Green cleaning
encompasses a broad scope of
concerns including products,
processes, and the safety and
health of building occupants
and cleaning professionals. In
recent years, the market demand
for green cleaning has grown
at an accelerated rate. You may
have heard that ‘green cleaning'
is just a fad or something for
environmentalists. You may also
have heard that ‘green cleaning' is
not cost effective. Not true.
It's important to note that green
cleaning has become easy to
implement. Eastern Bag &
Paper's “Building a Sustainable
Future” will provide you with
an understanding of this
program with a variety of Green
Seal and/or EPA approved,
Environmental Choice certified,
and environmentally responsible
products. “Building A Sustainable
Future” has been designed to
assist customers with achieving
LEED certification credits along
with USGBC recognition and
compliance.
More importantly, Eastern Bag &
Paper will provide you with quality,
performance tested products
that reduce the health and
environmental impacts, provide industry
knowledge, training, and support
that will improve the quality
of your working environment,
improve your bottom-line, and
most of all protect the natural
environment in which we live.
Green Cleaning and environmental
responsibility aren't just
buzzwords any longer. Twenty
years ago it seemed the
environmental movement was
just a fad, reached its peak, and
then disappeared. Unfortunately,
increasingly poor indoor
environmental quality has had
a major impact on business,
education, and our daily lives.
Increases in childhood asthma,
falling test scores, student
absenteeism, employee sick
time, and lower productivity all
have some basis in poor indoor
environmental quality. The
choices we make in cleaning
products, equipment, systems and
procedures affect our economy
and our very lives.
As cleaning professionals, you
are well aware of the impact
poor cleaning has on the life
cycle of surfaces such as carpet,
tile, walls, and fixtures, resulting
in premature replacement and
additional costs. You may not be
aware of the impact poor cleaning
has on occupant productivity,
health, morale, and objective
measures such as student test
scores or attendance.
Green Cleaning is not about
replacing your current product
with a milder cleaner. Green
Cleaning is simply defined as
‘cleaning to protect health without
harming the environment.' It
is about examining your entire
process of cleaning, identifying
the areas that can be improved,
developing a plan and the
procedures to implement that
plan, and finally measuring
the results of the executed
plan. A properly designed and
implemented plan will have
positive impact on the cleanliness
of your facility, the health of its
occupants and your return on
investment. The Eastern Bag
and Paper Group, in accordance
with the LEED-EB program and
the USGBC will help you develop
and implement the right Green
Cleaning program for your facility.
LEED
The USGBC and its members
developed the LEED system
(Leadership in Energy and
Environmental Design) in
November 2000 as a guideline
for designing, constructing,
and certifying sustainable
buildings. LEED is a voluntary
standard that emphasizes
state-of-the-art strategies for
sustainable site development,
water consumption, energy
efficiency, materials selection,
and indoor environmental quality.
With its unique approach, the
LEED system has become the
national benchmark for GREEN
buildings. This comprehensive
system offering proven standards,
training, technical assistance, and
professional accreditation is an
effective means of driving return
on investment over time.
There are three LEED programs
currently in place. The first is
LEED-NC, which, deals with new
building construction and major
renovations. The second, LEED-EB,
concentrates on existing
building operation upgrades and
maintenance (including cleaning).
The third, LEED-CI, completes the
scope with a focus on commercial
interior renovations and tenant
improvements. Within each
of these categories, a building
can achieve a LEED certification
level of Certified, Silver, Gold, or
Platinum based on accumulation
of points earned by meeting
certain criteria.
Preliminary results from LEED-EB's
two-year pilot program have
revealed several benefits for those
that have chosen to go GREEN.
The program was comprised of
more than 51 buildings whose
owners control more than 400
million square feet nationally.
Benefits of the implementation
of the LEED-EB program included
lower operational cost, increase
in market value of the facilities,
improved employee productivity
and satisfaction, improved air
quality, enhanced occupant
comfort and health, and an
overall improvement in building
aesthetics. Environmentally,
studies have revealed an increase
in the protection of natural
habitats, improved air and water
quality, a reduction in waste,
conservation of natural resources,
and decreased greenhouse gas
emissions. Undeniably, the
USGBC's LEED program has and
will continue to create a win-win
situation for buildings, their
owners and occupants, and the
environment.
The LEED Rating System
To evaluate a green building under
the LEED rating system, points are
awarded for achievements in each
of following six categories.
- Sustainable Sites
- Water Efficiency
- Energy and Atmosphere
- Material and Resources
- Indoor Environmental Quality
- Innovation and Design Process
LEED–EB Levels of Recognition
Certified ……32-39 points
Silver ………40-47 points
Gold …………48-63 points
Platinum ……64-85 points
Eastern Bag & Paper can help you
earn up to 14 points toward LEED
certification through products
and other portions of the program
such as aiding in documentation
and training.
Recap of Green Benefits
- Promotes a healthier working
environment by improving
indoor air quality
- Enhances safety for janitorial
workers
- Improves employee retention
- Reduces liability, legal costs
and insurance
- Increases productivity 2 – 16%
- Helps organizations meet
green purchasing mandates
- Reduces cleaning and product
cost
- Decreases an organizations
environmental and health
impacts
- Improves test scores in schools
up to 20%
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