CM/Spotlight: Sustainability Documentation: The Cornerstone Of The GS-42 Audit A solid auditing process helps keep certified parties up to par. By: Mark T. Petruzzi Mark T. Petruzzi is the vice president of certifica-tion and strategic relations for Green Seal Inc. G for more info Visit www.cmmonline.com and type in search keyword: Green Seal . For more information on related products, visit www.cmmonline.com , select SUPPLIER SEARCH from the main navigation bar, and enter keyword: Green cleaning . GS-42, Green Sealʼs Environmental Standard for Cleaning Services, is a certification program pro-viding building service contractors (BSCs) and in-house service providers (ISPs) with objective and meaningful guidance to help them develop a green cleaning program. However, a certification is only as strong as its criteria and the adherence by certified organiza-tions to those criteria. The Green Seal evaluation and auditing process helps ensure those seeking certification comply with the standard and, just as important, continue to stay in compliance after certification is achieved. “Green Seal is very explicit with guidelines, and you have to tailor what youʼre doing to the requirements,” says Bill Garland, president of Canadian-based Daniels Associates Inc., a solu-tions provider for the building services and serv-ice maintenance industries, and a GS-42 Auditor. “Thereʼs not a lot of leeway there.” GS-42 certification requires that BSCs “Develop and maintain a set of writ-ten guidelines or standard operating procedures (SOP) that govern the cleaning procedures, chemical han-dling and tracking requirements, equipment maintenance and operation procedures, communi-cation protocols and require-ments, training and inspection programs and reporting and record keeping procedures,” which is not something that can be done haphazardly. Lecturing on green cleaning for the past decade as well as performing Green Seal audits, he has conducted a number of field studies that continual-ly lead to the same conclusion: The discipline of setting up a green cleaning program saves money. “Because of the structure of GS-42 certification, Green Seal makes you look at what youʼre doing, which very few companies really do, and which in the end should save you money,” Garland notes. “Thereʼs no way that being green should cost you more money.” The GS-42 Auditor Is Your ‘Friend In The Business’ Green Discipline For Cost Savings: A Key Point Garland has worked in a variety of capac-ities over his 30-year career. While audit has some ugly connotations — IRS, anyone? — that shouldnʼt be the case with an on-site evaluation for GS-42. Usually, the trepidation cleaning managers experience is simply a case of not understanding the process, what the auditor is looking for and what his or her role really encompasses. “The real start occurs substan-tially before I show up on the scene, with the assembly of the written materials,” Green Seal Auditor Mike Van Splinter says. “After everything is correctly doc-umented, I go in and do the initial interview and, frankly, one of the first things I say to people is, ʻI appreciate where youʼre sitting, because I spent 47 years on your side of the desk.ʼ” “I know the mixed emotions prompted by the word ʻaudit,ʼ so I assure them that fault-finding isnʼt the intent at all, that we are build-ing bridges, not walls,” continues Van Splinter. “Thatʼs the whole Do your records show solid intent of Green Seal, to bridge the performance? 26 CM/Cleaning & Maintenance Management ® • June 2009
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