Shades of Green Cleaning

As more facility managers, building owners and property managers have become interested in pursing an environmentally sensitive cleaning and maintenance program, they find that all cleaning called "green" is not equal. In part this is due to certified green cleaning chemicals developing at a faster pace than other requirements.

The first step towards "greening" janitorial operations is to change to environmentally preferable cleaning products. Simply substituting safer cleaning products is a start, but at CleanPower we understand that true sustainable janitorial programs must go beyond this basic step. Our industry has been moving toward use of third party standards of responsible standards - to set what constitutes green cleaning.

Further up the scale of green is cleaning to meet Leadership in Energy and Design (LEED) standards. LEED®-EB Certification is a program of the United States Green Building Council that establishes certain prerequisites and awards credits for specific measures to bring buildings to a higher standard of environmental performance.

CleanPower typically focuses on LEED- EB (existing building) since it involves the operations of the building and has the most janitorial requirements; over 30% of the points required for base certification can be achieved with green cleaning.

Another way to further "green" a housekeeping program is to increase specification so the focus is on cleaning to remove contaminants instead of just cleaning for appearance. Healthcare facilities are often cleaned to this standard, and evidence points to increased productivity and decreased absenteeism in buildings cleaned to this level.

Finally, cleaning to meet The Green Seal® Environmental Standard is what we aspire to with our EmeraldSolutions program. Cleaning to this level incorporates the higher specification of cleaning for health and indoor air quality, as well as most of the requirements for LEED level cleaning. It should be noted that all of the areas addressed are required, not optional, to meet Green Seal - 42 standards. This standard has many other requirements and requires a commitment to establish at your location. We are proud to be the first company in the Midwest to have earned this designation and can help you achieve certification.

Whether you want to perform "light" green cleaning or implement a full green cleaning program, CleanPower can provide the right solution for your workplace. We believe that any step taken to lessen the impact of our service on the environment is a move in the right direction.

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