I was having lunch with a colleague from a Cleaning Industry Management Standard (CIMS) Green Building (GB)-certified company at the ISSA/INTERCLEAN® show last November when I overheard a conversation between a couple of building service contractors. They were talking about the growing demand for green cleaning and their desire to develop and adopt a practical program. They spoke of the difficulty in creating such a program given the confusion in the current green marketplace and the need for a comprehensive, yet simple, framework around which to build their program. My colleague smiled, walked over, and handed them a CIMS-GB brochure. I never even said a word.
There is no doubt that there continues to be a lot of confusion in the green marketplace, especially with the recent proliferation of green and sustainability certification programs. Cleaning service companies, suppliers, and facility management professionals are having a difficult time identifying programs that they can rely on and that can truly help them in the marketplace. “Greenwashing” continues to plague all industries, forcing end customers to view all programs with a skeptical eye.
This is the primary reason that CIMS-GB was developedto provide all segments of the industry with a reliable tool that can be used in the development and implementation of a comprehensive green cleaning program; to outline the key elements that should be included. And, to ensure that CIMS-GB certification offers tangible value to end users beyond the inherent benefits of sustainability and “going green,” the criteria is specifically based on the green cleaning requirements in the United States Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design for Existing Buildings: Operations and Maintenance (LEED-EB: O&M) green building rating system. This enables a CIMS-GB certified cleaning organization to provide customers with precisely what they need to secure points toward LEED-EB: O&M certification while greening their operations overall.
In fact, the proposed draft of LEED-EB: O&M that was released last November specifies CIMS-GB certification under the Indoor Environmental Quality credit for implementing a high performance cleaning program. Specifically, under the new draft, using a CIMS-GB certified cleaning service is one way a facility can achieve the High Performance Cleaning Program credit.
It is important to note that while CIMS-GB sets forth a framework for the development of a green cleaning program, it is up to each cleaning organization or facility to use the criteria as a guide in the development of a customized program one that responds to the unique challenges presented by a particular facility. This is why that CIMS and CIMS-GB are largely nonprescriptive and do not require nor recommend the use of specific programs, products, or procedures. That said, there are certain elements that should be included in every green cleaning program; these elements are outlined in the CIMS and CIMS-GB Standard as described below.
Management as the Foundation
A successful cleaning program needs to be built on a foundation of effective management regardless of whether it is green or not. But effective management is even more important when one commits to a program rooted in the principles of sustainability. After all, one of the primary goals of a green building is to ensure that it provides a healthy indoor environment—an outcome that demands effective cleaning. In other words, for a building to be green, it has to be healthyfor a building to be healthy, it needs to be cleaned effectively and for a building to be cleaned effectively, the cleaning organization and cleaning process have to be successfully managed.
It is for this reason that cleaning organizations have to comply with the traditional management sections of CIMS before they can achieve CIMS-GB certification. They have to ensure that they have instituted quality systemsincluding having a Quality Plana process for determining whether cleaning service requirements are met—as well as a plan for continuous improvement. They also have to ensure that they have appropriate service delivery processes, including workloading and staffing, contingency and emergency response plans, purchasing procedures, and a process for equipment maintenance and repair.
An organization that implements a successful green cleaning program also has to invest in its human resources, its workers. This includes everything from having a sensible hiring program to making sure that comprehensive training is provided. health, safety, and environmental stewardship principles have to be considered, including Occupational Health & Safety Administration (OSHA) and other legal/ regulatory obligations, the adoption of a workplace safety plan, and the institution of an environmental management system.
Finally, an organization needs an overall management commitment to meeting customer needs and expectations. This includes corporate values, planning, responsibility and authority, communication, and risk management.
Green Cleaning Policy
Once an organization has implemented an effective management structure, it is ready to take the next step and develop a green cleaning program, starting with the adoption of a green cleaning policy. Such a policy should be the product of a team effort and outline how green practices will be used, managed, and measured. The policy development process offers an opportunity to analyze the impact of operations on people and the environment and to identify areas where improvements can be made and impacts can be reduced. Overall, the Green Cleaning Policy should act as a road map for the implementation of green cleaning activities and principles.
Green/ High Performance Cleaning Program
The elements of a green/ high-performance cleaning program essentially include those things that position an organization or facility to successfully in terms achieve effective and consistent cleaning results. This includes accurate determination of staffing levels; training for both supervisors and cleaning workers (including both safety and green cleaning training); and proper storage, handling, and disposal of chemicals. It also includes written plans for labor-intensive activities, such as floor and carpet care, and ensuring that hand hygiene strategies have been adopted.
Green Cleaning Products & Equipment
When most people think of green cleaning, they immediately think of the purchase of green products. Needless to say, the use of such products is an essential element of any program. This includes cleaning chemicals, disposable paper products and trash bags, hand soaps, cleaning equipment, and cleaning tools/ materials.
The easiest way to ensure that products are “environmentally preferable” is to rely on a third-party certification program. For example, cleaning chemicals are required to be certified by Green Seal or EcoLogo or be recognized by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)’s Design for the Environment (DfE) program. Further, the Carpet and Rug Institute certifies vacuum cleaners and carpet extraction equipment. Requiring certification is not always practical, however, which necessitates compliance with other criteria. For example, LEED-EB: O&M and CIMS-GB recognize disinfectants and floor finishes that comply with the California volatile organic compound (VOC) limits to qualify as green. Whether such criteria are a true indicator that a product is green is open for debate, but VOC compliance is currently a generally accepted option.
There are also criteria that apply depending on a specific-product type. For example, with regards to chemicals, concentrates with appropriate dilution control systems should be used. Further, EPA sets forth guidelines for the procurement of janitorial paper and trash liners, and there are decibel sound limits for various types of equipment. A final example concerns automated scrubbing machines that should be equipped with variable speed-feed pumps and offer either on-board chemical metering or dilution control systems for refilling or use only water with no additional chemical cleaning products.
Other Cleaning & Maintenance Activities
Many cleaning service organizations offer services that lie outside traditional cleaning. A comprehensive green cleaning should ensure that such services are performed in an environmentally preferable manner. This includes providing sufficient entryway matting, implementing an integrated pest management program that takes a holistic view of pest management and minimizes the use of chemicals to the greatest extent possible, performing building exterior and hardscape services in a way that has the least impact on the environment, and the implementation of a solid waste/recycling program.
Total Commitment to Sustainability
A comprehensive green cleaning program should consider the overall impact of operations on health and the environment. Consideration to conservation in activities and processes should be given and companies that truly want to take their programs to the next level of sustainability may begin to consider issues such as alternative transportation and social equity.
There is no doubt that green cleaning is the most prevalent trend to hit our industry in some time. Yet, the explosive growth of green cleaning has resulted in confusion and distrust. Fortunately, all segments of the industry can use CIMS and CIMS-GB as a road map for the development of a comprehensive program and ensure that the delivery of green cleaning offers real value.
