FAQ

What is Green Cleaning?

That’s a simple question, without a simple answer. Ask that question of a small child, and he might say, “so things aren’t dirty.” A fortune 500 CEO might answer, “so the headquarters are attractive to the stockholders.” A building service contractor might say “it’s about making money”. The mother of an asthmatic child will answer quite differently, as will a cost-conscious facility manager. Green Cleaning in its most simple form can be defined as “Cleaning to protect health without harming the Environment”.

What are some of the characteristics of Green Cleaning?

This definition characterizes green as simultaneously addressing both an environmental, and health, impact. This is particularly important because cleaning is labor intensive: thus, there is a need to reduce harmful exposure to both cleaning technicians and building occupants, in addition to reducing environmental impacts.

Does green cleaning help the earth?

Using environmentally friendly cleaning products properly will decrease air pollution, water pollution, ozone depletion and global change. Implementing a green program can reduce the negative effect your cleaning operations have on the environment.

Does a healthier environments increase productivity and marketability?

Healthier employees mean happier employees. Data show increased worker satisfaction, improved morale, reduced absenteeism, and increased productivity and efficiency. Employees and customers appreciate knowing that green practices and green certified products are used in the building. Going green helps you market your business as a socially conscious one.

What about the products we currently use ?

The industry buzz is about the importance of the Green Supply Chain, which puts a serious emphasis on what products your company buys and what services it employs. Unless these companies are green business certified, their claims for green may be little more than “Green washing” and hype. Is your janitorial service green certified? Is your cleaning service using toxic products? Do they have a green purchasing protocol? What are they doing to work with sustainable resources? Are they preventing cross-contamination. In the end, all these things matter.