(a) Integration into the Federal procurement framework. The Office of Federal Procurement Policy, in cooperation with USDA, has the responsibility to coordinate this policy's implementation in the Federal procurement regulations. These guidelines are not intended to address full implementation of these requirements into the Federal procurement framework. This will be accomplished through revisions to the Federal Acquisition Regulation.

(b) Federal Agency preferred procurement programs. (1) Each Federal Agency will maintain and implement a procurement program that will assure that Qualified Biobased Products are purchased to the maximum extent practicable and that is consistent with applicable provisions of Federal procurement laws. Each procurement program will contain:

(i) A preference program for purchasing Qualified Biobased Products;

(ii) A training program to educate the Federal Agency and its contractors on the requirements for purchasing Qualified Biobased Products;

(iii) Provisions for the annual review and monitoring of the effectiveness of the procurement program;

(iv) Provisions for reporting quantities and types of Biobased Products purchased by the Federal Agency and its contractors through the BioPreferred Program Portal in the System for Award Management (https://sam.gov) as required by 48 CFR 52.223-2; and

(v) Provisions for reviewing and eliminating specifications that prohibit the purchasing of Qualified Biobased Products.

(2) In developing their preference program, Federal agencies will adopt one of the following options, or a substantially equivalent alternative, as part of the procurement program:

(i) A policy of awarding contracts on a case-by-case basis to the vendor offering a Qualified Biobased Product composed of the highest percentage of Biobased Content practicable except when such products:

(A) Are not available within a reasonable timeframe;

(B) Fail to meet performance standards for their intended use, or the reasonable performance standards of the Federal Agency; or

(C) Are not available at a reasonable price.

(ii) A policy of setting minimum Biobased Content specifications in such a way as to assure that the required Biobased Content of Qualified Biobased Products is consistent with section 9002 of FSRIA and the requirements of the guidelines in this part.

(iii) A policy of documenting and reporting cases where it is not possible to award contracts and set specifications in such a way that is consistent with section 9002 of FSRIA and the requirements of this part.

(3) In implementing the preference program, Federal agencies will treat as eligible for the preference Biobased Products from designated countries, as that term is defined in 48 CFR 25.003 (Federal Acquisition Regulation), provided that those products otherwise meet all requirements for participation in the preference program.

(4) Each Federal Agency will continue to establish an annual targeted biobased-only procurement requirement under which the Procuring Agency will issue a certain number of biobased-only contracts when the Procuring Agency is purchasing products, or purchasing services that include the use of products, that are included in a Biobased Product category designated by the Secretary.

(c) Procurement specifications. Federal agencies that have the responsibility for drafting or reviewing specifications for products procured by Federal agencies will ensure that their specifications require the use of Qualified Biobased Products, consistent with the guidelines in this part. These specifications must be put in place no later than six months after a designated category of products is finalized and added to the Register of Designated Categories. USDA will identify the allowable time frame for specifications to be put in place in the Register of Designated Categories found on the BioPreferred Program website at biopreferred.gov. The Biobased Content of Qualified Biobased Products within a Designated Product Category may vary considerably from product to product based on the mix of Ingredients used in its manufacture. In procuring Qualified Biobased Products, the percentage of Biobased Content should be maximized, consistent with achieving the desired performance for the product.