through 
253) and products that are either degradable, ozone safe, 
recyclable, contain low volatile organic content compounds, or 
contribute to source reduction. Such supplies shall satisfy the 
guidance contained in 16 CFR part 260, Guides for the Use of 
Environmental Marketing Claims.
    (c) An offeror, in identifying an item with an environmental 
attribute and in describing its environmental attribute, shall 
possess evidence or rely upon a reasonable basis to substantiate the 
claim (see 16 CFR 260.5). The Government will accept an offeror's 
claim of an item's environmental attribute on the basis of--
    (1) Participation in a Federal agency sponsored program, e.g., 
EPA's Energy Star Computer program;
    (2) Verification by an independent organization that specializes 
in certifying such claims; or
    (3) Possession of competent and reliable evidence. For any test, 
analysis, research, study or other evidence to the ``competent and 
reliable,'' it must have been conducted and evaluated in an 
objective manner by persons qualified to do so, using procedures 
generally accepted in the profession to yield accurate and reliable 
results. (End of Clause)

    Dated: January 28, 1994.
Richard H. Hopf, III,
Associate Administrator, Office of Acquisition Policy.
[FR Doc. 94-3151 Filed 2-9-94; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6820-61-M