Getting Started with Green Cleaning
Facility executives interested in operating their buildings with the same level of environmental consciousness that went into designing and constructing the buildings are finding increasing numbers of contract service providers willing to help.
Whether assistance comes from commissioning agents who can help optimize HVAC and other building systems to improve indoor air quality and cut energy use or from contractors that help establish recycling programs, facility executives are taking interest in operating buildings with environmental impact in mind.
“The change in interest in sustainability is like night and day,” says Rona Fried, president of
SustainableBusiness.com. “In the last five years, we have really seen it grow.”
High Stakes
Some of the growth has come from facility executives wanting service providers to use green cleaning materials and processes. Once thought of only as a way to avoid the use of harsh chemicals that can damage both the environment and those who come in prolonged contact with them, green cleaning has taken on broader significance as the number of service providers offering green janitorial programs grows.
One impetus behind the growth of green cleaning programs relates to the increased interest in sustainable facilities generally. The
U.S. Green Building Council, developer of the
Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) building rating systems, which award points to buildings for environmental attributes, recognizes the benefit of using sustainable cleaning processes and materials.
The LEED program created for existing buildings, called LEED-EB, offers as many as 14 points for the use of green cleaning processes and materials. Facility executives must earn 28 points to receive the lowest level of certification and at least 64 points to receive the top level of certification.
Another factor driving green cleaning programs is the recognition that products and processes used by cleaning service providers affect the indoor air quality of buildings and, in turn, influence occupant productivity.
“I think there are enough studies done at this point to show that indoor air quality makes a difference,” Fried says.
A third factor influencing the adoption of green cleaning programs is the desire by corporations, government entities and other building owners to reinforce commitments to environmental stewardship. Organizations that spend the time and money to construct environmentally sound buildings and change business practices to reduce environmental impact don’t want that commitment to end when it comes to janitorial services.
“Certainly, any company that calls itself a sustainable company wants to do everything it can to reinforce that message,” Fried says. “In terms of the various things companies have to do to get in step with the environment, green cleaning is easy.”
For some, a successful green cleaning program might seem as simple as replacing potentially hazardous substances, such as cleaners containing chlorine or ammonia, with ones that don’t use such products. Although that’s a step in the green direction, says Steve Ashkin of
The Ashkin Group, there’s more.
A Green Outlook
Service providers that tout green cleaning approaches should review cleaning methods, including the way solutions and chemicals are applied and used, Ashkin says. Without such information, it’s difficult to know whether the service provider is achieving green goals.
For example, Ashkin says, consider the use of a nonchlorine bleach to clean table tops. Although the chemical itself might be green, and might even be labeled by
Green Seal, an agency that certifies environmentally safe products, it might not mean green goals are being met.
“What if I dilute the cleaner improperly and need 10 times as much product,” he says. “Am I really achieving green cleaning goals?”
Like other sustainability initiatives involving facilities, the cost premium for green cleaning programs has become less expensive. Ashkin says the certified cleaning agents are cost-neutral and the premiums that existed five years ago for green cleaning services have virtually been eliminated.
In addition, for an organization committed to operating green buildings, any premium is minor relative to other sustainability initiatives.
“If somebody wants to do a green building, cleaning is a place to start,” Ashkin says. “It’s easy and it’s cheap.”
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NEWS MAKERS Take Out Trash, Mop Floors, and...
An informal survey of janitorial service contractors indicates that facility executives and building occupants are asking service providers to do more than just windows.
How much more? Consider some of the responses service contractors gave when asked what unusual cleaning requests they received:
- Polish all the stainless steel every hour
- Use dishwashing detergent to clean wood surfaces
- Vacuum out paper towel dispensers
- Empty pencil sharpeners
- Fetch keys from a toilet
- Clean grout with a toothbrush
The responses came as part of a survey conducted by Kimberly-Clark Professional during a building service contractor
convention.
University Weighs
Paying Benefits to Contract Workers
Middle Tennessee State University officials are considering offering a benefits package for outsourced custodial workers, bringing the total compensation of those workers in line with that of the state’s university employees.
There are concerns, however, that offering the benefits would eat into the estimated $1 million the university saves through outsourcing, according to a story in the university’s online newspaper, Sidelines.
The university outsources 42 percent of custodial services, according to a university official. At issue is whether the university should require contractors to pay workers benefits, or whether the university should offer and pay them.
Health care coverage is among the benefits being considered. In addition to health care coverage and other benefits, state employees don’t pay tuition for university classes.
Educational institutions have been hiring service contractors with increasing frequency. One survey estimates that as many as 96 percent of colleges and universities outsource at least some building services.
Identifying Green Cleaning Firms Should Get Easier
Efforts to help facility executives identify firms offering bona fide green cleaning services are under way.
Green Seal, the organization that already identifies whether certain cleaning products are environmentally preferable, is initiating an effort to create a standard that would certify building service contractors that claim to have green cleaning programs, according to Arthur Weissman, president and chief executive officer of the of Washington, D.C.-based organization.
What will be accomplished
In addition to allowing facility executives to identify certified firms, Weissman says the standard would:
- Provide a benchmark for service providers to evaluate green cleaning service offerings;
- Provide criteria for institutional purchasers to use in specifications;
- Provide the basis for a certification program for purchasers, both institutional and residential;
- Complete the suite of Green Seal environmental standards in the janitorial/custodial area;
- Drive the market to greener cleaning services, including the chemicals, products, and equipment used.
Green Seal is seeking five sponsors to provide the funding necessary to develop the standard's environmental criteria. Initial sponsors are being asked to contribute $10,000 each toward development of the standard.
Sponsors will have the opportunity to provide input on the standard.
Initial sponsors will be sought from among a variety of sectors of the cleaning industry, but, to avoid the appearance of a conflict of interest, cleaning service companies, which could be certified under the standard, will not be able to sponsor the standard.
Upon completion of the standard, estimated to be within six to nine months of obtaining the necessary funding, cleaning service firms that apply for certification and meet the standard will be certified.
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