Newsletter Archive

The U.S. government is the single largest purchaser of goods, not only within the United States, but also in the world. U.S. federal, state, and local government purchasing accounts for billions of dollars of spending every day, and almost 20 percent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP).¹ By virtue of its spending power, the federal government has the ability to demonstrate and foster new technologies and goods that provide energy-related, environmental, and economic benefits to the country. The Buy Bio Initiative was created to encourage federal procurement of one category of such goods: biobased products such as construction materials, ink, paint, and plastics that are produced using domestically produced biomass.

Timeline of Actions That Encourage Federal Procurement of Biobased Products September 1998: The President issues Executive Order 13101, mandating federal purchases of recycled and environmentally preferred products (EPPs). August 1999: The President issues Executive Order 13134, creating the Interagency Council on Biobased Products and Bioenergy, the Advisory Committee on Biobased Products and Bioenergy, and the National Biobased Products and Bioenergy Coordination Office. February 2002: Several agencies, led by DOE and USDA, participate in the first Buy Bio meeting. May 2002: Congress passes the new Farm Bill, which mandates federal preferred purchases of biobased products. October 2002: The United Soybean Board coordinates "The Stakeholders' Forum" involving representatives from DOE, USDA, GSA, EPA, and other federal agencies to discuss how to encourage the federal government to purchase biobased products. April 2002: The Biobased Products Coordination Council (BPCC) hosts the "Biobased and Renewable Energy Product Showcase" where biobased product vendors interact with interested federal employees, congressional staff, lobbyists, activists, and others. Spring/Summer 2003: The Biobased Manufacturers Association (BMA) and USDA co-host the Biobased Products Showcase on Earth Day. Also, a regulation drafted by USDA defining "biobased product," identifying biobased product categories and subcategories, and identifying criteria for qualifying products for preferred procurement is being reviewed by USDA's Office of General Counsel. Iowa State University is developing a product testing program and a website.

Begun in 2002 and led by the Departments of Energy and Agriculture, the Buy Bio Initiative uses Executive Order 13101 as its foundation. This order requires the federal government to purchase recycled and environmentally preferred products (EPPs) and suggests it voluntarily purchase biobased products. Through the Buy Bio Initiative, DOE and USDA have taken a number of steps to better educate federal procurement officials and promote the purchase of biobased products.

In May of 2002, just three months after the Buy Bio Initiative was created-and in large part due to the efforts of those involved-the new Farm Bill was passed with a section that takes E.O. 13101 a step further by mandating federal procurement of biobased products. Section 9002 of Title IX of the 2002 Farm Bill authorizes USDA to support testing of biobased products for biobased content and other qualities, and to develop a Designated Biobased Products List (DBPL). Federal agencies will be required to give preference to the products USDA includes on this list. The Department of Energy plans to develop an early adopter program where the procurement plan it develops to purchase products on USDA's list will be used as a model for other federal agencies. USDA received $1 million in funding in FY 2002 and in FY 2003 to support its Buy Bio efforts, and is slated to receive the same amount every fiscal year from 2004 until 2007. This funding comes directly from the Commodity Credit Corporation.

Since the 2002 Farm Bill was passed, USDA has worked to meet the mandates outlined in Section 9002. A draft regulation that defines what a biobased product is, identifies biobased product categories and subcategories, and identifies criteria for qualifying those products for preferred procurement is currently under review by USDA's Office of General Council.² The regulation will likely be finalized by the end of 2003.³ Also, Iowa State University-in cooperation with USDA's Office of Energy Policy and New Uses-is developing a biobased product testing program and a website where manufacturers and vendors can post information about their biobased products that qualify for preferred procurement.⁴

In 2004, USDA will compile a list of available biobased products. By 2005, federal agencies must have preferential purchasing programs in place.⁵

Today, the DOE and USDA continue to work towards their goal of accelerating preferential purchases of biobased products in federal agencies through interagency work group coordination, performance monitoring, and recognition. One of Buy Bio's key priorities is to train procurement personnel, government credit card holders, and personnel involved with affirmative procurement to plan for biobased product purchases. Among other activities, Buy Bio representatives participated in "The Stakeholders' Forum: Growing the Federal Use of Biobased Products," organized by the United Soybean Board to "identify opportunities and challenges for (non-fuel) biobased products in the federal sector" and to "identify individual and collective strategies to increase market penetration" in that sector."⁶ The Buy Bio group has also contributed materials to be used in training sessions for government purchasers⁷ and taken part in Earth Day events held at USDA in 2002 and 2003, both intended to give representatives from companies that manufacture biobased products a chance to interact with interested federal employees.⁸

For up-to-date information about recent activities related to Section 9002 of the 2002 Farm Bill, visit the following website: "Current Status on Implementing Title IX of the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002 (FSRIA)."

_____________________________________________________

1. "Government Purchasing." http://www.rca-info.org/gpp.html;
   The United States Chamber of Commerce. http://www.uschamber.com/sb/P09/P09_2300.asp
2. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Office of the Chief Economist, Office of Energy Policy and New Uses.
3. Argonne National Laboratory.
4. "Current Status on Implementing Title IX of the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002 (FSRIA)." 18 April 2003.
   http://www.usda.gov/energy/title%209%20implement%20status%20041809.html
5. Argonne National Laboratory.
6. "Soybean Checkoff Promotes Federal Use of Biobased Products."
   http://www.unitedsoybean.org/news/nr20021007.htm
7. U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency, Office of the Biomass Program.
8. "Biobased Products Earth Day Activities in Washington, D.C." http://www.biobased.org/usda/;
   "USDA and Biobased Manufacturers Association Are Coordinating Biobased Products Showcase in Washington, DC to Celebrate Earth Day: Over 20 Exhibitors Representing Companies, Organizations, and Government." http://www.biobased.org/list2.php?storyid=3911

In September 2002, the Nebraska Energy Office received three grants from the U.S. Department of Energy totaling $67,000 for projects related to converting indigenous renewable resources to energy. Two of the grants focused on biomass-related activities: 1) Support for the state's Biopower Steering Committee which was created by the Legislature in 1999 and 2) To begin the process for creation of a Nebraska Biomass Energy Roadmap.⁷

In September 1998, the Greater Omaha Clean Cities Coalition became the 66th member of the Clean Cities Program. By the end of that year, Omaha had 420 alternative fuel vehicles on the road, 80% of which run on ethanol E-85.⁸ In 2001, this number had grown to over 1,100.⁹

_____________________________________________________

1. Energy Information Administration, "Table 7. Energy Consumption Estimates by Source, Selected Years, 1960-2000, Nebraska."
   http://www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/states/sep_use/total/use_tot_ne.html
2. "Nebraska Bioenergy Resources"
   http://www.eere.energy.gov/state_energy/tech_biomass.cfm?state=NE
3. "U.S. Production Capacity" June 10, 2003
   http://www.bbiethanol.com/plant_production/uspc.html
4. Nebraska Energy Office "Annual Report 2002"
   http://www.nol.org/home/NEO/ar2002.pdf
5. http://www.ies.ncsu.edu/dsire/library/includes/incentive2.cfm?Incentive_Code=NE02F&state=NE&CurrentPageID=1
6. http://www.ethanol-gec.org/
7. http://www.nol.org/home/NEO/
8. http://www.eere.energy.gov/buildings/state_energy/ne_nep.html
9. "Clean Cities Directions for 2003" Denver/Dallas Regional Meeting
   http://www.ccities.doe.gov/pdfs/DenverMeeting.ppt

In "Green" Container, Corn Replaces Petroleum
Wild Oats Markets Inc. became the first grocery store in the nation to roll out a new type of "green" packaging, which looks like plastic but turns into compost after disposal. Unofficially called the "Corntainer" in the natural food chain's 11 Pacific Northwest stores, where it is being tested, the clear packaging is made from corn rather than petroleum. The "Corntainer" is made by Cargill-Dow and is being marketed globally by them. In 1997, it began marketing the product and found eager buyers in Japan, where landfills are limited. It then entered Europe, where packaging producer Ilip began making a range of food containers. IPER, a European grocery chain, began using the containers in 21 Italian stores and another 1,000 European stores will soon announce adoption of the product.
http://www.forbes.com/home_asia/newswire/2003/06/11/rtr997191.html

Kitchen Grease Fuels Colorado University Buses
Located at the University of Colorado is a 55-gallon drum that brews small batches of biodiesel fuel for the campus buses. Developed last fall by six freshmen engineering students, the processor uses campus dining hall grease. The pollution-prevention benefits of biodiesel caught the eye of CU transportation department manager Bryan Flansburg four years ago, but the price - $2.50 per commercially produced gallon - was too steep. When students brought the price down to $1 per gallon by using campus kitchen grease and processing it for free, Flansburg agreed to participate in a pilot program. "If the students continue to produce it at that price, we will not have issues," Flansburg said.
http://rockymountainnews.com/drmn/state/article/0,1299,DRMN_21_2064899,00.html