CM/Spotlight: Sustainability Tips To Create Holistic Sustainability A successful program is not just about obtaining green certificates; instead it should be a part of every effort. By: Kelly Anchrum B Kelly Anchrum is the associ-ate director for communications and sustainability for P&G Professional. She has more than 25 years of communications experi-ence and has led sustainability initiatives on some of P&G’s big-gest brands. P&G Professional ® is the away-from-home division of Procter & Gamble, serving the building cleaning and maintenance and hospitality markets. P&G Professional offers complete solu-tions utilizing its parent company’s scale, trusted brands and strengths in the market. Visit www.PGPro. com for more information. “Being green” can be achieved through a holistic approach towards sustainability. Such an approach requires looking at all aspects of your business in terms of sustainability, includ-ing cleaning, and incorporating it into your com-pany culture so it defines your organization and is communicated to your customers. Tips To Make Any Cleaning Routine More Sustainable Choose the right products: Utilize cleaning prod-ucts that are either compacted and/or concentrated, therefore using less packaging and less product, which will also reduce transportation costs with less trucks on the road transporting products for sale. Additionally, use innovative formulas, such as multipurpose products, that clean and disinfect in just one step. Products that get the job done right the first time can help reduce the amount of product needed and cut back on the number of products used. In fact, source reduction is usually the most cost-effective approach to sustainable cleaning. Approach A Program Holistically Sustainability is not just about obtaining green cer-tificates, although that is one aspect of being green. Rather, it’s about everything you and your staff does. Whether volunteering in your community by do-ing beach cleanup, encouraging employees to re-cycle, using eco-friendly packaging or using multi-purpose cleaning products to do more with less, it can all make a valuable contribution to your com-pany’s sustainability efforts. Businesses no longer have to make a choice between their needs for performance, value and responsibility to the planet. Sustainability is about ensuring a better qual-ity of life for everyone, now and for generations to come. That’s why it is important to try and make im-provements in every aspect of your business, in-cluding cleaning. “Green cleaning” is the process of getting rid of certain pathogens with products and techniques that do the job as well as traditional products and approaches, and have reduced environmental im-pacts in comparison. When cleaning professionals strive to get rid of soil and germs, it also reduces the possible trans-mission of bacteria and viruses that can cause in-fectious diseases. At the same time, this will also impact the aes-thetics of the facility. for more info Visit www.cmmonline.com and type in search keyword: Sustainability . For more information on related products, visit www.cmmonline.com , select BUYERS’ GUIDE from the main navigation bar, and enter keyword: Training . Housekeeping staffs need to be taught to clean efficiently using the right amount of product to get the job done. 16 CM/Cleaning & Maintenance Management ® • August 2013 Image courtesy of diego cervo/iStockphoto/Thinkstock
CMM – Archives August 2013: 16
