National Institute of Standards & Technology, Acquisition & Assistance Div.,100 Bureau Drive Stop 3572, Bldg. 301, Rm B117, Gaithersburg, MD 20899-3572

B -- LIFE CYCLE ENVIRONMENTAL PROFILES FOR BEES SOL 53SBNB960109 DUE 062599 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 is issued as a request for quotation (RFQ) No. 53SBNB960109. The solicitation document and incorporated provisions and clauses are those in effect through Federal Acquisition Circular 97-11. 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 for the Contractor to develop life-cycle environmental profiles for selected products for incorporation 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 compare the environmental and economic performance of products made from alternative materials. The Contractor shall develop environmental profiles for 18 new products, and update existing BEES environmental profiles for 25 products. At the outset of the project, the Project Steering Committee, consisting of the NIST project management team and the Contractor team, shall work together to define the 18 new BEES products, most of which will be building products. Once the products are selected, NIST shall specify the functional unit of measurement for all products (e.g., square feet of linoleum floor covering for 30 years). 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 standards, 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 a 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 products), 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.) IMPACT ASSESSMENT. An impact assessment 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 for all products global warming, acidification, eutrophication, solid waste, and natural resource depletion. The inventory-impact mappings and conversion factors for these 5 impacts shall be those reported in the BEES 1.0 documentation. For 5 of the 18 new products, stratospheric ozone depletion, photochemical smog, human health, and ecological health impacts will also be assessed, and their inventory-impact mappings and conversion factors documented. 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 of the 18 new products: 1. Documentation Report delivered in both printed and electronic, Word 97 form 2. Life-Cycle Inventory Environmental Profiles shall be delivered in an Excel 97 spreadsheet format, with additional inventory items as required for the 5 products with expanded Impact Assessment 3. Life-cycle Impact Assessment Results shall be delivered in an Excel 97 spreadsheet format, with expanded Impact Assessment results for 5 products. The following deliverables shall be provided for each of the 25 existing BEES products: 1. Report documenting updates delivered in both printed and electronic, Word 97 form 2. Updated Life-Cycle Inventory Environmental Profiles shall be delivered in an Excel 97 spreadsheet format. No data older than 1993 shall be used. 3. Updated Life-cycle Impact Assessment Results shall be delivered in an Excel 97 spreadsheet format. DELIVERABLE DUE DATES: Complete 18 new products and updates to 25 existing products by November 1, 1999. Deliverables shall be sent to NIST, Gaithersburg, MD. 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. Payment shall be made as follows: 100% at the delivery of all deliverables for 18 new products and 25 existing 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; and FAR 52.225-18, European Union Sanction for End Products. 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 one price for the 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 and Technology, Acquisition and Assistance Division, Building 301, Room B117, 100 Bureau Drive Stop 3572 Gaithersburg, MD 20899 -3572, Attention Diane Loeb, Solicitation No. 53SBNB960109 by 3:00 p.m., June 25, 1999. The anticipated award date is July 16, 1999. See Note 1. Posted 06/11/99 (W-SN341793). (0162)

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