Key Requirements Of GS-42 Certification There are several requirements that must be met before an in-house or contract cleaning service can earn GS-42 certifi-cation. A complete list is available at www. GreenSeal.org. Some of the more general requirements include: ■ Written operating procedures that are available to all cleaning person-nel and clients ■ A building-specific green cleaning plan ■ A communication strategy for all cleaning personnel, building man-agement and occupants, as well as a system for facilitating feedback from all stakeholders ■ Cleaning schedules that carefully address all of the cleaning needs of a facility ■ A detailed description of green cleaning implementation throughout the facility, including heavily used locations such as entryways and foodservice areas ■ Easy-to-understand directions for cleaning professionals written in appropriate languages or utilizing graphic presentations that cover all of the facility’s cleaning tools, machinery and products ■ Tactics to address the special clean-ing needs of vulnerable populations such as young children or the elderly ■ Using only green-certified clean-ing chemicals, as well as vacuum cleaners that meet the minimum requirements of the Carpet and Rug Institute’s (CRI) Seal of Approval (SOA) program ■ Using a chemical measuring and dilution system to limit human expo-sure to cleaning chemicals and facili-tate proper dilution while eliminating waste. of the key goals of certification. The Knollwood program began with the elimination of most, if not all, of their tradi-tional, non-green cleaning chemicals. “These were replaced with environmen-tally preferred products, which we believe are better for the environment and safer for staffs and residents,” notes Akins. From there, the program took the fol-lowing steps: ■ Replacing traditional upright and canister vacuum cleaners with high-filtration systems that protect indoor air quality ■ Transitioning to environmentally pref-erable soap and paper products; Knollwood actually took this a step further, installing touch-free systems that can help reduce waste, con-sumption and the spread of contami-nation ■ Selecting floor scrubbers and other larger cleaning tools and equipment that meet ergonomic and safety stan-dards to protect the health of custo-dial workers ■ Changing from feather dusters to microfiber cleaning cloths that capture dust and soils; in many cases, this also helped the facility to cut back its use of cleaning chemicals overall. The GS-42 steps implemented by Knollwood must be viewed as a beginning because, even after an in-house or contract cleaning service has been certified, the process is never completely over. “After certification, Green Seal continues to verify compliance by conducting on-site audits of a sample of the facilities cleaned by the service,” proclaims Weissman. “This kind of follow-up ensures that facilities are staying on track with their goals for a greener cleaning program.” Generating Buzz Just as Green Seal–certified cleaning products are allowed to use the Green Seal logo on the product and in marketing materials, once building service contrac-tors have earned GS-42 certification, they may advertise or market themselves as GS-42 certified. One thing to note, however, is that GS-42 applies only to the cleaning and maintenance of a facility’s interior spaces; it does not apply to exterior areas such as parking lots, sidewalks, grounds, etc. ducted frequent meetings designed to get everyone on the same page and encourage enthusiasm for the new program. These meetings included not only cus-todial workers; other staffs and residents were involved as well. “We built awareness about the new green products and GS-42 compliant procedures; slowly and steadily, we aligned everyone with our goals,” asserts Akins. One outcome of the GS-42 program at Knollwood was an overall reduction in the number of cleaning products used in the facility. This is not uncommon when changing to any green cleaning strategy and is possibly more likely to occur when a facility imple-ments a GS-42 green cleaning program. According to Akins, after implementation, staff members who had been using up to six different products were sometimes able to reduce their usage to only one chemical. Akins says the program has also caused the facility’s cleaning workers to redefine how they view themselves and their work. This is another phenomenon that often occurs when a facility implements a green cleaning program, especially one with a formal strategy such as GS-42. As Akins concludes, her facility’s work-ers no longer view themselves simply as custodial workers; instead, they think of themselves as “environmental technicians,” enjoying a newfound sense of pride in their occupation and its importance. CM Outcomes Of Green Strategies According to Akins, one of the key challeng-es of implementing a GS-42 green clean-ing strategy was explaining the reasoning behind the program to staff members. Historically, cleaning professionals have been reluctant to make changes in how they perform cleaning tasks. In fact, in many cases, cleaning workers have been taught greener or more effective cleaning techniques only to return to their old methods over time. To avoid this phenomenon, Akins con-Katherine Pickett is a frequent writer for the professional cleaning industry. She can be reached at [email protected]. www.cmmonline.com 41
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