Green Cleaning: Description and Implementation

A Green Cleaning program can be defined as cleaning that has a reduced impact on health and the environment.

It refers to using products, tools, equipment, and chemicals that have been Green certified or meet acceptable Green certification criteria indicating they also have a reduced impact on health and the environment. Both the program and use of the products apply to cleaning performed by cleaning contractors or by in-house cleaning providers.

Both groups may take advantage of new cleaning technologies and advances that allow us to clean effectively without increasing costs or exposure to potentially harmful chemical ingredients often found in traditional cleaning and maintenance products. These products we now know can endanger the health and well-being of the building occupants as well as of the cleaning workers using the products. One reason for this is because they often have an adverse effect on indoor air quality.

And several studies by Federal, state, and local governments and private building owners that have implemented a Green Cleaning program report that indoor air quality has improved, complaints from office and janitorial workers about their indoor environment have diminished, there is reduced environmental impact, and the program has, in many cases, resulted in costs savings.

Looking at the broader perspective, implementing a Green Cleaning program has additional benefits including these:

·       Improves water quality

·       Conserves natural resources

·       Enhances and protects natural habitats

·       Reduces costs and increases profits

·       Improves employee productivity and satisfaction

·       Enhances student performance

·       Optimizes life-cycle economic performance

·       Contributes to the health and well-being of the community

Implementing a Green Cleaning Program: The 10 Steps

Understanding the benefits of a Green Cleaning program, we now must understand how to put such a program into implementation. Although comprehensive, it fortunately can be easily implemented.

The ten key steps to starting a Green Cleaning program include:

1. Reach an Agreement

The customer, building occupants, and management must all agree on what a Green Cleaning program is and how it will be employed in their facility. Once decided, the agreement is written in the form of a concise, easy-to-understand contract.

2. Build the Team

Once an agreement has been reached, all parties must build a team that includes cleaning professionals, building management, and building occupants. Through discussions and meeting with all affected by the Green Cleaning program, the team helps generate support for the project and plays a pivotal role in its success.

3. Conduct Baseline Surveys

One of the team’s first duties is to determine the current housekeeping status of the facility by conducting surveys that set a baseline from which to judge improvement. For instance, the surveys would include an inventory and evaluation of existing paper products, liners, and cleaning equipment used in the location. It may also include appraisals of the following:

·       Overall housekeeping quality

·       Cleaning procedures including training and supervision

·       Recycling

·       Existing indoor air quality problems and complaint record

4. Develop a Plan

Once all of the data have been collected, the team must analyze the information to determine the best procedures and opportunities for improvement.

5. Get Everyone on Board

Everyone must be on board and support the team’s plans and goals. Having all parties included and aware of how and why things are being done helps keep everyone on the “same page” and support for the process ongoing.

6. Acquire the necessary Green Cleaning Products and Equipment

To begin greening a building, new cleaning products and equipment are needed. This includes bio-based cleaning products that are environmentally preferable. It also may include vacuum cleaners with enhanced filtration systems that can capture and trap as much as 99 percent of the harmful particles in the air; floor machines that have dust-control systems to capture impurities so that that they do not pollute the indoor environment; or Microfiber cleaning cloths, which have been shown to significantly reduce bacteria buildup.

7. Incorporate Green Procedures

The purpose: to help cleaning professionals use products carefully, safely, and with the goals of Green Cleaning in mind.

8. Implement Training in Green Cleaning

Lack of adequate training has traditionally been a problem in the cleaning industry. The adoption of Green Cleaning is an opportunity for all maintenance personnel to learn the most up-to-date cleaning procedures. This can streamline housekeeping operations and improve the health of the facility being maintained.

9. Take Responsibility through Stewardship

Once a Green Cleaning program has begun, it is important that an initiative be implemented that encourages the concept of stewardship, where cleaning personnel, occupants, and visitors share in the responsibility for maintaining a healthy and productive indoor environment.

10. Communicate and Provide Feedback

Communication and feedback are vital among all parties: chemical supplier, custodial staff and building engineers, occupants, and building owners and managers. As with any new process or procedure involving many people, the ultimate goal is continued improvement. Information provided by all parties helps facilitate this.

LEED and Green Cleaning

The LEED program is very closely tied to Green Cleaning and how a facility becomes LEED certified mirrors how a facility implements a Green Cleaning program in many aspects. As a result, no discussion of Green Cleaning is complete without and understanding of the LEED program. LEED awards facilities “points,” indicating steps they have taken to make a facility Greener, more sustainable, more environmentally responsible, and healthier. As we know, a building cannot be LEED certified unless Green Cleaning products are being used.

To start the process, building owners and managers are provided a “checklist” by the US Green Building Council and encouraged to construct a project team to manage the certification process. This team prepares documentation and calculations to fulfill the prerequisites and credit-submittal requirements to become LEED certified. The team should identify which rating system they want the building to be certified under silver, gold, or platinum certification, the highest ratings.

Using the checklist, the team can then develop their strategy and determine which points would be easy or difficult to achieve, where they will need to collect data, whether or not they need a LEED Accredited Professional or consultant with certification experience, what the budget will be, and other potential issues they may need to consider prior to committing to the program. In some cases, the building owner may simply choose to follow the LEED rating system as a road map but not actually undertake the formal certification process.

The actual certification process is based on a rating or point system as referenced earlier. In LEED-EB, points are awarded to the facility or project based on the satisfactory level of such areas as these:

·       Whole-building cleaning and maintenance issues, including the selection and use of chemicals, equipment, and janitorial paper

·       Ongoing indoor air quality (IAQ)

·       Energy efficiency

·       Water efficiency

·       Recycling programs

·       Exterior maintenance programs

·       Integrated pest-management programs

·       Training

·       System upgrades to meet Green building energy, water, IAQ, and lighting performance standards

As the facility is being evaluated, it is rated. If the building passes, the project, or facility may be referred to as a LEED-Certified Building. The USGBC presents the project team with an award letter, certificate, and LEED plaque, which indicates the certification achievement.

A LEED certified building is one in which a Green Cleaning program is in place and working successfully. However, a facility does not necessarily have to be LEED certified to have a Green Cleaning program in place. This means that all of the benefits discussed earlier of a Green Cleaning program are still possible to building owners, managers, business operators, schools, medical facilities, and other locations.

Stephen P. Ashkin is president of the Ashkin Group, a consulting firm specializing in Green cleaning and sustainability.  He is considered the “father of Green Cleaning;” is on the Board of the Green Sports Alliance; and has been inducted into the International Green Industry Hall of Fame (IGIHOF).

He is also helping the professional cleaning turn sustainability into cost savings.  He can be reached at steveashkin@ashkingroup.com