For facility managers, creating a sustainable building isn’t just about solar panels or LEED certifications — it’s about embedding operational excellence into every aspect of daily work. That was the message from a Show Central panel discussion at the NFMT and Clean Buildings Conference, featuring Aneta Mistak of Illinois’ District 214 and Sara Porter of the Healthy Schools Campaign.
Mistak, who oversees operations for seven aging high schools, recently joined the Healthy Green Schools & Colleges program. The self-assessment process revealed a surprising gap: While the district had many green practices in place, it lacked formalized standard operating procedures (SOP) and documentation, making long-term consistency nearly impossible.
Enter a new approach: one that builds a roadmap for sustainability rooted in institutional knowledge, not individual effort. By working toward silver certification, Mistak’s team is aligning custodial procedures, HVAC standards, and procurement protocols with a shared goal — healthier buildings and healthier students.
Porter emphasized the program’s structure: It’s designed by facility professionals for facility professionals. It provides benchmarking, peer collaboration, and a low-barrier entry point for districts that want to start improving indoor air quality without capital-intensive retrofits.
For Mistak’s team, the process is also about transparency and trust. With a facilities referendum on the horizon, she’s using the program to demonstrate proactive stewardship of public resources — one green SOP at a time.
Check out the full conversation to hear how this program is helping districts lead by example.
Corinne Zudonyi is the editor-in-chief of the cleaning market, which includes Facility Cleaning Decisions, a sister publication to Facility Maintenance Decisions.
