U.S. General Services Administration
GSA Announces First Public Meeting of Advisory Committee to Address Climate and Sustainability in Federal Buying
WASHINGTON — Today, the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) announced that it is hosting the first GSA Acquisition Policy Federal Advisory Committee (GAP FAC) public meeting on September 22, 2022. The GAP FAC will advise GSA on using acquisition tools and authorities to target high-priority challenges.
The Committee’s initial focus will be on driving regulatory, policy, and process changes to embed climate and sustainability considerations in federal acquisition. This includes recommending steps GSA can take to support its workforce and industry partners in ensuring climate and sustainability issues are fully considered in the acquisition process.
“As the federal government’s central buyer, it’s GSA’s job to be good stewards of taxpayer dollars and at the same time to use our buying power to help fuel American innovation and lighten the environmental footprint of what we buy,” said GSA Administrator Robin Carnahan, who will address the public meeting. “Launching this Committee is another example of the actions the Biden-Harris Administration is taking to tackle climate change, create good jobs and ensure a cleaner, healthier future for coming generations.”
Earlier this year, GSA announced its intent to launch the Committee and received over 100 nominations in response. GSA’s Office of Government-wide Policy has vetted the candidates and built a diverse Committee whose members include representatives from industry, including small businesses; federal, state, and local governments; industry associations; and academia.
“We are thrilled with the response we got to our call for nominations to join this advisory committee that we are standing up,” said GSA’s Office of Government-wide Policy Associate Administrator Krystal J. Brumfield, who also serves as the agency’s chief acquisition officer. “We are grateful that these highly experienced and knowledgeable experts have agreed to volunteer their time and talents to help us. I look forward to their recommendations for acquisition policy that advance GSA’s mission as America’s buyer, an acquisition workforce that is ready for the future, and a domestic supplier base incentivized to supply innovative offerings to the federal government.”
The GAP FAC will operate in accordance with the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA). Consistent with FACA and its requirements, each meeting of the GAP FAC will be open to the public unless otherwise notified, in accordance with the Government in the Sunshine Act, and those meetings will be fully accessible to individuals with disabilities.
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About GSA: GSA provides centralized procurement for the federal government, managing a nationwide real estate portfolio of nearly 370 million rentable square feet and overseeing approximately $75 billion in annual contracts. GSA’s mission is to deliver value and savings in real estate, acquisition, technology, and other mission-support services across government, in support of the Biden-Harris Administration’s priorities. For more information, visit GSA.gov and follow us at @USGSA.
About FACA: The Federal Advisory Committee Act was enacted in 1972 to ensure that advice by the various advisory committees formed over the years is objective and accessible to the public. Federal advisory committees are guided by these statutes and regulations.