managers seek to create “sustain-able” facilities, it will be important for them to begin considering the impacts on all of the building occupants and employees. Extended product responsibility. Already in many parts of Europe, manufacturers are required to retain responsibility for their products at the end of their useful lives. It is likely this expectation will be expanded to other parts of the world. The Business of Green Cleaning suggests that more than one billion pounds of powered janitorial equipment is discarded annually in the United States. This represents an opportunity for equip-ment manufacturers to salvage usable or renewable parts to use in new products. While it is unlikely that the United States government will man-date such programs in the near future, forward-thinking manufacturers have an opportunity to begin imple-menting end-of-life programs as a cost-savings measure that also aligns with their sustainability goals and offers a marketing advantage over competitors. Going a step further, leaders will take into consideration end-of-life in the initial product design. This concept is called cradle-to-cradle design. Sustainability. Green cleaning prod-ucts, equipment and services are becoming more available at an increasing rate. In fact, many larger building service contractors would agree that using green products is expected — a typical requirement in every new request for proposal. As green cleaning services become the norm, more facility managers will begin to shift their focus to sustain-ability issues. Large national and international facility managers are evaluating the “greenness” of their service providers as part of the pro-posal process. It is not enough to use green products or processes; these management companies are asking about the service providerʼs carbon footprint, vehicle fleets, internal purchasing pro-grams, recycling policies and programs and more. As this focus continues to develop, the questions will be pushed back further to the distributors and manufacturers of the prod-ucts, equipment and supplies. Green companies will want to do busi-ness with and buy from green companies. The Future Of Green For an industry that has been viewed as a commodity for decades, these are exciting and challenging times. The cleaning industry has the chance to reshape and repackage itself, to move from a commodity business to being a value-added partner in facility maintenance. As the industry becomes more sustain-able, the opportunities for growth and new profits are enormous, as is the opportunity to make a difference in our society and on the environment. CM Are you in the dark when it comes to finding equipment and supplies? • Search by product category to get an overview of available options • Search by brand or company name to locate your favorite product or vendor Let us guide you to the resources you want. Click on SUPPLIER SEARCH at www.cmmonline.com Convenient and reliable information for the cleaning and maintenance industry Circle Product Information no. 205 on page 32 www.cmmonline.com 37
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