Sustainable Procurement: Building Vocabulary To Accelerate The Federal Procurement Conversation

Abstract

To the extent that the federal procurement process features prominently in the Government’s plan to slow the pace of, and adapt to the effects of, climate change, this paper attempts to provide some basic building blocks for acquisition professionals to practice sustainable procurement. The paper offers a list of key sustainable procurement vocabulary and introduces a number of key concepts so that the acquisition community can build a common body of knowledge (BOK) to accelerate its progress up the learning curve of sustainable procurement implementation.

The paper also highlights a number of existing tools and resources to help translate those concepts into practice. The paper suggests a broad range of actions and initiatives for those throughout the Government contracts community to begin incorporating environmental sustainability into their procurement policies and practices.

The Federal Government neither needs to, nor does it have time to, reinvent the wheel. Fortunately, much has been done - both within the Government and throughout the private sector - that can and should inform early implementation efforts.

Keywords: Government Contracts, Public Procurement, Sustainable Procurement, Green Procurement, Environmentally Preferable Procurement, Anthropocene, Greenhouse Gas Accounting, Eco-Labels, Life-Cycle Costing, Resilience, Adaptation, Environmental Justice

JEL Classification: H11, H57, K12, K23, K32, L33, Z18, D62