Introduced last October as the sixth dimension of the ISSA Cleaning Industry Management Standard (CIMS), CIMS-Green Building (CIMS-GB) focuses on the delivery of environmentally preferable cleaning service. CIMS-GB offers cleaning organizations a certification that is closely tailored to provide customers with exactly what they need to secure credits under the U.S. Green Building Council’s (USGBC) Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design for Existing Buildings: Operations & Maintenance (LEED-EB: O&M) Green Building Rating System while greening operations overall.
To date, an elite group of 18 building service contractors (BSCs) and in-house service providers (ISPs) have certified to both CIMS and CIMS-GB. In addition to demonstrating a commitment to green cleaning and sustainability, CIMS-GB-certified organizations stand out as true companies of excellence and have already realized the benefits of certification with regards to providing a value-added service for their customers. Following are just two examples of how CIMS-GB is making a difference.
USGBC Supports CIMS-GB as Valuable LEED-EB: O&M Resource!
The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) recently approved a statement in support of the ISSA Cleaning Industry Management Standard’s (CIMS) Green Building (GB) criteria and designation. The USGBC’s support of CIMS-GB as a LEED-EB: O&M resource further substantiates CIMS-GB as the preeminent green cleaning management framework and certification for cleaning organizations.
The official statement approved by the USGBC reads, “The USGBC supports CIMS-GB as a valuable resource to assist in securing LEED-Existing Buildings: Operations & Maintenance credits for green cleaning activities.”
Green Validation
Matrix Integrated Facility Management—a privately held and owner-operated BSC based in Johnson City, NY—operates in a seven-state region that includes Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia. Along with its King of Prussia, PA-based division Shellville Facility Services, the organization has over 1,700 employees that maintain more than 45 million square feet in commercial, institutional, education, health-care, and industrial markets.
Taking a green approach to cleaning service and utilizing environmentally preferable practices have long been part of Matrix’s mission and strategy. In fact, Matrix was one of the first BSCs in North America to develop a focused green-cleaning program. That program, EcoSmart, was specifically designed to ensure the delivery of cleaning service that is centered on three deliverables—”cleaner, safer, healthier”—that have rapidly become Matrix’s primary customer-value proposition.
What Matrix was missing, however, was third-party validation for the EcoSmart program. Matrix was one of the first BSCs to certify to the traditional CIMS criteria to assess its overall operations, so it made sense that the organization also be among the first to certify to the new CIMS-GB criteria to validate its green cleaning and green-building maintenance services.
“EcoSmart was developed based on best practices,” remarks Matrix CEO Jim Peduto. “One of our biggest challenges was to ensure that these practices were being applied across our entire organization, and going through the CIMS-GB certification process helped to attain this goal.”
Peduto notes that certification to the CIMS-GB criteria was particularly timely as Matrix’s clients are becoming more green-savvy and are increasingly determined to have their buildings LEED-certified.
“It is no surprise that green cleaning practices are being widely requested by our clients,” says Peduto. “However, there remains a lot of confusion about what is green in the marketplace. CIMS-GB certification allows us to show facility managers and building owners how our green program is different from others and, specifically, how it can help them achieve points under the LEED rating system.”
Shellville’s Manager of Sustainability Tim Bracken certainly agrees and stresses the value of CIMS-GB certification when working with customers in the field. “Green is at the forefront of our customers’ minds, and they’re specifically asking about LEED,” Bracken says. “Being able to offer CIMS-GB-certified service is great because the marriage between CIMS-GB and LEED is perfect—the two programs complement each other and lead to quantifiable results.”
Campus Sustainability
Last October, the University of Maryland, College Park: Department of Residential Facilities (UMD), became the first ISP organization to certify to CIMS-GB. It first elected to pursue certification after university administrators questioned whether the department could verify that its programs were operating effectively and cleaning initiatives being executed properly. Achieving CIMS certification allowed the department to demonstrate that it was utilizing standard cleaning-management practices for the benefit of students, faculty, guests, and other university occupants while CIMS-GB certification helped validate that its green cleaning initiatives were effective and in line with industry best-practices.
With sustainability adopted as a key initiative on the College Park campus, CIMS and CIMS-GB presented a perfect fit. As part of the initiative, UMD has mandated that all new construction and major renovations must, at a minimum, meet the USGBC’s LEED Silver green-building standard. As a result, all cleaning products used in campus residences are Green Seal© certified and meet CIMS-GB requirements.
UMD Assistant Director of Building Services Jeff McGee notes, “CIMS-GB helps us show students, staff, and parents that we are certified in terms of green cleaning and that we’re meeting all of the LEED requirements. Above all, it takes the doubt out of people’s minds.”
McGee says that his department’s CIMS-GB certification helps it stand out as a leader in the campus-sustainability movement. Additionally, the Department of Residential Services is blazing the trail for other universities’ cleaning operations. “Our program will lead the way for other schools looking at certification,” asserts McGee. “It’s satisfying to know that we’re looking at new ideas to create a safe environment for our students and staff on an ongoing basis.”
For more information on CIMS and CIMS-GB, visit www.issa.com/standard or contact ISSA Director of Facility Service Programs Dan Wagner at 800-225-4772 (North America) or 847-982-0800; e-mail, daniel@issa.com.
