Facility managers are swamped, especially in this economy. So spending FM time worrying about cleaning is often extremely low on the FMs’ list of priorities, especially when there are no occupant complaints or if the program is under budget.
Thus, for a Green Cleaning program to work, it must be easy to implement a new one or upgrade an existing one. In this article, we will examine:
- Defining Green Cleaning
- Implementing a Green Cleaning Program: The 10 Steps
- LEED and Green Cleaning
- Application: Case Studies
- Emerging Issues
Defining Green Cleaning
Although there have been concerns about the powerful ingredients used in some cleaning products for decades, the Green Cleaning Movement has its roots in Rachel Carson’s groundbreaking 1962 book Silent Spring. This book focused on the harm caused by the chemical DDT and forced the general public and members of the U.S. government to take a serious look at society’s use of chemicals and pesticides. Carson encouraged that chemicals be used with greater awareness of their potentially harmful side effects.
Within the decade, some manufacturers of cleaning chemicals designed for home use began introducing products that had a reduced impact on health and the environment. However, this trend had little impact on the professional cleaning industry until 1993 when then President Bill Clinton signed Executive Order 12873. This order, which has been essentially reauthorized by both Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama, encourages the use of environmentally preferable cleaning products in U.S. facilities around the world.
Because of the purchasing power of the U.S. government, janitorial chemical and equipment manufacturers put more time and resources into developing Green Cleaning products. Other developments that spurred the growth of Green Cleaning include:
- Green certification organizations such as Green Seal, EcoLogo, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Design for the Environment (DfE) program are independent third-party groups that have developed guidelines indicating what qualifies as an environmentally preferable cleaning product.
- The Carpet and Rug Institute’s Seal of Approval program evaluates vacuum cleaners and carpet extractors as to their effectiveness and their reduced impact on the environment.
- The U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED-EBOM (Leadership in Energy and Environmental DesignExisting Buildings: Operations and Maintenance) programs certify buildings that meet specific performance guidelines and prerequisites. Of particular note, using Green Cleaning products and implementing a Green Cleaning program is a prerequisite for LEED-EBOM certification.
Description and Implementation
Green Cleaning can be simply defined as “cleaning that has a reduced impact on health and the environment.” A Green Cleaning program uses products, tools, equipment, and chemicals that have been Green-certified self-certified to meet acceptable Green-certification criteria, indicating they also have a reduced impact on health and the environment.
Green Cleaning applies to cleaning performed by hired contractors or by in-house providers. Both groups may take advantage of new technologies and advances that allow for effective cleaning without increasing costs or exposure to potentially harmful ingredients often found in traditional cleaning and maintenance chemicals and products. These non-Green products often have an adverse effect on indoor air quality (among other impacts) and can endanger the health and well-being of both building occupants and the cleaning workers using the products.
Also, several studies by federal, state, and local governments as well as 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
- The program has, in many cases, resulted in cost savings.
Looking at the broader picture, implementing a Green Cleaning program has additional benefits including:
- Improved water quality
- Conservation of natural resources
- Enhancement and protection natural habitats
- Reduced costs and increased profits
- Improvement in employee productivity and satisfaction
- Enhanced student performance
- Optimization of life cycle economic performance
- Contributions to the health and well-being of the community
Implementing a Green Cleaning Program: The 10 Steps
Fortunately, a Green Cleaning program can be easily implemented. These are some of the key steps to starting such a program:
1. Reach an Agreement
Building management, cleaning professionals, and building occupants all agree the facility should adopt a Green Cleaning program, including what it entails and how it will be carried out in their facility. Once decided, the agreement should be written in the form of a concise, easy-to-understand contract.
2. Build the Team
Once an agreement has been reached, the parties must build a team that includes cleaning professionals, building management, and building occupants. Through discussions and meetings with all affected by the Green Cleaning program, the team generates 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. They decide which areas need to be addressed and with what degree of urgency based on contract requirements, costs, and potential health and environmental impacts.
5. Get Everyone on Board
It is vital that everyone is involved in and supports the team’s plans and goals. Having all parties included in the process and aware of how and why things are being done helps keep up support. Often this is carried out by meeting with all stakeholders in groups to discuss the Green Cleaning plan and program.
6. Acquire the Necessary Green Cleaning Products and Equipment
To begin the process of greening a building, new cleaning products and equipment may need to be purchased. These may include bio-based cleaning products that are environmentally preferable, 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, or microfiber cleaning cloths, which have been shown to significantly reduce bacteria buildup.
7. Incorporate Green Procedures
The purpose of the new cleaning procedures is to help cleaning professionals use products carefully, safely, and with the goals of Green Cleaning in mind. This is often accomplished working with Green-astute janitorial distributors as well as Green Cleaning consultants and advisors. Additionally, 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.
8. Implement Training in Green Cleaning
Adopting Green Cleaning is often an opportunity for all maintenance personnel to learn the most up-to-date cleaning procedures. This often streamlines cleaning operations and improves the appearance and health of the facility.
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. Often this is an ongoing program adopted by the Green Cleaning team mentioned earlier.
10. Communicate and Provide Feedback
Communication and feedback are vital among chemical and equipment suppliers, custodial staff and building engineers, occupants, and management. As with any new process or procedure involving many people, the ultimate goal is continued improvement. Information provided by all parties facilitates this.
LEED and Green Cleaning
The LEED program is 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 an understanding of the LEED program. LEED awards points to facilities, indicating steps they have taken to make a facility Greener, more sustainable, more environmentally responsible, and healthier.
To start the process, the U.S. Green Building Council provides a checklist to building owners and managers and encourages them to construct a project team to manage the certification process. This team will prepare calculations and documentation to fulfill the prerequisites and credit-submittal requirements to become LEED certified. The team should begin by identifying which rating system they want the building to be certified under: silver, gold, or platinum, the highest ratings.
Using the checklist, the team members 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 an 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.
LEED for Existing Buildings: Operations & Maintenance (LEED-EBOM) is the specific Rating System focused on ongoing operations and maintenance, and provides a detailed and prescriptive list of actions that can be used to help guide the development of a Green Cleaning program. Overall, LEED-EBOM helps a facility or project earns points based on satisfactory levels in such areas as:
- Whole-building cleaning and maintenance, 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
If the facility earns enough points, it may be referred to as an LEED-certified building. The USGBC presents the project team with an award letter, certificate, and LEED plaque, which indicates the certification achievement.
An 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. All of the benefits of a Green Cleaning program are still possible for building owners, managers, and business operators in schools, medical facilities, and other locations.
Application: Case Studies
Several studies appear to prove Green Cleaning’s advantages, which can be applied to just about any building or facility. Most of these involve protecting human health. But there are also dollars-and-cents benefits of a Green Cleaning program.
In varying degrees, buildings and businesses transferring to a properly implemented Green Cleaning program may see the following benefits:
- Reductions in operating costs and liabilities
- Rebates and government incentives
- Optimized life cycle economic performance
- Improved building occupancy rates in multitenant facilities
- Higher rents
- Increased asset value
- Reduced health care costs
Companies also report savings through employee productivity gains, improved morale, and reduced absenteeism. For instance, the Green Building Alliance reports that at the PNC Firstside Center in Pittsburgh, employee turnover decreased by 26 percent once a Green Cleaning program was implemented. There was also an estimated worker productivity savings of $0.58 per square foot. (This and other studies may be found by visiting the Green Building Alliance website.)
Beyond these economic gains, there are, of course, the global benefits of Green Cleaning such as reducing pollution and saving natural resources. It’s difficult to place a value on such far-reaching effects, but we all know this is important and something we must be doing now.
Emerging Issues
Green Cleaning has changed considerably over the years and will continue to evolve in the future.
These are among the trends we are likely to see:
- Day cleaning. Facilities that employ a day cleaning system, where buildings are cleaned while workers are using them, invariably use Green Cleaning products and equipment because they are safer for building occupants. In addition, day cleaning helps lower operating costs. In one case, a 300,000-square-foot building experienced an 8 percent energy savings, which amounted to approximately $100,000 annually. This occurs because facilities can be powered down for longer periods. Instead of operating lighting, HVAC, and other mechanicals 15 to 20 hours per day, facility managers often can reduce this to 10 or 12 hours, which can be a significant cost savings and reduction in energy demand.
- Elevation of cleaning professionals. At one time, cleaning workers were rarely heard or seen. Now they play a vital role in keeping building occupants safe and healthy. In some cases, custodial workers are taking a seat at the conference room table, suggesting ways facilities can be operated in a Greener, more sustainable, and healthier manner.
- Cleaning tasks performed effectively without the use of chemicals. This could be the ultimate in Green Cleaning. Studies already indicate some cleaning systems can both clean and sanitize using only water. Although chemicals — both Green and conventional — will likely always play a role in cleaning, avoiding them when possible is invariably healthier for the environment.
- As referenced earlier, Green Cleaning and sustainability are becoming much more closely integrated. Sustainablity takes a broader approach ensuring that not only are renewable resources being protected for future generations, but that steps are being taken to protect the health of building users, the local and expanded community, as well as business profits.
