Government Contracts Monitor

Selling Biobased Products to the Federal Government

February 6, 2012

Government contractors (and, in particular, commercial companies) need to be aware of the Federal Government’s procurement-preference program for biobased products, called BioPreferred.  Under section 9002 of the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002 (“FSRIA”), the Department of Agriculture (“USDA”) is responsible for leading this initiative.

Under the BioPreferred program, the USDA designates categories (“items”) of biobased products; i.e., generic groupings of commercial or industrial products (other than food or feed) composed wholly or in significant part of biological products, etc.  So far, the USDA has designated about 60 of these categories, which collectively include thousands of commercially available biobased products.  These items include a vast number of products manufactured by government contractors, including lubricants, diesel fuel additives, hydraulic fluids, fertilizers, sorbents, pest-control products, automotive-care products, carpets, food cleaners, exterior paints and coatings, industrial cleaners, disposable tableware, and composite panels.  As part of the designation process, the USDA also establishes the minimum biobased content for each category.

Federal agencies are required to establish procurement-preference programs for BioPreferred-designated items.  Under the Federal Acquisition Regulation, an agency must purchase a qualifying biobased product if it is reasonably available, meets reasonable performance standards, and is reasonably priced.  When a federal agency procures biobased products, the offeror must certify that qualifying biobased products will be used or delivered in contract performance.  Upon request, a manufacturer or vendor must verify the biobased content of such products to the USDA or a federal agency.

The FSRIA also establishes a voluntary product-labeling program under which manufacturers and vendors of biobased products may apply to the USDA to market their products as “USDA Certified Biobased Products”.

John Howell is the attorney responsible for the content of this article.