FAR and DFARS › FAR Part 23: Environment, Sustainable Acquisition, and Material Safety › Subpart 23.1

FAR 23.101 Definitions.

The codified text (eCFR, as of 2026-10-02). Under the Revolutionary FAR Overhaul ↗, agencies follow class deviations with new text for many parts while the formal rules go through the Federal Register: check the solicitation and your contract's clauses, which rule.

In plain English

This section defines key terms used in the sustainable acquisition subpart of the FAR. It clarifies what counts as a contract action, environmentally preferable products, and specific environmental terms like global warming potential and ozone-depleting substances. Contractors should understand these definitions because they affect how sustainable acquisition requirements apply to their contracts.

Applies to: Contractors and contracting activities subject to FAR part 23, subpart 23.1

Key terms: Contract action · EPA-designated item · Global warming potential · High global warming potential hydrofluorocarbons · Ozone-depleting substance

Written by AI from this section's text. A guide, not legal advice: the text below rules.

The text

As used in this subpart—

Contract action means any oral or written action that results in the purchase, rent, or lease of supplies or equipment, services, or construction.

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)-designated item means a product that is or can be made with recovered material—

(1) That is listed by EPA in a procurement guideline (40 CFR part 247); and

(2) For which EPA has provided recommended recovered material content levels and other purchasing recommendations in a related Recovered Materials Advisory Notice (RMAN) (available at https://www.epa.gov/smm/regulatory-background-comprehensive-procurement-guideline-program-cpg#rman).

Global warming potential means how much a given mass of a chemical contributes to global warming over a given time period compared to the same mass of carbon dioxide. Carbon dioxide's global warming potential is defined as 1.0.

High global warming potential hydrofluorocarbons means any hydrofluorocarbons in a particular end use for which EPA's Significant New Alternatives Policy (SNAP) program has identified other acceptable alternatives that have lower global warming potential. The SNAP list of alternatives is found at 40 CFR part 82, subpart G, with supplemental tables of alternatives available at https://www.epa.gov/snap/.

Hydrofluorocarbons means compounds that only contain hydrogen, fluorine, and carbon.

Ozone-depleting substance means any substance the EPA designates in 40 CFR part 82 as—

(1) Class I, including, but not limited to, chlorofluorocarbons, halons, carbon tetrachloride, and methyl chloroform; or

(2) Class II, including, but not limited to, hydrochlorofluorocarbons.

United States, as defined in the Executive Office of the President's Office of Management and Budget, Council on Environmental Quality, and Climate Policy Office Memorandum M-22-06, when used in a geographical sense means—

(1) The fifty States;

(2) The District of Columbia;

(3) The commonwealths of Puerto Rico and the Northern Mariana Islands;

(4) The territories of Guam, American Samoa, and the United States Virgin Islands; and

(5) Associated territorial waters and airspace.

U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)-designated product category means a generic grouping of products that are or can be made with biobased materials—

(1) That are listed by USDA in a procurement guideline (7 CFR part 3201, subpart B); and

(2) For which USDA has provided purchasing recommendations (available at https://www.biopreferred.gov).

Sections that refer to it

← 23.100 Scope of subpart. · 23.102 Authorities. →

Rule changes for FAR Part 23

Source: eCFR, 48 CFR chapters 1 and 2 (GPO GovInfo bulk data) ↗. Plain words for the terms: glossary.

FAR 23.101 Definitions · SpendQuery