FAR 52.223-23—Sustainable Products and Services.
Plain-English Summary
FAR 52.223-23, Sustainable Products and Services, tells contractors and contracting officers which environmentally preferable products and services must be bought under a contract and how to identify them. It defines key terms such as biobased product, recovered material, and sustainable products and services, then ties those terms to specific federal purchasing programs: EPA Comprehensive Procurement Guidelines for recovered materials, ENERGY STAR and FEMP for energy- and water-efficient products, USDA BioPreferred biobased products, EPA SNAP acceptable chemicals and processes, WaterSense products and services, Safer Choice products, and EPA Recommendations of Specifications, Standards, and Ecolabels. The clause also requires the contract itself to identify which sustainable products and services apply and which do not, and it specifies when those products must meet program requirements—generally at the time of quote or offer submission. In practice, this clause is a contract-specific compliance tool: it does not create a one-size-fits-all mandate for every item, but instead directs the parties to the applicable sustainability programs for the particular supplies or services being acquired. It matters because failure to identify the right products, use the right labels or standards, or apply the clause to the right cost category can lead to noncompliant deliveries, rejected products, or contract administration problems. The clause also points contractors to the Green Procurement Compilation as the main research resource for determining which sustainability programs apply.
Key Rules
Key terms control scope
The clause defines biobased product, recovered material, and sustainable products and services. These definitions determine which products fall within the clause and which federal purchasing programs apply.
Contract must identify applicability
The statement of work or other contract language must specify the sustainable products and services that apply, the purchasing program involved, the type of product or service, and any items excluded from the clause. Contractors should not assume every green product requirement applies unless the contract says so.
Covered items must be provided
The contractor must ensure required sustainable products and services are delivered to the Government, furnished for Government use, incorporated into public building or public work construction, or furnished in performing services when the product cost is a direct contract cost. The clause also extends to management and operation of Government-owned facilities to the same extent the agency would have to comply if it operated the facility itself.
Products must meet program standards
Except for the EPA Recommendations of Specifications, Standards, and Ecolabels requirement, sustainable products and services must meet the applicable standards, specifications, or other program requirements at the time of quote or offer submission. The EPA Recommendations requirement is fixed to the recommendations in effect as of October 2023.
Multiple purchasing programs apply
The clause incorporates both statutory purchasing programs and required EPA purchasing programs. Statutory programs include recovered material, ENERGY STAR/FEMP, USDA BioPreferred, and EPA SNAP; required EPA programs include WaterSense, Safer Choice, and EPA-recommended specifications, standards, and ecolabels.
Green Procurement Compilation is the guide
The Green Procurement Compilation is the primary reference for identifying applicable sustainable products and services and related acquisition guidance. Contractors are expected to consult it when determining which purchasing programs apply to a specific product or service.
Responsibilities
Contracting Officer
Identify in the contract which sustainable products and services apply, specify the relevant purchasing program and product or service type, and state any exclusions from the clause. The contracting officer should also ensure the solicitation and contract requirements align with the applicable sustainability mandates.
Contractor
Provide the required sustainable products and services in accordance with the contract, ensure they meet the applicable program standards at the required time, and use the Green Procurement Compilation to determine which programs apply. The contractor must also distinguish between direct-cost items covered by the clause and indirect or G&A items that are not.
Agency
Apply the underlying statutory and regulatory purchasing programs correctly and ensure contract requirements reflect the agency’s sustainability obligations. For facility operations contracts, the agency must treat contractor performance as if the agency itself were operating or supporting the facility.
End User / Government Customer
Use the products and services furnished under the contract as required and, where relevant, support compliance by not substituting noncompliant items for required sustainable products.
Practical Implications
Contractors need to verify sustainability requirements early, before quoting or offering, because many program standards must be met at that point, not later during performance.
The clause is contract-specific, so the biggest mistake is assuming a product is covered just because it is environmentally preferable; the SOW or contract must actually identify the applicable program and item.
Indirect-cost items are generally outside the clause unless the contract specifically treats them as direct costs, so accounting treatment matters.
For construction and facility operations work, the clause can reach materials incorporated into the project and products used in operating Government-owned facilities, which can broaden compliance obligations significantly.
The EPA Recommendations requirement is time-specific to October 2023, so contractors should not rely on later updates unless the contract says otherwise.
Official Regulatory Text
As prescribed in 23.109 (a) , insert the following clause: Sustainable Products and Services (May 2024) (a) Definitions. As used in this clause— Biobased product means a product determined by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to be a commercial product or industrial product (other than food or feed) that is composed, in whole or in significant part, of biological products, including renewable domestic agricultural materials and forestry materials, or that is an intermediate ingredient or feedstock. The term includes, with respect to forestry materials, forest products that meet biobased content requirements, notwithstanding the market share the product holds, the age of the product, or whether the market for the product is new or emerging. ( 7 U.S.C. 8101 ) ( 7 CFR 3201.2 ). Recovered material means waste materials and by-products recovered or diverted from solid waste, but the term does not include those materials and by-products generated from, and commonly reused within, an original manufacturing process. ( 42 U.S.C. 6903 ). Sustainable products and services means products and services that are subject to and meet the following applicable statutory mandates and directives for purchasing: (1) Statutory purchasing programs . (i) Products containing recovered material designated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) under the Comprehensive Procurement Guidelines ( 42 U.S.C. 6962 ) ( 40 CFR part 247 ) ( https://www.epa.gov/smm/comprehensive-procurement-guideline-cpg-program#products ). (ii) Energy- and water-efficient products that are ENERGY STAR® certified or Federal Energy Management Program (FEMP)-designated products ( 42 U.S.C. 8259b ) ( 10 CFR part 436, subpart C ) ( https://www.energy.gov/eere/femp/search-energy-efficient-products and https://www.energystar.gov/products?s=mega ). (iii) Biobased products meeting the content requirement of the USDA under the BioPreferred® program ( 7 U.S.C. 8102 ) ( 7 CFR part 3201 ) ( ). (iv) Acceptable chemicals, products, and manufacturing processes listed under EPA's Significant New Alternatives Policy (SNAP) program, which ensures a safe and smooth transition away from substances that contribute to the depletion of stratospheric ozone ( 42 U.S.C. 7671l ) ( 40 CFR part 82, subpart G ) ( https://www.epa.gov/snap ). (2) Required EPA purchasing programs . (i) WaterSense® labeled (water efficient) products and services ( https://www.epa.gov/watersense/watersense-products ). (ii) Safer Choice-certified products (products that contain safer chemical ingredients) ( https://www.epa.gov/saferchoice/products ). (iii) Product and services that meet EPA Recommendations of Specifications, Standards, and Ecolabels in effect as of October 2023 ( https://www.epa.gov/greenerproducts/recommendations-specifications-standards-and-ecolabels-federal-purchasing ). (b) Requirements . (1) The sustainable products and services, including the purchasing program and type of product or service, that are applicable to this contract, and any products or services that are not subject to this clause, will be set forth in the statement of work or elsewhere in the contract. (2) The Contractor shall ensure that the sustainable products and services required by this contract are— (i) Delivered to the Government; (ii) Furnished for use by the Government; (iii) Incorporated into the construction of a public building or public work; and (iv) Furnished for use in performing services under this contract, where the cost of the products is a direct cost to this contract (versus costs which are normally applied to the Contractor's general and administrative expenses or indirect costs). This includes services performed by contractors performing management and operation of Government-owned facilities to the same extent that, at the time of award, an agency would be required to comply if an agency operated or supported the facility. (3) (i) Except as provided in paragraph (b)(3)(ii) of this clause, sustainable products and services must meet the applicable standards, specifications, or other program requirements at time of quote or offer submission; and (ii) Sustainable products and services must meet the EPA Recommendations of Specifications, Standards, and Ecolabels in effect as of October 2023. (c) Resource. The Green Procurement Compilation (GPC) available at https://sftool.gov/greenprocurement provides a comprehensive list of sustainable products and services and sustainable acquisition guidance. The Contractor should review the GPC when determining which purchasing programs apply to a specific product or service. End of clause