What is the BioPreferred Program?
The USDA BioPreferred Program is the federal government’s official market accelerator for biobased products.
Our primary goals are to:
- Spur economic development and provide new markets for farm commodities
- Increase the development, purchase, and use of biobased products
- Create new jobs
- Support people in rural America
- Promote innovation
- Contribute to a growing and thriving bioeconomy
How Does the Program Meet its Goals?
There are two important avenues for reaching our goals:
Federal Purchasing Requirements –– The Farm Bill requires federal agencies and their contractors to give purchasing preference to biobased products when they procure products. Day to day, we promote these mandates, offer a variety of training opportunities for procurement professionals and contracting specialists, monitor solicitations for compliance, and manage an online Catalog of qualified product options. These efforts generate demand for and boost sales of biobased products.
Biobased Product Certification –– Through the BioPreferred Program, companies may apply for certification of their biobased products. The USDA Certified Biobased Product label reassures buyers that a product’s claims regarding its biobased content are accurate. Since the label guards against greenwashing, it helps manufacturers build greater credibility and trust between their brands and consumers. We maintain an online Catalog of USDA Certified Biobased Products.
About Preferred Federal Purchasing
Federal law, the Federal Acquisition Regulation, and Presidential Executive Orders direct that all federal agencies and their contractors purchase biobased products in categories identified by USDA. USDA has designated over 125 categories (e.g. cleaners, carpet, lubricants, paints) of biobased products for which agencies and their contractors have purchasing requirements. Each category designated for preferred purchasing specifies the minimum biobased content for products within the category. The BioPreferred Program provides acquisition tools, the BioPreferred Program Catalog and training resources to assist in meeting biobased purchasing requirements.
About Product Certification
As consumers consider purchasing options, USDA wants to make it easy for consumers to identify biobased products. A business with a biobased product that meets USDA criteria may apply for certification, allowing them to display the USDA Certified Biobased Product label on the product. This label assures a consumer that the product contains a verified amount of renewable biological ingredients (referred to as biobased content). Consumers can trust the label to mean what it says because the manufacturer's claims concerning the biobased content are third-party certified and strictly monitored by USDA.
What are Biobased Products?
Biobased products are derived from plants and other renewable agricultural, marine, and forestry materials. These products provide an alternative to conventional petroleum derived products and include a diverse range of offerings such as lubricants, detergents, inks, fertilizers, and bioplastics. For the purposes of the BioPreferred Program, biobased products do not include food, animal feed or biofuels.