GSA plans greenhouse gas disclosures, reduction targets for IT providers

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The General Services Administration plans to make medium- and large-sized contractors on their huge new Alliant 2 government-wide IT contract vehicle disclose their annual greenhouse gas emissions and set targets for reducing them, according to procurement documents posted Wednesday.

“It is GSA’s intent to require the … contractors to inventory and publicly disclose their operational [greenhouse gas, or] GHG emissions, set targets for reducing those emissions, and report progress toward meeting their targets. This will be an annual requirement,” the agency states.

In a proposed information collection requirement published in the Federal Register, the agency asks for feedback on the plan, saying that 40 percent of the vendors on the $50 billion contract already make such disclosures “in response to requests from their non-government customers, investors, insurers, and corporate sustainability policies.”

The requirement will apply to contractors on the unrestricted Alliant 2 contract, not the accompanying small business vehicle.

The agency says the move is in response to a presidential executive order signed in March last year, which required the seven largest U.S. procurement agencies “take into consideration contractor GHG emissions and GHG management practices.”

“Public disclosure of GHG emissions and GHG reduction goals or targets has become standard practice in many industries,” the GSA notice states, adding “companies are increasingly asking their own suppliers about their GHG management practices … Performing a GHG inventory provides insight into operations and opportunities for energy and operational savings that can result in both environmental and financial benefits.”

The notice estimates the disclosure will take contractors 80 hours to prepare.