Does your cleaning company offer real and effective green cleaning options or is their green cleaning policy little more than a shell game where things are shuffled around in such a way that you THINK you are getting eco friendly office cleaning but there’s nothing of substance behind it? There’s money to be made in green cleaning and so many companies sing its praises and tout its claims without really implementing green cleaning strategies, green cleaning equipment and green cleaning chemicals that make for an effective responsible green cleaning program. What do you need to know before contracting for green cleaning services for your facility?
Is your office cleaning truly eco friendly? Does your janitorial services company put sustainability into practice in your facility? Are you getting eco friendly office cleaning? Sustainable facility maintenance and green cleaning have never been more relevant. In fact, green products and processes, eco-friendly practices and sustainability are topical across many industries from green office cleaning to green hospital cleaning to green industrial cleaning. Most of us are really trying to figure out how to better accomplish our green cleaning goals. That’s the good news. The bad news is that not everyone agrees on what all these green cleaning words really mean. That can lead to inflated claims, empty promises and watered down results when it comes to healthfulness and environmental responsibility. This green washing, or promises of eco friendliness or sustainability without any real tooth to them not only give us a false sense of doing good, they distract from real and effective ways to make our facilities safer, healthier and greener. In order to accomplish your facility’s green goals, you must look past the spin to the real core of green cleaning.
“Green” and “sustainable” are sometimes used interchangeably, but in fact, they are separate ideas. Green cleaning typically refers to the practices, products and even green cleaning equipment that are used to diminish the adverse impact of janitorial services. What kind of impacts are we talking about? That would be the negative consequences for the environment, the facility and the facility’s occupants-- be they employees, customers, the public or even the cleaning staff. Sustainability applies to those practices that meet our present needs without compromising the needs of future generations. While green cleaning is a significant component of sustainability, they are not synonymous.
When choosing a green cleaning company or green office cleaning services, you as a Facility Manager need to understand how all of this impacts you and your facility. This is because as much as you may want to make strides in your organization’s commitment to green building objectives and practices, you must balance that with costs weighing both the needs of today and tomorrow. This careful balancing act measures the importance and value of everything you do in your building to positively impact the environment from green cleaning to green construction to energy savings, eco-friendly this and recyclable that. You can and should take steps to grow your company’s commitment to green facility management but not at the expense of your bottom line or business health. Yet if you focus solely on the bottom line without regard for the environment or health of your building’s occupants, your business and reputation will also suffer.
The right green cleaning program is immeasurably helpful in balancing these essential elements: People, Planet & Profit. Profit should not be a dirty word and it is not the stark opposite of green or environmentally friendly. Profit and green cleaning can coexist done right. These dollar and cents also include dollars and sense and can increase the productivity of your people and processes through an improved, healthier work environment. Additionally, your building may see reduced costs in areas like water and energy usage. Furthermore, with an effective green cleaning plan, you can even cut the overall cost of your facility maintenance. Essentially, profit is an important piece of the sustainability of your business. An effective green cleaning program can help your organization support profitability without threatening the other pieces of your sustainability puzzle, People and Planet. An effective green cleaning program can help you meet sustainability while at the same time offering concrete financial benefits that can boost the bottom line.
An effective green clean program must include green cleaning products and sustainability practices mindful of everything from allergens, irritants, air quality and more. Your janitorial services company can help you provide your employees and building occupants with a safe and healthy environment. Your commercial cleaning company needs to understand where they fit in to the environmental equation and the realities of the impact their practices can have on both their people and your people. Still, your own role should not be discounted. When you choose a cleaning company that operates with the health of people in mind, that isn’t limited to your people but their people as well. Janitorial jobs can take a toll on the people that do them. If your janitorial services company. Is not mindful of the human costs of poor equipment, inadequate training, dangerous chemicals, lax safety and substandard working conditions, they are falling short of a real and effective green cleaning program.
The best green commercial cleaning companies put tremendous effort into continually improving their sustainability processes and green practices in order to get a healthier, greener, more sustainable clean. Did you know that with more than 250,000 companies making up the janitorial industry, your green cleaning companies, janitorial contractors and commercial cleaning companies consume vast amounts of resources including fuel, water, electricity, chemicals, plastic and paper goods. When your green office cleaning company utilizes environmentally sound practices like making use of renewable resources, recycled content, recycling and judicious use of utilities and other resources, they do their part in protecting the environment now and for future generations.
Michigan offers a myriad of natural surroundings and our Great Lakes that are worthy of our stewardship. Green cleaning and sustainability measures not only help us maintain our valuable natural resources, they offers tangible benefits for the heath of our employees, our customers and the planet. Green cleaning services isn’t simply about making use of environmentally friendly cleaning chemicals, it’s about reducing waste, cleaning efficiently and solid sustainability practices. Here at Stathakis, we have helped many of our customers transition to an affordable, effective green cleaning program. We have even helped with green building certification requirements. If you are considering the implementation of a green cleaning program or you would like to know and price your green cleaning options, we can help you put together a plan that works for you.