It’s the No. 1 consumer of goods and services in the United States, with annual purchases of $400 billion. And, thanks to the BioPreferred program in the 2002 Farm Bill, federal government agencies have been mandated to purchase biobased products whenever they are available, meet performance standards and are reasonably priced. However, even with these advantages, it can take a lot of time and effort to plow through the paperwork required to make the government procurement “A” List.
Recently, some soy-based product manufacturers enjoyed a unique opportunity to meet face to face with purchasing agents from federal agencies, learn what the government is looking for and spotlight their products at the USB Biobased Stakeholders’ Dialogue in Washington, D.C.
Don Eby, president of The Clean Environment Company, knows how tough it can be to get approved. His company has 15 soy-based products on the BioPreferred list that are being used in federal and private facilities.
“It can take a long time to get the testing done, and you want to be sure you are following procedures,” Eby says. “Events like this that cover what the government needs from manufacturers are really helpful.”
The soy checkoff invests in research and development of soy-based products to increase and diversify demand for U.S. soy. These investments have resulted in the commercialization of hundreds of currently available products.
While at the meeting, Eby met with U.S. Department of Agriculture Deputy Secretary Krysta Harden and purchasing representatives from several federal agencies in hopes of getting his products specified for use in some of the 500,000 buildings housing government and military personnel.
“We have many customers who understand the benefits of biobased cleaning products,” Eby says. “But change is difficult for everyone. Hopefully the emphasis on the BioPreferred program and efforts to enforce it will be what’s needed to get agencies to try biobased products and use them.”
Source : unitedsoybean.org