Trump Administration Seeks Rollback of Sustainable Procurement Rules in Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR)

Date: November 16, 2025
Author: Daniel A. Eisenberg, Beveridge & Diamond PC

Overview

The Trump administration starts to cut back on rules that require sustainable procurement. They prefer to use class deviations. The changes come after the Biden era made these rules under FAR. The rollback shifts focus away from green practices. Federal agencies now face simpler rules.

Background: Biden-Era Sustainable Procurement Rule

In April 2024, Executive Order 14057 led agencies like the Department of Defense, GSA, and NASA to issue a new FAR rule (FAR Case 2022-006). They linked words closely: agencies must buy sustainable products and services as much as they can. The rule spread to many areas:

• It widened sustainable procurement to services like IT, maintenance, and facility management.
• It added new FAR terms and clauses about what makes products and services sustainable.
• It listed products that fit, such as:
  • ENERGY STAR and FEMP energy-efficient products,
  • WaterSense water-efficient items,
  • Safer Choice-certified chemical products,
  • EPA-backed ecolabels (for instance, EPEAT for electronics).

These local links aimed to drive innovation, cut emissions, care for the environment, and secure supply chains.

Trump Administration Rollback Details

The Trump administration now sets limits in its “Deviation Guide” for FAR Parts 2 and 23. They make a series of changes by keeping words close together:

• They drop services from the sustainable procurement definition.
• They narrow the definition of sustainable products to items in statutory buying programs only. This means:
  • Items with recovered materials, as per EPA guidelines.
  • Energy-efficient items under FEMP and ENERGY STAR.
  • Biobased items checked by USDA’s BioPreferred® program.
  • Substances approved by EPA’s SNAP rules.
• They remove references to EPA programs like WaterSense and Safer Choice.

Implications for Industry and Federal Contractors

These changes cause doubt for companies that sell to federal agencies. Contracts may soon lose or change their sustainability clauses. Some contractors get short-term ease from stricter rules. Yet they risk future changes when new leaders take over. Businesses that spent much on sustainable products now face more rivals. The method of using class deviations makes these ideas quick to change but may not last long. Stakeholders must keep close links between each update and their practices.

Conclusion

The Trump administration dismantles key parts of Biden-era sustainable procurement by using FAR deviations. The new rules pull back from strong federal green mandates. Companies in federal supply chains must follow these close links in policy, review their practices, and plan for shifts in rules.

References

• FAR Case 2022-006 (April 2024 Final Rule on Sustainable Products and Services)
• Executive Order 14057: Catalyzing Clean Energy Industries and Jobs Through Federal Sustainability
• EPA Programs: ENERGY STAR, WaterSense, Safer Choice, Comprehensive Procurement Guidelines, BioPreferred®
• Trump Administration “Revolutionary FAR Overhaul” (RFO) deviation guides, November 2025

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