National Institute of Standards & Technology, Acquisition & Assistance Div., Bldg. 301, Rm B117, Gaithersburg, MD 20899

B -- LIFE CYCLE ENVIRONMENTAL PROFILES FOR SELECTED PRODUCTS SOL 53SBNB860086 DUE 071098 POC Diane M. Loeb (301) 975-6399 WEB: NIST Contracts Homepage, http://www.nist.gov/admin/od/contract/contract.htm. E-MAIL: NIST Contracts Office, Contract@nist.gov. THIS IS A 100% SETASIDE TO SMALL BUSINESS CONCERNS. THIS IS A COMBINED SYNOPSIS/SOLICITATION FOR COMMERCIAL ITEMS PREPARED IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE FORMAT IN SUBPART 12.6, AS SUPPLEMENTED WITH ADDITIONAL INFORMATION INCLUDED IN THIS NOTICE. THIS ANNOUNCEMENT CONSTITUTES THE ONLY SOLICITATION; QUOTES ARE BEING REQUESTED AND A WRITTEN SOLICITATION WILL NOT BE ISSUED. The solicitation number is 53SBNB860086 and the solicitation is issued as a request for quotation (RFQ). The solicitation document and incorporated provisions and clauses are those in effect through Federal Acquisition Circular 97-04. The standard industrial classification (SIC) code is 8748 and the small business size standard is $5 Million. All responsible sources may submit a quotation in accordance with this notice which shall be considered by National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). NIST intends to acquire life-cycle environmental profiles for selected products. The objective of this effort is to develop life-cycle environmental profiles for selected products. These life-cycle profiles shall be developed by the Contractor and incorporated in the Building for Environment and Economic Sustainability (BEES) software model developed by the contracting agency, the NIST Office of Applied Economics. BEES is intended to help the building community to compare the environmental and economic performance of products made from alternative materials. The Contractor shall develop environmental profiles for five products. The first three products are motor oils profiled in three separate categories: traditional, re-refined, and biodegradable. The remaining two products are non-load-bearing framing profiled in two separate categories: steel framing and salvaged wood framing. NIST shall specify the functional unit of measurement for all materials in each application. The methodology used to generate these life-cycle environmental profiles shall strictly follow the latest versions of the ISO 14040 series of life-cycle assessment, the latest Society for Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (SETAC) life-cycle assessment guidance documents, and the latest EPA life-cycle assessment guidance. The database underlying the development of the environmental profiles shall be an established, nationally recognized life-cycle assessment database. The life cycle includes all stages from cradle to grave. These include raw materials extraction and processing, materials manufacture, transportation, installation and use, and end-of-life. The environmental profiles shall be provided on a U.S.-average basis, accounting for typical U.S. manufacturing practices, energy grids, and environmental regulations. The nature of the technology mix shall be weighted average based on current industrial practice, not the best available technology or the worst operating unit. Two important, energy-related aspects of environment performance shall be given special treatment, First, in order to account for regional variations in transportation networks (which can have a significant impact on the environmental profiles of materials), the environmental profile for transportation to point of use shall be parameterized. That is, in addition to the U.S. average environmental profile for other aspects of the transportation stage, environmental profiles for transportation from factory of final production to point of end use for distances of 100,500, and 1000 miles shall be reported and documented. Second, embodied energy shall be reported separately. It shall be reported in total, by fuel source and feedstock energy, and by renewable and nonrenewable energy. INVENTORY ANALYSIS. The inventory results shall include physical flows (weights units) comprising all energy and raw materials requirements, air emissions, water effluents, and solid waste generated by each product within the boundaries set in the BEES 1.0 Documentation (NISTIR 6144). The following inventory results shall be provided in tabular form: Inventory items (e.g., carbon dioxide), units, and quantities per functional unit, grouped by inventory data category (e.g., energy, raw materials, air emissions, water effluents, solid waste) and reported as totals, by product component, and by life-cycle stage (e.g. raw materials extraction, materials manufacture, transportation, installation & use, and end-of-life.). The inventory items to include and the presentation format to follow shall be exactly those of the current BEES 1.0 environmental performance data files. IMPACT ASSESSMENT. A partial impact assessment (excluding interpretation) shall be carried out. The impact assessment shall be an evaluation of the potential contribution of each product to a range of environmental issues and shall include (but not be limited to) global warming, acidification, eutrophication, solid waste, and natural resource depletion. The inventory-impact mappings and conversion factors for all impacts shall be exactly those reported in the BEES 1.0 Documentation. The following impact assessment results shall be provided in tabular form: environmental impacts (e.g., global warming potential), units, and quantities per functional unit, reported as totals and by inventory item. For the solid waste impact, the Contractor shall provide product density data for conversion to volume of solid waste to landfill. DOCUMENTATION. Written documentation shall be provided in accordance with ISO 14041, with additional documentation for the impact assessment step. The contractor receiving award shall receive the documentation report outline required to be followed. All assumptions and data limitations (such as the applicability of U.S. average data) shall be documented. In addition, process flowcharts for each product shall be provided. Each process shall be described, including a description of the inputs and outputs which are needed to determine where the process starts and ends, and the function of the process. Allocation procedures, such as for coproducts and recycling/reuse, shall be documented. PEER REVIEW. The Contractor shall conduct an internal peer review of all project deliverables before delivery to NIST. This internal review shall include verification of calculations made and a thorough checking for consistency in the modeling and assumptions. DELIVERABLES: The following deliverables shall be provided for each product: 1. Documentation Report delivered in both printed and electronic, Word 7 form 2. Life-Cycle Inventory Environmental Profiles shall be delivered in an Excel version 7 spreadsheet format 3. Life-cycle Impact Assessment Environmental Results shall be delivered in an Excel version 7 spreadsheet format DELIVERABLE DUE DATES: Complete three products by November 1, 1998. Complete remaining two products by December 1, 1998. No confidentiality agreement shall be signed. It is understood that NIST shall publish the environmental profiles and their documentation. Vendors are to submit one price for the entire effort. Payments shall be made as follows: 60% at the delivery of the environmental profiles for the first three products, 40% at the delivery of the environmental profiles for the remaining two products. The offer selected for award shall be that offer determined to offer the greatest value to the government. The provision at FAR 52.212-1, Instructions to Offerors -- Commercial Items applies to this acquisition. FAR 52.212-2, Evaluation-Commercial Items, includes evaluation criteria in paragraph (a) past performance and the technical capability to meet the specifications and (b) price. The clause FAR 52.212-4, Contract Terms and Conditions -- Commercial Items, applies to this acquisition. Pursuant to FAR 52.212-5, Contract Terms and Conditions required to Implement Statutes or Executive Orders -- Commercial Items, the following FAR clauses are hereby incorporated by reference: FAR 52.219-8, Utilization of Small Business Concerns and Small Disadvantaged Business Concerns; FAR 52.222-26, Equal Opportunity; FAR 52.222-35, Affirmative Action for Special Disabled and Vietnam Era Veterans; FAR 52.222-36, Affirmative Action for Handicapped Workers; FAR 52.222-37, Employment Reports on Special Disabled Veterans and Veterans of the Vietnam Era; FAR 52.225-3, Buy American Act-Supplies; FAR 52.225-18, European Union Sanction for End Products; and FAR 52.227-14, Rights in Data -- General with Alternate II to include the government's right to publish the environmental profiles and their documentation. Dept of Commerce Clause: Agency Level Protest Procedures Level Above the Contracting Officer (available at the web site identified below) applies to this acquisition. The offeror responding to this RFQ must submit unit and extended price for all requested items, technical literature demonstrating the items offered meet NIST's requirement, and a completed copy of the provision at FAR 52.212-3, Offeror Representations and Certifications -- Commercial Items (available at http://www.nist.gov/admin/od/contract/contract.htm), with their RFQ. All FAR references are available at http://www.arnet.gov/far/. Vendors are to submit all offers to the National Institute of Standards andTechnology, Acquisition and Assistance Division, Building 301, Room B117, Gaithersburg, MD 20899, Attention Diane Loeb, Solicitation No. 53SBNB860086 by 3:00 p.m., July 10, 1998. The anticipated award date is July 31, 1998. See Note 1. Posted 06/26/98 (0177)

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