by Dana Holladay, Chief Development Officer, Pacific Building Care
 We all understand that Green, as a philosophy, is not new. This topic dates back many years. However, the intense buzz in the real estate market about the need to “Green Your Building” to attract and maintain happy tenants has generated an all new sense of urgency. In turn there is confusion, misinformation and at times frustration on the part of the property manager and building owners as to how to best position their properties to meet the expectations and demands of the market.
The idea of creating a green building can be complex. However, “Green Cleaning” seems to experience just the opposite. Rather than viewed as the vital and multi-faceted integral part of the green commitment of a building, the green cleaning operation is all too often oversimplified. It is not uncommon that a janitorial provider will represent that they are “green cleaning” a building, when, in fact, the provider’s knowledge and commitment falls far short of implementing a fully comprehensive program.
This lack of commitment and important understanding of a fully comprehensive green cleaning program by many janitorial providers places a building manager or owner at a clear disadvantage in several areas. First and foremost, the numerous advantages of a green cleaning program in creating a healthier indoor environment for tenants and occupants of a space is only fully realized with a complete program. Furthermore, the ability to achieve LEED Certification will be lost without a comprehensive and LEED compliant green cleaning program being performed by a committed green cleaning company.
Having been in the cleaning industry for over 11 years, I have personally seen this industry grow and change. Each week I speak to property managers and owners who are under the impression their buildings are being “cleaned green.” My advice to them is always the same – “Please go look in your janitor closets and talk to your current provider.” It takes but a few moments to confirm the suspicion that the building cleaning operation falls short of a fully comprehensive program and they are missing important benefits in several areas.
There also remains a shadow of concern on behalf of owners and managers that a green cleaning program will reduce the quality of the cleaning operation and/or cost more to perform. These concerns, fortunately, are unfounded. Technological advances within the cleaning industry allow us to protect public health and safety, and to do so with products and programs that reduce our impact on the environment. Over the course of the last 5 to 7 years great strides have been made in the availability of quality, effective cleaning chemicals and equipment that enhance, rather than deter, our green cleaning efforts. Again, by utilizing a fully committed green cleaning company, a building can reap the benefits of the advances that have been made in the area of chemicals and equipment that are not only excellent and effective for their intended use, but minimize the impact on the indoor air quality and environment of a building.
When an owner or manager is expressing concerns about increased cost of a green cleaning program, we are able to assure them that due to the effective chemicals and equipment, as well as the actual benefits gained from utilizing methods that actually decrease the dust particulates in the air (such as microfiber cloth systems), green cleaning is at a minimum cost neutral, and at times can even reduce the cost of a cleaning operation.
To support our efforts, approximately three years ago, Pacific Building Care (PBC) launched exhaustive research and testing to bring a fully comprehensive green cleaning program to our customers. Part of this testing included utilizing chemicals and equipment in one of our most challenging environments – college dormitory cleaning. It was through this testing and evaluation that PBC was able to confirm that not only were our final chosen chemicals as effective in cleaning in this difficult environment, but that the cleaning staff themselves had an extremely positive reaction to utilizing the methods, chemicals and tools provided to them. Since that time, PBC has enjoyed the benefits of bringing this information and experience to our customers as well as knowing we are providing a safe environment for our employees. This has proven to be a win/win scenario for our company.
To take advantage of all that a comprehensive green cleaning program can offer, a building owner or manager should look for a vendor who provides a green cleaning program that includes the following key components:
- Green Seal chemicals;
- Use of EPA-registered disinfectants only;
- CRI-approved floor care equipment (vacuums & floor equipment);
- Selecting consumable products and dispensers that have minimal effect on those using the products or on the environment;
- The use of micro-fiber cloths in daily cleaning;
- Documentation for training that includes understanding how products are used in order to reduce their impact on custodial workers, building occupants, and the environment;
- A method for evaluating and continually improving the program and products used in green cleaning on an ongoing basis;
- Implementing stewardship (leadership and caring) for the occupants of the building where the products are being utilized;
- A fully adopted policy and practice that revolves around environmental sensitivity and utilizing methods and programs that promote a safe and healthy work environment.
By choosing a vendor who can fulfill all of the above, an owner or manager can position their property to keep and attract long term, satisfied tenants. In addition, the building will be well positioned for obtaining LEED Certification, which is being recognized more and more as a differentiator in the market place. By having a cleaning provider in place that fulfils all of the criteria outlined above, the building can take advantage of up to ten LEED Certification points on the cleaning operation alone and fulfilling a LEED pre-requisite. For this reason, it is vital that owners and managers hold their cleaning companies accountable for a complete green program and not accept cleaning operations that fall short of a total package.
We should feel more encouraged than ever that the goal of green cleaning (protecting and preserving the health of buildings,occupants and workers without harming the environment) is becoming more and more a reality. The bottom line is that a fully comprehensive green cleaning program is good for the buildings, the occupants, the janitorial provider and the financial prosperity of building owners and managers.
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