Green cleaning is a phrase that has evolved and morphed as it has gained acceptance in the commercial cleaning industry over the past decade. Its roots, however, are found in two U.S. Presidential Executive orders from 1993 and 1998 designed to direct the U.S. government to purchase environmentally preferable products.

Those orders defined “green” as “…reducing the health and environmental impacts compared to similar products and services used for the same purpose,” and lead to the most common definition of green cleaning, which is “cleaning to protect health without harming the environment.”

When cleaning professionals make the shift from cleaning to green cleaning, it’s important that they understand their intent behind this shift. In all likelihood, whether the facility they are cleaning is new construction or an existing building, their intent is to reduce the exposure of the building occupants and maintenance personnel to potentially hazardous chemicals and biological and particulate contaminants from powered cleaning equipment—chemicals and contaminants that adversely affect air quality, human health, building finishes and systems, and the environment.

Often, the intent of the cleaning professional is also to support a broader sustainability initiative and/or a commitment to the triple bottom line—that is an organization’s economic, social and environmental well being. In such instances, cleaning professionals must embrace concepts typically beyond those associated with building maintenance such as stewardship and continual improvement.

Often, when cleaning professionals consider what powered cleaning equipment is needed to implement a green cleaning program, they turn to the U.S. Green Building Council’s criteria for LEED New Construction (NC) certification or LEED Existing Building (EB) certification.

Cleaning and cleaning products are not actually aspects of the USGBC’s LEED NC certification, but it makes good business sense to protect the investment that went into constructing a LEED-certified building by maintaining the building to the highest standards and employing environmentally preferred products and methodologies. Implementing a cleaning program that closely follows the USGBC’s LEED Existing Building Operations and Maintenance (EBOM) rating system will accomplish this.

In LEED EBOM, the USGBC provides a credit rating for the purchase of “sustainable cleaning products and materials.” To earn a credit rating, a powered cleaning equipment program requires that all machines must:
• Include safeguards such as rollers, bumpers or other machine design elements that reduce impact damage to the facility;
• Be designed to minimize vibration, noise and user fatigue. Look for this information to be reported in the user manual. ISO 5349-1 provides a good guide for arm vibrations, ISO 2631-1 for vibration to which the whole body is subjected, and ISO 11201 for sound pressure at operator’s ear;
• Operate with a sound level of less than 70 db unless otherwise noted below.
In addition, specific machines may have their own set of requirements, including:
• Vacuum cleaners must be certified by the Carpet and Rug Institute “Seal of Approval” testing program;
• Carpet cleaners used for restorative and or deep cleaning must be certified by the Carpet and Rug Institute “Seal of Approval” testing program for deep cleaning extractors;
• Equipment that is battery or cord electric powered and used for polishing, burnishing or buffing is equipped with vacuums, guards and, or other devices for capturing fine particulates;
• Propane powered floor polishing and buffing machines must use high efficiency, low-emission engines with catalytic converters and mufflers that meet the California Air Resources Board (CARB) or the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) standards;
• Floor scrubbers must be equipped with solution flow control mechanisms such as variable speed pumps, proportional valves or solenoids and on-board chemical metering or clean with no added cleaning products.

Following the guidelines as provided by the LEED EBOM rating system is one of the surest ways cleaning professionals can ensure the cleaning equipment they select is “green.”

Above and Beyond Certification

Green cleaning technologies are evolving rapidly as more and more cleaning product manufacturers strive to better support the cleaning industry with environmentally preferred products and technologies. In fact, many of the third party organizations that certify green cleaning equipment are unable to keep pace with innovation, leaving many green cleaning technologies uncertified.

As an example, a newly introduced cleaning technology effectively cleans surfaces with no added chemicals. Green Seal and Environmental Choice, two leading industry certifications, don’t have a product category for non-chemical cleaners, only chemicals, so this technology is not certified.

A good, better, best approach demonstrates the situation. Traditional cleaning chemicals are good in that they do the job they were designed to do. But they have been found to have negative environmental and human health impacts. Better cleaning chemicals are those certified as green chemicals.

They likewise do a good cleaning job and have greatly reduced environmental impact in their use. However, they still have the environmental footprint of production, packaging, transportation, storage, use, and disposal. They are also not totally harmless to people, plants or the planet. A best cleaning technology is one that cleans effectively with no chemicals, which eliminates the environmental footprint as well as the chemical management requirements, and simplifies many aspects of cleaning professionals’ operations, including use, training, inventories and procurement.

This good, better, best approach exemplifies why cleaning professionals should always keep the intent behind their green cleaning programs in mind when selecting green cleaning equipment so that products and technologies that best meet that intent can be selected, whether certified or not. ❑

Stan Mierzejewski is senior manager of Sustainability with Tennant Company, a designer and manufacturer of solutions that help create a cleaner, safer world.