Icon showing a shoping cartNet-Zero Emissions Procurement by 2050

President Biden's Executive Order 14057 on catalyzing American clean energy industries and jobs through Federal sustainability and accompanying Federal Sustainability Plan (collectively referred to as "The Federal Sustainability Plan") outlines an ambitious path to achieve net-zero emissions from Federal procurement by 2050 while increasing the sustainability of Federal supply chains. These supply chain initiatives include major contractor greenhouse gas (GHG) emission disclosures paired with science-based targets, a "buy clean" initiative for low-carbon materials, and a sustainable products policy. These programs will advance America's industrial competitiveness to supply the low-carbon and sustainable goods of the future while creating well-paying union jobs.

Key Actions

+ Require major Federal suppliers to publicly disclose emissions and set reduction targets.

Major Federal contractors will publicly report their annual corporate-level GHG emissions and set targets to reduce them. Major contractors will also disclose climate risks and vulnerabilities that may affect their future economic stability or their ability to deliver goods and services that are critical to Federal agency missions. These requirements will improve the resilience of Federal supply chains to increasing climate risks, strengthen the competitive position of American companies, and help to reduce contract costs through increased efficiency.

+ Launch a Buy Clean initiative for low-carbon materials.

Production of high-volume materials associated with the construction of buildings and infrastructure, especially concrete and steel, is a major source of global GHG emissions. Reducing these emissions, referred to as "embodied" emissions because they are emitted during the manufacture of purchased products, is a critical piece of reducing emissions in the Federal supply chain.

+ Change Federal procurement rules to minimize the risk of climate change, including factoring in the social cost of GHG (SC-GHG) in procurement decisions.

Agencies are already required to consider the lifecycle cost of alternatives in procurement decisions. Strengthening lifecycle cost approaches, where feasible and applicable, to include the SC-GHG—the incremental future economic damages caused by each ton of carbon pollution—can be a valuable tool to guide agencies toward investments that are compatible with the low-carbon economy of the future. Calculating and applying SC-GHG in procurements is an emerging field, which the Biden-Harris Administration will advance through an iterative, whole-of-government approach that includes agency-level pilots.

+ Maximize the procurement of sustainable products and services.

The Federal Government will maximize procurement of sustainable products and services, including ENERGY STAR rated equipment; products that are bio-based, made from recycled content, water-efficient, fuel-efficient, made with safer chemical ingredients, and non-ozone-depleting; and products that have earned third-party ecolabels reviewed and recommended by the Environmental Protection Agency. Additionally, agencies should avoid the procurement of products containing perfluoroalkyl or polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS).

+ Establish the Net-Zero Emissions Procurement Federal Leaders Working Group, including a Buy Clean Task Force, to drive strategy and implementation.

The Working Group will provide semiannual reports to the National Climate Task Force on actions, findings, and progress toward governmentwide goals.

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