Other Presidential Documents
(d) The Director of OMB is hereby authorized and directed to publish this memorandum in the Federal Register.
THE WHITE HOUSE,
Washington, February 17, 2012.
Memorandum of February 21, 2012
Driving Innovation and Creating Jobs in Rural America Through Biobased and Sustainable Product Procurement
Memorandum for the Heads of Executive Departments and Agencies
The BioPreferred program—established by the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002 (Public Law 107–171)(2002 Farm Bill), and strengthened by the Food, Conservation and Energy Act of 2008 (Public Law 110–234)(2008 Farm Bill)—is intended to increase Federal procurement of biobased products to promote rural economic development, create new jobs, and provide new markets for farm commodities. Biobased and sustainable products help to increase our energy security and independence.
The Federal Government, with leadership from the Department of Agriculture (USDA), has made significant strides in implementing the BioPreferred program. It is one of the key elements in my efforts to promote sustainable acquisition throughout the Government under Executive Order 13514 of October 5, 2009 (Federal Leadership in Environmental, Energy, and Economic Performance). Further efforts will drive innovation and economic growth and create jobs at marginal cost to the American public. The goal of this memorandum is to ensure that executive departments and agencies (agencies) effectively execute Federal procurement requirements for biobased products, including those requirements identified in Executive Order 13514 and prescribed in the 2002 Farm Bill, as amended by the 2008 Farm Bill. It is vital that these efforts are in accord and carefully coordinated with other Federal procurement requirements.
Therefore, I direct that agencies take the following steps to significantly increase Federal procurement of biobased and other sustainable products. Section 1. Actions Related to Executive Order 13514. (a) Agencies shall include and report on biobased acquisition as part of the sustainable acquisition goals and milestones in the Strategic Sustainability Performance Plan required by section 8 of Executive Order 13514.
(b) As required by section 2(h) of Executive Order 13514, agencies shall ensure that 95 percent of applicable new contract actions for products and services advance sustainable acquisition, including biobased acquisition, where such products and services meet agency performance requirements. In doing so, agencies shall:
(i) include acquisition of biobased products in their Affirmative Procurement Programs and Preferable Purchasing Programs, as applicable (as355
