GSA to establish new federal acquisitions advisory committee
The General Services Administration is setting up a new advisory committee to help the agency use acquisition tools and authorities to target high-priority challenges including climate change.
The initial focus of the GSA Acquisition Policy Federal Advisory Committee will be on driving regulatory, policy and process changes to increase climate and sustainability considerations within federal acquisition, the agency said in a statement.
Ensuring that procurement dollars support the reduction of the federal government’s overall carbon footprint was a key tenet of the climate change risk management plan announced by the agency in October last year.
GSA will solicit nominations for committee members and is hoping to appoint a cross-section of representatives from industry and government.
Commenting on the new committee, GSA Administrator Robin Carnahan said: “We have a responsibility as the world’s largest buyer to solicit ideas from top experts in both the public and private sector about how we approach acquisition, particularly in regards to priorities like advancing sustainability and tackling climate change.”
“I look forward to seeing how this committee can help uncover new strategies and approaches to help us buy cleaner,” she added.
Associate Administrator for the Office of Governmentwide Policy Krystal Brumfield said: “GSA welcomes opportunities to increase diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility on its federal advisory committees.” She added: “The GAP FAC will allow GSA to tackle acquisition policy, workforce, and industry partnership challenges through expert advice from a diverse group of stakeholders. I’m looking forward to receiving innovative solutions to address the climate crisis and increase sustainability, as well as considering other emerging acquisition issues.”
Earlier this month, GSA introduced sustainability requirements to existing and forthcoming contracts, including the Ascend cloud marketplace blanket purchase agreement, which is in the early stages of being written.
President Biden reestablished reaching net-zero greenhouse gas emissions nationwide by 2050 as a goal when he took office in 2021. This coincides with more than 90% of new federal IT investments being in industry-managed as-a-service products by 2025, according to a 2021 study by Gartner.
