The United States Government Printing Office (GPO) is seeking to improve the services it provides to its Federal agency customers in the area of sustainable paper products including xerographic paper, coated and uncoated offset papers and newsprint. This RFI seeks information regarding the paper manufacturers' and their distributors' opinion, research and conclusions on the most sustainable paper products available in today's market for review by GPO and any other Federal agencies.

GPO annually purchases paper for its own use and for the use of other Federal agencies. Pursuant to Section 1121, Title 44, United States Code, the GPO is a mandatory source of supply for printing and copier paper used by Federal agencies in the Washington D.C. Metropolitan Area. The total amount of office paper purchased by GPO for its own use and for the use of Federal agencies is approximately $19 million per year. Of this total, approximately $6 million is copy paper.

The objective of this request for information is to inquire from industry leaders what sustainable attributes are available and which combination of features produces the most environmentally sustainable paper products. Currently the GPO provides a full catalog of paper products to various Federal agencies. This catalog includes a wide variety of paper and GPO would like to include additional information regarding environmental performance of all of its paper products to ensure customer education and satisfaction.

GPO is looking for information outlining the total Life Cycle Assessment of individual grade lines. This includes the sourcing of the raw materials, manufacturing, energy consumption, transportation and the recyclability of the end product. The vendor shall also provide information documenting third party certifications, self certifications, matrixes and formulas that are used to justify any claims. All paper products must meet testing requirements outlined by GPO's qualified products list.

Keeping GPO's goals in mind please submit the evaluation of no more than three grade lines of paper products per manufacturer. Please focus on the primary environmental attributes. Manufacturers and their distributors are hereby requested to submit a statement detailing and justifying the environmental attributes for any papers that meet the requirements on GPO's qualified products list. Please focus on these key attributes when describing the sustainable paper products:

1. Sourcing of raw materials
2. Use of renewable resources
3. Use of bio-generation
4. Chain of custody
5. Unique packaging
6. Chemicals and fillers
7. Carbon footprint
8. Minimizing waste generation
9. Recyclability
10. Water consumption
11. Transportation
12. Energy Consumption
13. Price

This announcement is a request for information only and does not obligate the GPO in any way. This is not a request for proposal and the GPO will not pay for any information submitted or for any expenses associated with providing information.

Responses to this notice should be sent in triplicate to Sheree Young, Supervisory Contract Specialist, Acquisition Services, U.S. Government Printing Office, Room A332, Mail Stop: CSAS, 732 North Capitol Street, NW, Washington, DC 20401, or by email to [email protected]. Please note that Federal Government offices in the Washington, DC area continue to experience delays in receiving regular U.S. mail. In order to receive your response to this notice in a timely manner, it is recommended that an overnight courier or other service be used. Responses should be limited to no more than 20 pages in length with a recommended executive summary not to exceed 5 pages. Additional documentation will be accepted for complete Life Cycle Assessments which support the above information. Responses may be faxed to
202-512-1354.