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Environmentally Preferred
Purchasing in the Americas
Daniel Eisenberg
(202) 789-6046
[email protected]
Russell Fraker
(202) 789-6048
[email protected]
B&D Products Law Webinar Series
November 19, 2013
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mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]
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What We Will Cover
EPP Overview
United States
BioPreferred Program
Energy Star
EPEAT
Latin America
Brazil Sustainable Purchasing
Colombia Eco-Seal Program
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What Is EPP?
Market-based promotion of environmentally
sound practices and products
Voluntary sustainability certification programs
Government / institutional preferences or
mandates for low-impact products (i.e., green
procurement)
New form of market access requirement
Spectrum of voluntary to mandatory
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Sustainability Certification
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EPP Issues of Concern
Officially voluntary, so programs not subject to external
controls
Driven by demand for green products, programs may
compromise integrity to attain market share
Takes on characteristics of regulatory regimes, imposes
new set of requirements
Domestic standards may draw from foreign standards &
regulations
Potentially significant business cost associated with non-
participation (or non-conformance)
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EPP in the United States
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BioPreferred Program
A USDA program to promote purchase and use of
biobased products
Labeling program Manufacturers complete electronic certification
form
Must submit product sample to approved lab
Preferential purchasing program Executive Order 13514 promotes
federal procurement of
biobased products
USDA established minimum biobased content standards for
97 product categories
Federal agencies required to give preferential consideration
to
BioPreferred products when making purchases
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Energy Star
Joint program of the U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency and the Department of Energy
Introduced in 1992 as a voluntary labeling program
designed to identify and promote energy-efficient
products to reduce greenhouse gas emissions
Computers were the first Energy Star label products
There are now Energy Star specifications for a wide
variety of products including office equipment, lighting,
home electronics and appliances.
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Energy Star: How Does it Work?
Development of Specifications EPA initiates specification
development with memorandum
EPA develops first draft of specification
Draft opened to rounds of stakeholder comment and revision
Final specification is published establishing standards and
setting
effective date
Industry Participation Manufacturers join Energy Star by
submitting partnership agreement
Manufacturers must test product conformance using approved labs
and
submit data demonstrating conformance to specification
Once product is registered, manufacturers may display the Energy
Star
label on the product
Energy Star products subject to preferential purchasing by
federal
government and other institutional purchasers
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Energy Star: Criticisms
Victim of its own success Top 25%, exclusive by definition
problem when adopted as
mandatory (in U.S. or overseas)
Inevitably reaches a point of diminishing returns, when little
room
for improvement remains, but continue to issue new
specifications
With no more energy efficiency gains possible, creeps into
non-
energy factors
Over-reaction to criticism? In response to critical GAO report,
product
testing/certification/verification program was overhauled
Participation is far more burdensome that it had been
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EPEAT
An Electronic Products Environmental
Assessment Tool Adopts environmental criteria for rating certain
categories of
electronic products
Manufacturers may register qualifying product models
Institutional purchasers rely on EPEAT registry to make
procurement decisions
A verification regime Product conformance is assessed via
periodic audits
Product Verification Committee produces guidance documents
on interpretation of criteria
Non-conforming products are removed from registries
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EPEAT: How is it Administered?
The federal governments role
NOT a federally-administered program
Development was funded by federal grant money
EPA, DOE, GSA officials are involved as interested
stakeholders
NGOs role
EPEAT administered by an NGO (the Green Electronics Council)
with stakeholder involvement via an Advisory Council
Standard development organizations role
Environmental criteria developed under framework of
third-party
standard development organizations
Working groups composed of manufacturers and other
stakeholders (NGOs, recyclers, purchasers, regulators)
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EPEAT: What Are its
Requirements? Criteria cover:
Reduction/elimination of environmentally sensitive materials
(RoHS)
Materials selection (recycled, renewable, bio-based)
Design for end-of-life
Product longevity
Energy conservation (Energy Star)
End-of-life management (take-back services)
Corporate Performance
Packaging
Products awarded Bronze, Silver, Gold designation
depending on number of optional criteria that are met
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EPEAT: How Does the Registry Work?
Product Registration Entities (PREs)
Manufacturers certify models as conforming to EPEAT criteria
and products appear on EPEAT registry
Market Surveillance Entity (MSE)
Approves, trains and oversees PREs
Operates independent verification program, via Product
Verification Committee, to ensure program integrity
Participating manufacturers signs subscriber agreement with
MSE and pays fee
Periodic rounds of verification conducted and reports issued
identifying non-conforming products.
Manufacturers have opportunity to correct non-conformance or
product is removed from registry
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EPEAT: Why Does it Matter?
In the United States
Bush and Obama Executive Orders require federal agencies to
meet 95% of procurement needs with EPEAT-registered products
EPEAT requirements incorporated into Federal Acquisition
Regulations
State and municipal governments, universities, and
corporations
will similarly only purchase EPEAT-registered products
Globally
EPEAT registries exist in over 30 countries
Some foreign governments only purchase EPEAT products
Foreign green procurement programs adopting EPEAT-like
criteria
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EPEAT: What Next?
Covered products Computers and displays, imaging equipment,
televisions
Future standard development
Mobile phone and server standards under development
Growing controversy over which SDO will develop new
standards and revise existing standards
Markets Global: e.g. recent GEC meeting with Chinese
delegation
Consumer: e.g. online retailers displaying EPEAT mark for
registered products
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Evolution of the Federal
Acquisition Regulation (FAR)
1997 Amendments reflected government's preference for
acquisition of environmentally-sound and
energy-efficient products and services
established affirmative procurement program favoring items
containing maximum
practicable content of recovered materials
2007 Amendments require procurement preference for biobased
products within items designated by
the Secretary of Agriculture
Implementation of Energy Policy Act all federal acquisitions of
energy consuming-products and all contracts for energy-
consuming products require ENERGY STAR or FEMP designated
products
2009 Amendments require use of EPEAT in procurement
contracts
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EPP in Latin America
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Regional Context
10 legislatively active countries (+ several
active states & major cities)
Environmentally focused, progressive
populace
Many green legislators & coalitions
Low industry engagement can = one-sided
process
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EPP Initiatives in Latin America
Viewed as a benign alternative to
environmental regulation
Numerous initiatives pending in several
countries
Convergence of eco-labeling and green
procurement
Potentially subject to technical standards,
local testing and certification
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Green Procurement
in Brazil
Federal & state (e.g., So Paulo) laws
Broad mandate, limited implementation
Federal Constitution, Arts. 170 & 225
Law 12349/2010 requires that procurement
promote sustainable development
Key implementing rule: MPOG Normative
Instruction 1/2010
Federal green procurement guide recommends
use of sustainability certification programs
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Normative Instruction 1/2010
Applies to: purchases of goods, public works
projects, and service contracts
Federal agencies may require, for goods:
Use of recycled, non-toxic, biodegradable materials
INMETRO sustainability certification
Packaging: least volume, recycled materials
Compliance with EU RoHS limits (note: RoHS later
explicitly required under Green IT rule)
Stricter requirements for public works projects
and service contracts
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Colombia Eco-Seal
Sello Ambiental Colombiano (SAC)
Established 2005 through Green Market
Strategic Plan
Administered by the Environment Ministry
and ICONTEC
Available to any class of product or
service that meets qualifying criteria
Not currently a green procurement
program, but has been proposed
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SAC Principles
Sustainable use of natural resources
Non-hazardous prime materials
Low or alternative energy use
Reuse, recyclability, biodegrability
Minimization of packaging
Clean technologies
End-of-life management
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SAC Process
Product / service proposed for approval
Feasibility review by 2 committees
Implemented through Colombian
Technical Standards (NTCs)
Certification requirement
Currently 10 SAC NTCs, including: hotels,
packaging, plumbing, cleaning products,
lubricants, electronics housings
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Technical Standards
Huge body of rules, both international and domestic
Issued by specialized standardization institutes
Publication may be tightly controlled
Often, but not always, technical in nature
Often, but not always, narrow in scope (e.g., product-
specific)
Typically voluntary unless incorporated by reference in
legislation, but:
Can be de facto regulation
Some are mandatory (e.g., Mexican NOMs)
Open rulemaking processes, with low participation
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Local Testing & Certification
Arm-in-arm with technical standards and
institutes
Certification usually = hire a local lab
New cottage industry in some countries
Complex procedures, frequent monitoring
Local labs vary in sophistication and reliability
Be careful, stay engaged
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Questions?
Daniel Eisenberg
(202) 789-6046
[email protected]
Russell Fraker
(202) 789-6048
[email protected]
B&D Products Law Webinar Series
November 19, 2013
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]
