There are a variety of services and products used in NIH facilities and used for NIH mission activities that contain or emit toxic, hazardous, polluting or unsustainable substances. This category of substances are known as Substances of Concern (SoCs).When determining whether a specific substance should be considered a substance of concern, the entire life cycle of manufacturing, transportation, use and disposal must be considered. The NIH follows statutory requirements and EPA recommendations for SoCs to promote the purchasing of safer, environmentally preferable alternatives and other strategies to reduce the hazards posed by these substances.
The NIH prioritizes the procurement of sustainable products and practices to the maximum extent practicable. See below for several purchasing programs that NIH considers during the procurement process.
Statutory Requirements & Purchasing Programs
| Authority
| Description
|
EPA’s Comprehensive Procurement Guideline (CPG) Program
| The Resource Conservation and Recovery Act of 1976 (RCRA), 42 U.S.C. 6962, as implemented at 40 CFR part 247.
| The CPG Program designates products that are or can be made with recovered materials, and recommended practices for buying these products.
|
USDA's BioPreferred Program
| The Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002 (FSRIA), 7 U.S.C. 8102, as implemented at 7 CFR part 3201. The Energy Policy Act of 2005, Public Law 109-58.
| USDA's BioPreferred Program specifies the minimum biobased content for products within 139 different categories (e.g. cleaners, carpet, lubricants, paint) for Federal Agencies and their contractors. The BioPreferred Program is also a voluntary product-labeling initiative that is certified to meet the USDA standard.
|
ENERGY STAR
| Energy Policy and Conservation Act (42 U.S.C. 6361(a)(1)).
National Energy Conservation Policy Act (42 U.S.C. 8253, 8259b, and 8262g).
Executive Order 11912 and 13221
| The ENERGY STAR program is a voluntary product-labeling initiative launched
by EPA and DOE that identifies and promotes energy efficient products and facilities.
|
DOE-FEMP Energy
Efficient Products and Low
Standby Power Products
| Energy Policy and Conservation Act (42 U.S.C. 6361(a)(1)).
National Energy Conservation Policy Act (42 U.S.C. 8253, 8259b, and 8262g).
Executive Order 11912 and 13221
| The Federal Energy Management Program (FEMP) publishes acquisition
guidance to help Federal buyers meet requirements for purchasing
energy-efficient and water-efficient products. In addition, in product
categories not covered by ENERGY STAR, FEMP sets efficiency requirements for
product categories that have the potential to generate significant Federal
energy savings.
|
EPA's Significant New Alternatives Policy (SNAP) program
| Title VI of the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7671, et seq.).
Section 706 of Division D, title VII of the Omnibus Appropriations Act, 2009 (Pub. L. 111-8).
EPA regulations, Protection of Stratospheric Ozone (40 CFR part 82).
| The SNAP Program identifies and evaluates substitutes in end-uses that
have historically used ozone-depleting substances in several industrial sectors. |
EPA Recommendation Programs
| Description
|
EPA’s Safer Choice
Program
| Safer Choice is EPA's a voluntary product-labeling initiative for safer chemical-based products. Every chemical, regardless of percentage, in a Safer Choice-certified product is evaluated through EPA's rigorous scientific process and only the safest ingredients are allowed.
Safer Choice also publishes a Safer Chemical Ingredients List that contains chemical ingredients that the Safer Choice Program has evaluated and determined to be safer than traditional chemical ingredients.
|
EPA’s
WaterSense Program
| The WaterSense program is a voluntary product-labeling initiative launched
by EPA that identifies and promotes water efficient products and programs.
|
EPA
Recommendations of Specifications, Standards, and Ecolabels for Federal
Purchasing
| The Recommendations of Specifications, Standards, and Ecolabels help
federal purchasers identify and procure environmentally preferable products and
services by providing a catalog of ecolabels and standards that have passed
EPA’s assessment. |