Recommendations of Specifications, Standards, and Ecolabels for Federal Purchasing

Looking to buy more sustainable products and services? Explore EPA's search tool to discover recommended standards and ecolabels by purchase category and start browsing for products.

The Recommendations of Specifications, Standards, and Ecolabels help federal purchasers identify and procure environmentally preferable products and services. In addition, the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) subpart 23.1 directs the federal government to purchase products and services that meet EPA purchasing programs to the “maximum extent practicable." The definition of sustainable products and services in FAR Clause 52.223-23, Sustainable Products and Services includes EPA Recommendations of Specifications, Standards, and Ecolabels in effect as of October 2023. Federal purchasers may use the filter provided below to identify the Recommendations effective as of October 2023. Purchasers may also view standards and ecolabels added after this date. 

The Recommendations leverage private sector approaches to defining and measuring sustainability by including more than 60 private sector standards/ecolabels in more than 40 purchase categories. The Recommendations give preference to multi-attribute/life-cycle based standards/ecolabels that address key impact areas (also known as hotspots) and where a competent third-party certification program can verify product conformance.

• Read about the expansion of the Recommendations announced December 5, 2024. 
• View the list of changes to the Recommendations, 2015-Present.
• Learn about EPA and GSA Acting to Cut PFAS in Government Purchasing for Cleaning Products
• Webinar Recording: Using Ecolabels to Enable Impactful Sustainable Procurement
• Learn about revisions to the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) which includes new requirements to procure products and services meeting the Recommendations.

The Recommendations are organized in the table below to help users identify standards/ecolabels by product category and explore how key environmental hotspots like Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) and plastics are addressed. Enter specific keywords in the Search box, choose a product category or select a hotspot to get started. To start a new search, click "Reset" or refresh the page. Additional information for each standard/ecolabel is available by clicking the blue info icon. Other information to explore includes:

Reminder: before buying new, browse GSAXcess to find surplus and/or lightly used items.

Inclusion in the Recommendations is not an endorsement by EPA of the standards/ecolabels or of any of the products conformant to these standards/ecolabels, but rather a statement that the standard/ecolabel meets EPA’s Framework for the Assessment of Environmental Performance Standards and Ecolabels for Federal Purchasing or is recommended for use by another Federal agency.