Corporate Sustainability Advisors
  • Home
  • About
    • Meet Us
  • Approach & Services
    • Services
  • Media: Social & Other
    • Newsroom
  • Blog
  • Contact Us

sustainability
​trend spotting


GHG Reporting in SAM

6/7/2017

0 Comments

 
Picture
Federal contractors - have you recently updated your reps and certs in SAM?
If you've recently been in GSA's System for Awards Management, you've run into the new FAR requirement for certain contractors to make representations about their public disclosure of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions inventories and goals.  For more background on the rule, check out our prior blog posts here and here.  
If you haven't recently updated your reps and certs, the new representations are required for most contractors under FAR provisions 52.204-7 and 52.223-22 (and an equivalent at 52.212-3 for commercial/COTS items).  

​The trigger is simple: If your company received $7.5+ million in Federal contracts during the prior Federal fiscal year, you are required to make the representations. If your company was below $7.5 million in FY16, you may voluntarily choose to report on your public GHG disclosures but are not required do to so.
FAR 52.223-22 Public Disclosure of GHG Emissions and Goals. Representation Required by Federal Contractors. Corporate Sustainability Advisors, LLC
Federal Acquisition Regulation 52.223-22 Public Disclosure of Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Reduction Goals-Representation
The GHG reps appear in Question 32 (FAR response page 4). The image below is a screen shot from the SAM reps section, after selecting "yes" for the first value (i.e., the company received $7.5+ million in Federal contracts during the prior Federal fiscal year).
GHG Emissions Disclosure Representations Required by Federal Government Contractors in SAM Question 32, Corporate Sustainability Advisors, LLC can help.
Question 32 in SAM | Representations About GHG Emissions Inventories/Reduction Goals Public Disclosure
The image below is from the most recent SAM Questionnaire for Representations and Certifications  (Reps and Certs user guide) (February 24, 2017).
SAM Users Guide for GHG Emissions Representations. Corporate Sustainability Advisors, LLC.
SAM Reps & Certs Questionnaire Users Guide, FAR Responses Question 32. (February 24, 2017)
There is a noted departure between the final FAR rule and how the representation is stated in SAM. The SAM language implies that GHG emissions inventories and goals must be publicly disclosed (for those with $7.5+M the prior Federal fiscal year).  In the final rule making, however, the FAR Council was very clear that they are only seeking information about whether companies are making public GHG disclosures. So, the FAR just requires you to report whether or not you publicly disclose GHG emissions inventories/reduction goals. If you already publicly disclose either an emissions inventory and/or reduction goals, you are required to provide a link to the publicly accessible web site where the disclosure(s) have been made. 

​​If you're new to GHG emissions reporting or goal setting, we can help you navigate these new representations. Give us a call at (888) 807-5237 or email us at info@corporatesustainabilityadvisors.com. 
​####
Thank you for reading this blog post. Here at Corporate Sustainability Advisors LLC blog and on LinkedIn, I regularly write about organizational, community, and personal sustainability. If you would like to read my future posts then please subscribe via the adjacent link. Also, feel free to connect via Twitter and Facebook.
0 Comments

Alliant 2 Updates

1/12/2017

1 Comment

 
Picture
Sharing a couple news items regarding GSA's Alliant 2 GWAC.

1.  GAO recently denied protests.  Evaluations and awards can now proceed. See the January 11th decision here. 

2. GSA issued a revised Information Collection Request (ICR) notice for the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions information required under Alliant 2's Section G.25.  Based on comments to the first ICR notice, including those of Corporate Sustainability Advisors, GSA has a new burden estimate for the GHG reporting.  Per the new calculation, GSA estimates that the average Alliant 2 awardee will take about 120 hours each year to comply with the G.25 provisions.  This is up from GSA's original estimate of 80 hours. The revised ICR notice is here.  The public comment period closes February 13th. 
1 Comment

Sustainability Trend Spotting: GSA’s Alliant 2 GWAC Requirements are a Green Game Changer

6/25/2016

1 Comment

 
​The General Services Administration (GSA) just released the request for proposals (RFP) for the $50 billion Alliant 2 government wide acquisition contract (GWAC) for information technology (IT) services. The Alliant 2 GWAC has been in the news as the future of government IT contracting because of its evaluation process and flexibility to provide leading edge technology solutions.
 
An innovative requirement for the unrestricted contract that hasn’t made the headlines or many bidders radar is Section G.25. This section requires the awardees to publish a “Sustainable Practices and Impacts Disclosure” or SPID within 12 months of award of the master contract and annually thereafter for the life of the contract.
 
In my experience and research, most federal contracting firms do not have sustainability programs, apart from some of the largest companies. And, as indicated by CEQ’s 2015 Federal Supplier Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Management Scorecard, even the majority of the largest federal contracting companies do not have greenhouse gas emission (GHG) reduction goals.
 
GSA and other agencies are giving the contracting community time to build-out their sustainability programs. For example, the Alliant 2 contract doesn’t require its contractors to have a complete Scope 1 and 2 GHG inventory until 12 months after the first SPID. GSA provides another 12 months before the contractors must set and report on their GHG reduction targets.  GSA is encouraging, but not requiring Scope 3 GHG reporting. GSA will evaluate compliance for these disclosure requirements via the Contractor Performance Assessment Rating Systems (CPARS) annual review.
 
These contract mandates mark a big change in the federal market. The feds have been following the lead of large commercial retailers and manufacturers to reduce costs and environmental impacts from their own operations for almost a decade. Now, like Walmart and Nike, the federal government is also working to green its supply chain.
 
In all likelihood this represents the future of federal contracting for most large and mid-sized firms. Even for many small businesses.  As Kevin Kampschroer, GSA’s Chief Sustainability Officer, recently noted, “By disclosing [GHG and other sustainability impacts], GSA’s private sector partners can prepare themselves to do business with us in the future, as the agency continues to incorporate carbon disclosure goals and performance criteria into specific contracts.”
 
For those who think these supply chain greening efforts will only impact firms that support civilian agencies, think again. The DoD, Air Force, and Army have been the three biggest buyers on the Alliant 1 GWAC. In addition, here are three other recent indicators to illustrate the scope of this trend.
  1. GSA and the Navy ask their largest contractors to respond to the CDP (formerly Carbon Disclosure Project) Supply Chain survey. This year, the Department of the Navy joined GSA in asking its top 100 contractors to voluntarily respond to this survey. The CDP survey seeks information about GHG management practices and emissions, among other things. In 2015, GSA asked 115 companies to respond to the survey (63 responded). This year, GSA is asking 220 companies to respond.
  2. DOD, GSA, and NASA proposed a draft FAR clause last month that is expected to impact some 5,500 companies, including about 2,700 small businesses. As drafted, contractors with $7.5+ million annually in federal awards will have to publicly disclose on their GHG management and climate risk analyses. Firms under $7.5 million will also be encouraged to disclose.
  3. The Implementing Instructions for EO 13693 require the 7 largest procuring agencies to begin including contractor GHG management in at least 5 RFPs/contracts annually. The Alliant 2 contract terms and the proposed FAR clause are some of the first actions taken under these directives. Stay tuned for additional requirements.
 
To all future Alliant 2 winners, do not underestimate the time it takes to build a sustainability program robust enough to have GHG reporting and reduction goals. As a significant co-benefit to contractual compliance, however, you’re likely to realize cost savings from reduced energy use. It’s never too soon to start planning (and saving).

GSA's Alliant 2 GWAC Sustainability Requirements Time line by Corporate Sustainability Advisors, LLC
1 Comment

    Author

    Hi. I'm Colleen, Corporate Sustainability Advisor's founder and owner.  Blogging about corporate sustainability trends, benefits, and best practices.

    Archives

    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016

    Categories

    All
    Alliant 2
    America Recycles Day
    April
    B Corp
    Benefit Corporation
    Board Of Directors
    Buildings
    Business Strategy
    Carbon
    CFO
    Charitable
    Chief Financial Officers
    Clean Energy
    Clean Tech
    Climate
    Corporate Governance
    Corporate Responsibility
    Corporate Sustainability
    CSR
    Disclosure
    Donations
    Earth
    Earth Day
    Earth Month
    Economically Disadvantaged Women Owned Small Business
    Economically Disadvantaged Women-Owned Small Business
    E-Cycling
    EDWOSB
    Energy
    Energy Efficiency
    Energy Management
    Energy Star
    Environmental
    EO 13693
    EPA
    ESG
    E-Stewards
    E-Waste
    FAR
    Federal Contracting
    Federal Government
    Financial
    Financial Reporting
    FSB
    GHG
    Government Contracting
    Green Drinks
    Greenhouse Gas
    GSA
    GWAC
    Homes
    Investors
    LIVE
    Municipal
    Oregon
    Philanthropy
    R2
    Recycle
    Recycling
    Regulation
    Risk Management
    SBA
    SEC
    Shareholders
    Small Business
    Smart Growth
    Social Responsibility
    Startup
    Supply Chain
    Sustainability
    Sustainable Farming
    Sustainable Wines
    Taxes
    Waste
    Waste Management
    Women Owned Small Business
    Women-Owned Small Business
    WOSB

    RSS Feed

      Want More Sustainability Trend Spotting?

    Subscribe to Blog
© 2016 CORPORATE SUSTAINABILITY ADVISORS, LLC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
  • Home
  • About
    • Meet Us
  • Approach & Services
    • Services
  • Media: Social & Other
    • Newsroom
  • Blog
  • Contact Us