Summary: Several procurement strategies exist which can be aimed at reducing energy use, but federal agencies are not using many of them. It has been 3 years since the Energy Policy and Conservation Act (EPCA) was passed and the Office of Federal Procurement Policy (OFPP) and procuring agencies have neglected to take meaningful action in response to the legislation.
The Department of Defense and the General Services Administration (GSA) have amended their procurement regulations with a general energy conservation policy statement. There is no evidence that further action has been taken beyond this in response to the OFPP policy letter recommending the insert of such a statement. The Senate report on EPCA indicated that GSA and other appropriate federal agencies were expected to analyze the impact of including energy efficiency as one of the criteria for decisionmaking in the federal procurement process. This analysis was to form the basis for the development of standards to increase energy efficiency for equipment purchased by the federal government. Energy conservation is not being given full recognition in procurement policies. The OFPP policy letter and the resulting changes to the procurement regulations are important steps, but further action is needed. General policies will have to be followed by specific procedures before the federal procurement process can be made more energy conscious.
