Those include inadequate information, lack of common standards, concerns about costs, and both market and technical uncertainties. The environmental footprint of a product or service can be described as its overall impact on the environment, including use of resources such as energy and water, and effects on health and other aspects of the human environment. A salient feature of the concept of green procurement described above is that it is multidimensional, usually involving an integrated evaluation of criteria such as cost, performance, and impact of a product or service with respect to a set of green factors over the entire life cycle , from design through disposal. For example, among federal agencies, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) provides public access to databases of products assessed as environmental preferable through various criteria. The General Services Administration (GSA) also provides information on green products through its website. Because of such characteristics and complexities, and other factors such as the ways in which programs, policies, and regulations tend to be developed by both governments and private industry, green procurement initiatives often emphasize particular attributes, such as recycled content, energy efficiency, water use or footprints, waste reduction at end of life, and reduction in hazardous chemicals. Generally, these appear to focus on planning rather than performance assessment. Federal Green Purchasing Initiatives

As stated in the introduction to this report, federal initiatives relating to green purchasing of products and services can usefully be organized into two categories based on their primary focus: 
agency-focused initiatives intended to facilitate the procurement of green products and services by federal agencies, and market-focused programs aimed at the availability of green products and services in the broader economy. Since then, various statutes, regulations, executive orders, policy documents, and agency programs have required or encouraged federal agencies to purchase specific products or types of products because of their environmental attributes, as discussed below. Currently, agencies are required to purchase alternative fuels and alternative-fuel vehicles, and biobased, Energy Star and energy efficient, EPEAT-registered, and recycled-content products, although acquisitions may be exempt in specified circumstances. Agencies must consider purchasing alternatives to toxic and priority chemicals and ozone-depleting substances, and EPP products and services. Only EPP and EPEAT attempt to provide an integrative approach to green procurement. The others each address only one or a few attributes. Some of those responsibilities are shared with the Office of the Federal Environmental Executive, housed at EPA. OMB requires agencies to report annually on their activities in green procurement. However, those reporting requirements appear to be largely qualitative. However, quantitative reporting is required for the recycled content and alternative fuels preferences. Questions raised include the following:
What, if any, are the most useful and appropriate policy goals for green procurement? Are the means by which different green-procurement preferences, programs, and other initiatives have been established the most appropriate for meeting policy goals? How effectively are agency implementation and performance of green procurement being assessed? How successful are current programs and initiatives at meeting policy goals? Are policies on the acquisition of green services sufficient? Are the preferences and the methods of implementing them sufficiently harmonized and integrated? Are there significant gaps in the various federal preferences for types of green products and services? Are there implementation methods not currently used by the federal government that should be considered? Is training of procurement officials sufficient? A discussion of the complex and often long-standing controversies about the desirability of green policy goals in general is beyond the scope of this report, but an assessment of green procurement policy might include an evaluation of the appropriateness of the goals Congress has already established in various statutes, as well as those specifically addressed in executive orders issued by Presidents Clinton, George W. Bush, and Obama, in addition to new policy proposals. Acquisition of Services

Roughly half of all federal procurement spending is for services.
Economic and environmental concerns have contributed to rising interest in green procurement—a term used in various ways but that may best be described as acquisition of products and services with smaller-than-average environmental footprints. Fully assessing a product or service requires integrated evaluation of cost, performance, and impacts for a set of green factors over all stages of the life cycle. Green building is an example of this approach. More generally, complexities and information gaps may constrict assessment options. However, where choices are comparative, partial assessments may often suffice. Because of such considerations, green procurement often emphasizes particular attributes, such as recycled content, energy efficiency, and waste reduction. Labeling and certification programs such as Energy Star, as well as other approaches, may be used to identify green products and services. While the use of green procurement appears to be increasing nationally, the success of programs is often not clear. Barriers to broader adoption include inadequate information among decisionmakers, lack of common implementation standards, real and perceived cost obstacles, and market and technical uncertainties.
As a major consumer of goods and services with significant potential impacts on the environment, including human health, the federal government could arguably influence the adoption of green procurement generally and the market for green products and services. Federal green-procurement efforts focus largely on acquisition of products, even though services account for about half of federal procurement spending. Various statutes, regulations, executive orders, and policy documents require or encourage the purchase of several types of products because of their environmental attributes. Agencies are required to purchase alternative fuels and alternative-fuel vehicles, and products that are biobased, Energy Star and energy-efficient, EPEAT (a green technology labeling program), and that contain recycled content, but acquisitions may be exempt in specified circumstances. Agencies must consider purchasing alternatives to toxic and priority chemicals and ozone-depleting substances, and environmentally preferable (EPP) products and services. Only EPP and EPEAT attempt to provide an integrative approach, rather than addressing only one or a few attributes, but they lack a specific basis in enacted statutes.
The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) provides broad guidance through various policy documents, as does the Office of the Federal Environmental Executive (OFEE), housed at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). For some kinds of attributes, procurement criteria are set by specific agencies. EPA, the General Services Administration (GSA), OFEE, and other agencies have databases that help identify green products. OMB requires agencies to have green procurement plans and to report annually on their activities. Those reporting requirements appear to be largely qualitative, but quantitative reports are available for recycled-content and alternative-fuels products.
Green procurement raises several policy questions, especially for federal acquisitions: (1) What are the most useful and appropriate policy goals for green procurement? (2) Are the legal authorities and other means by which different green product and service initiatives have been established the most appropriate for meeting policy goals? (3) How effectively is agency implementation and performance of green procurement being assessed? (4) How successful are current programs and initiatives at meeting policy goals? (5) Are policies on the acquisition of green services sufficient? (6) Are the policies and the methods of implementing them sufficiently harmonized and integrated? (7) Are there significant gaps in the preferences for green products and services? (8) Are there implementation methods not currently used by the federal government that should be considered? (9) Is training of the acquisition workforce sufficient?