CM/Spotlight: Sustainability Green And The Economy cleaning industry may even wonder if greening was a journey taken unnecessarily. A leading authority in green cleaning assesses how financial hardships impact the movement. By: Stephen Ashkin T Stephen P. Ashkin is president of The Ashkin Group, a con-sulting firm specializing in greening the cleaning process and founder of the Green Cleaning Network, now oper-ated with ISSA. In the book Environmentalism Unbound, Dr. Robert Gottlieb describes Ashkin as the “lead-ing advocate for a stronger environmental profile among cleaning product manufactur-ers and suppliers” and the “most visible industry figure advancing the cause of envi-ronmentally preferable prod-ucts.” The Ashkin Group pro-vides green consulting services for school districts as well as building owners, product man-ufacturers and cleaning con-tractors. For more information on The Ashkin Group visit http://www.ashkingroup.com, call (812) 332-7950 or e-mail: [email protected]. To hear former Vice President Al Gore tell it, becoming greener and more environmentally responsible is the answer to just about all of our countryʼs major problems. In an April 2009 presentation in Chicago, Gore, arguably the worldʼs foremost environmentalist (or at least the most well-known), argued that tak-ing steps to protect the environment and become more sustainable could provide a problem-solv-ing “thread” that would weave through our coun-tryʼs security, environmental and economic prob-lems, solving most of them. For instance, Gore believes that as we invest in sustainable forms of energy, such as wind and solar power, and turn away from fossil fuels, the billions of dollars now spent on oil will be avail-able to advance America, creating new jobs and new technologies and helping to make our coun-try safer. In fact, he believes going green will be one of the key job creators of the 21st century, and that it should be an area in which America leads the way. Still A Green Niche? When green cleaning first began to have an impact on the professional cleaning industry a few years ago, the most forward-looking, astute industry players typically embraced it first. Many not only believed in the concept, but also saw greening as a niche marketing opportunity that could open new doors and attract new clients. Soon, virtually all manufacturers and janitorial distributors began to produce and sell green cleaning products, and many BSCs started to offer environmentally preferable cleaning services. In fact, in recent years in many settings, green cleaning has become a prerequisite rather than a niche market. More and more private and public facilities have made the use of environmentally preferable cleaning products and effective cleaning prac-tices a necessary component of winning their business. Now, due to the economic tailspin, most of those same facilities are experiencing moderate to substantial financial difficulties, resulting in all forms of business contraction, including job lay-offs and plant, warehouse and office closings. Many would assume that green cleaning would no longer be a primary concern for such busi-nesses. In fact, with money tight and the economy so uncertain, holding on to the old ways of doing business, including the use of conventional clean-ing products, is a natural response. Because green cleaning has historically been customer driven, some in our industry may now question — and reasonably so — if investing What About Today? This is all well and good, but many of the possibil-ities and opportunities Gore advocates, although advancing much more rapidly now than ever before, are still several years away from real-world use; however, building service contractors (BSCs), janitorial distributors and manufacturers are concerned today. With the economy teetering between recession and depression, those in the cleaning industry need to know if green cleaning and sustainability are still viable trends, especially now that their customers seem to be making cost-cutting a pri-mary goal. If the economy deteriorates further, some in the 16 CM/Cleaning & Maintenance Management ® • June 2009
CMM – Archives Jun 2009: 16
