The slowdown in housing construction and sales has had minimal impact on the continuous need for janitorial services in office, retail, industrial, healthcare and institutional markets, according to the nation’s largest distributor of janitorial supplies.

At the same time, it’s hard to say how far U.S. companies have really come in the Green business marketplace, but progress has been made, according to the “State of Green Business,” a GreenBiz report released last month that also found they still face a long trek to improve environmental practices.

The huge market for janitorial supplies continues to be pursued by ‘big box’ stores, Internet sites, catalog houses, and overseas manufacturers, but traditional distributors have remained the primary source by expanding their consultative capabilities, says R. James Alexy, CEO of Network Services Co., a member-owned organization of more than 200 independent distributors.

“Revenues from our national account business in 2007 will reflect double-digit growth for the fourth consecutive year,” said Alexy. “Overall, our members’ sales also remained strong during the year, and consolidated revenues should exceed $13 billion in 2007.”

Although predictions are that consumers will tighten their belts in 2008, the average consumer has nearly 50 percent of all meals away from home and might prefer to reduce spending in other areas rather than sacrifice the convenience and pleasure of eating meals prepared by someone else.

Cleanliness throughout restaurants is a growing concern for germ-conscious consumers, creating a demand for touch-free devices—such as paper towel dispensers, faucets, and soap dispensers—effective janitorial products, and more frequent cleaning.

The demand for cost-effective equipment and ‘Green’ products remains strong, said Alexy, fueling the introduction of new products and expanding the need for distributor assistance in product selection, education, training and other services.

For the rest of the economy, however, there’s insufficient data to show how companies are doing, in aggregate, to move the needle on ‘Green’ issues like climate change, toxics reduction, water conservation, and resource efficiency, said Joel Makower, executive editor of Greenbiz.com and author of the “State of Green Business” report.

“Where we are able to measure, the verdict is mixed: companies are getting cleaner and more efficient, but only incrementally, and many of the gains are offset by the ever-growing economy. So, while greenhouse gas emissions per dollar of economic activity may be dropping, the growing economy means those emissions are largely unchanged.”

The state of green business is improving, slowly but surely, as companies both large and small learn the value of integrating environmental thinking into their operations in ways that align with core business strategy and bottom-line goals.

Beyond the hype, the “State of Green Business 2008” report found the following obstacles still exist:

• Toxic emissions — While total emissions into the air, land and water have declined since 2001, several U.S. industries, led by the metal mining, electric utility and chemical sectors, still spew out lead, mercury and toxic materials that could be reduced substantially by current technology.

• No standards — No widespread U.S. or global standards or reliable data exist yet to define or measure all of the business practices that make a company green. At times, it’s hard to tell whether individual companies are moving forward or backward on environmental issues.

• Misleading claims — Various market-research studies indicate that many companies make unfounded or misleading claims that their products are “green,” and some skeptical consumers don’t want to pay higher prices for the goods.

The good news, according to GreenBiz, is that a rising number of corporations deserve praise for their environmental efforts in energy efficiency, reduction of toxic emissions, paper use and recycling, clean-technology investments and patents and other practices.

Many of those companies are in the janitorial supply and services industry, which is proving to be resilient and innovative.

Thanks and good luck.