Earlier this month GreenCircle Certified, LLC’s (GreenCircle) Certified Environmental Facts (CEF) multi-attribute label for flooring products was recognized by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Environmentally Preferable Purchasing (EPP) Program as a recommended ecolabel for sustainable federal purchasing. The EPA EPP Program provides recommendations of specifications, standards, and ecolabels to help federal purchasers identify and specify environmentally sustainable products and services.
The basis of these recommendations come from EPA guidelines developed through a stakeholder consensus process, ensuring a transparent, reliable approach. The recommendations leverage existing private-sector standards and ecolabels to encourage and simplify the process of sustainable purchasing in the US government, while developing a framework to recognize environmental performance and address the key environmental or health impacts within product categories. Product 
categories to date include: cafeteria, construction, custodial, electronics, grounds/landscaping, and office/furniture.
categories to date include: cafeteria, construction, custodial, electronics, grounds/landscaping, and office/furniture.
An internationally recognized, third-party certification entity providing independent verification of sustainability claims, GreenCircle is ISO 17065 compliant, following industry requirements for organizations certifying products, processes, and services. GreenCircle certification is additionally recognized by both the United States Green Building Council (USGBC) Home Innovation Research Labs’ (HIRL) National Green Building Standard (NGBS) and the International Living Future Institute (ILFI) as a valid third-party certification entity. GreenCircle’s CEF label for flooring products enables purchasers to easily review and understand flooring sustainability attributes, such as carbon footprint, recycled content, material ingredients, and manufacturing attributes.
“Now recognized by the EPA, GreenCircle’s CEF label for flooring products will continue to support the movement in government procurement to specify products with decreased environmental impact and verified sustainability metrics. When purchasers are accurately informed and educated, they are empowered to make the best choices. Purchasers have a big role in selecting sustainable products as well as encouraging continuous improvement with product manufacturers to provide more sustainable products. We encourage all procurement teams to utilize the recommendations set by the EPA when making purchasing decisions,” said Tad Radzinski, co-founder and Certification Officer of GreenCircle Certified, LLC.
Government and private purchasing teams alike should utilize recommendations and guidelines such as these in order to meet sustainable purchasing goals, reduce impact, and reduce spending by selecting products with life-cycle cost savings. Refer to the EPA EPP Program Recommendations website for more information on certification criteria, and to view all the recommended specifications, standards, and ecolabels for federal purchasing.
The EPA guidelines encourage continuous improvement of not only the recommended standards and ecolabels, but the products and services addressed. Federal purchasers can visit GSA’s Green Procurement Compilation for all applicable green purchasing requirements, including EPA’s recommendations.
- Click here for more information on the EPA Guidelines and recommendations.
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