Driving Down the Environmental Cost to Clean

For a green cleaning solution to be truly effective, the solution must successfully satisfy both parts of this phrase: the solution must be environmentally friendly while delivering the standard of cleaning required for your application. Ideally, green cleaning will minimize environmental and human-health impacts, while maintaining or even improving cleaning effectiveness.

While green cleaning typically involves practices aimed at reducing chemical, water and energy use, it also means finding new ways to clean quickly and easily—saving time and money. Adding sustainability goals to green cleaning results in a program that is also designed to help maintain the life of the building so that floor surfaces (and many other components) have the longest possible useful lives—which, in turn, minimizes resource consumption and waste stream contributions.

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The Difference Between Green And Sustainability

This article was originally published by Housekeeping Solutions.

The words sustainable and green are often used interchangeably. But being "green" and being "sustainable" is not the same thing.

The federal government defines green as "products and services that reduce health and environmental impacts compared to similar products and services used for the same purpose," says Steve Ashkin, president of The Ashkin Group and chairman of the Sustainability Dashboard.

Sustainability, on the other hand, can be represented with a three-legged stool having a leg for environmental, social and financial responsibility, according to Jim Newman, owner of Newman Consulting Group.

"With green, our consideration about people and staff is limited to direct exposures from products or services," says Ashkin. "Sustainability is a much broader term that talks about the implications of those products and services used over a much longer period of time, and considers social and financial impacts as well."

So what does this mean to custodial operations? It means they must define their green/sustainability goals, implement these changes and then measure their success.

Read the full article here, or learn how Advance defines green cleaning. 

Understanding Green Certifications for Cleaning Equipment and Products

There are multiple green certifications for cleaning equipment, products and chemicals, which makes it difficult to decipher and select a cleaning solution to fit your application needs while adhering to your environmental goals. To help understand a few of them, Advance defines the following green certifications:

• Green Seal – Describing its mission as providing science-based environmental certification standards, Green Seal certifies products in more than 40 categories—from household cleaning products to floor finishes and strippers for facility maintenance. Green Seal also established GS-42, a standard that provides guidance and certification for green cleaning services.
• EcoLogo – EcoLogo is recognized worldwide as a standard and certification mark for over a dozen broad product categories, including cleaning and janitorial supplies. EcoLogo standards address environmental attributes throughout the entire life cycle of the product or service and also require that certified products meet performance requirements to ensure they perform as well as conventional alternative products.
• EPA Design for the Environment – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) environmental program awards the DfE label to products in 15 broad categories based on the review of the ingredients in individual products. Applied to products such as commercial floor cleaners, a DfE label means that in the EPA’s judgment and based on current knowledge, the product contains only those ingredients that pose the least concern among chemicals in their class.
• Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design for Existing Buildings: Operations and Maintenance Rating System (LEED-EBOM) – LEED-EBOM contains the most specific equipment recommendations of any green cleaning standard. Specifically, the system’s IEQ Credit 3.4 - Sustainable Cleaning Equipment standard includes requirements ranging from low operating noises to engine efficiency.

For more information on any of these green certifications, please visit our green cleaning solutions page.

Floor Cleaning Equipment With Green Cleaning Capabilities Maximizes Facility Safety

There are a variety of green cleaning standards, including LEED-EB, ASTM E-1971-05 and GS-42, that address safety issues, including noise control, machine vibration, user fatigue, chemical exposure and proper training in green product use. When used correctly, floor cleaning equipment with green cleaning capabilities can enhance the safety of cleaning personnel, other facility occupants and the facility itself, through the following:

• Noise Control features ensure quiet operation, increasing operator safety and the ability to clean during business hours, which in turn reduces costs for HVAC, lighting and security.
• Ergonomic Design reduces excessive machine vibration and other inferior design elements, minimizing user fatigue and repetitive motor symptoms.
• Flexible Cleaning System allows operators to use fewer machines and reduce water and detergent consumption. With a touch of a button, users can easily switch between chemical-free, water-only cleaning and varying degrees of detergent, down pressure and flow rates.
• Battery-Powered Equipment is an ideal alternative to the noise and emissions of propane-powered equipment, eliminating fuel emissions and enhancing air quality.

Defining Green Cleaning

“Green cleaning” can encompass many different factors, ranging from various types of cleaning products to sustainable cleaning practices. However, before selecting a “green” cleaning solution or “green” floor cleaning equipment, it is important to take a step back and answer the underlying question, “What does green cleaning really mean to your business, your employees, your budget and the environment?” Are you looking to gain LEED (Leadership for Energy and Environmental Design) certification for your facility, or simply want to be sure your facility is the best it can be?

As a leading manufacturer of “green” floor cleaning equipment, Advance is committed to offering products that meet or exceed industry and government standards for green cleaning. With a wide range of products and green cleaning solutions, Advance is dedicated to developing floor cleaning equipment that will help you employ effective, green cleaning practices including:

• Maintain or enhance indoor air/environmental quality
• Improve worker and occupant safety
• Ensure sustainability
• Reduce the cost of cleaning

So how will you achieve these results? Stick around, and we’ll be happy to show you!