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Cleaning Professionals Play Vital Role In New Green Seal Program

By Mark Rentschler
 
In some ways — well, in one way, and it’s something of a stretch at that – the job of the jan/san professional resembles that of an NFL offensive lineman: you show up, do your work to the best of your ability, and it usually means trouble if the guy with the whistle (or radio, as the case may be) calls your name. Realistically, if you’re on the ball, you will be neither seen nor heard.
 
Likewise, in many facilities the first line of offense and defense, the cleaning professionals with boots on the ground, are some of the last people consulted when large-scale changes in procedure and protocol are being considered. Often, the first time a technician hears about a pending change is only after it’s been implemented.  
The Green Seal Green Facilities Partnership may prove an opportunity to flip that paradigm on its head. The Partnership is a new program looking to provide recognition to organizations working to implement environmentally preferable operations and maintenance (O&M) practices, and offer technical assistance if requested.
 
What makes the partnership different from other Green Seal initiatives is that it is not a standard-based certification program; recognition hinges on the ability of a facility to implement a plan built around its own unique and specific challenges. It’s this element that makes the cleaning professional of vital importance to the process.
 
The partnership operates on a three-tier structure: Green Facilities Partner leads to Green Facilities Leader and, ultimately, to Green Facilities Champion. The program was developed to complement and even promote established “green building” certification programs, such as the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) rating system.
 
What happens is this: an applicant provides Green Seal with current O&M data – janitorial services, HVAC, energy systems, etc. – as well as administrative procedures and policies. The applicant then designs a Green Facilities Action Plan and submits it for Green Seal approval. The Plan, initially used to establish Facilities Partner status, will also be designed to enable the applicant to achieve leadership or championship levels within the partnership.
 
Real-world application
A successful action plan is not simply a plan that looks good on paper, but one that can be successfully implemented and executed by the professionals performing the actual work (such as the cleaning crew). If the plan cannot be implemented, it’s back to the drawing board. O&M decisions by facilities managers are crucial to achieving recognition; who better to validate many of those decisions than the people with intimate knowledge of a facility’s housekeeping needs and nuances? Does the cleaning equipment meet conditions outlined under GS-42 (the Green Seal cleaning services standard) or other recognized criteria? Does it function properly? Are the chemicals in use considered “green”? Do personnel know how best to use those chemicals? How green are the actual cleaning procedures and processes? How effective is worker training on those processes? It’s questions like these that need to be answered to develop a plan, and it is the cleaning staff who are in the best position to answer them.
 
There is an old saying: “No involvement, no commitment.” The Green Facilities Partnership path to Green O&M excellence thus requires the involvement of the professional cleaner. Equipment and chemical appropriation and use; procedures, training and continuing education; evidence of engagement and understanding of the “greening” process; all these criteria will become part of the action plan.
 
Once the Plan is implemented with key boots-on-the-ground intelligence, if progress is deemed satisfactory, the facility continues in the program. If progress is not deemed satisfactory, Green Seal may, at the facility’s request, assist in the development and implementation of the plan. By involving its cleaning technicians in the process from day one, the facility will go far in assuring its progress along the green continuum. This series of articles will explore just how cleaning professionals can get engaged in a practical way to make a difference in this groundbreaking green partnership.

Part 1 in a series.

Dr. Mark Rentschler, Green Seal’s Director of Institutional Greening Programs, works with public and private institutions to help green their purchasing and facilities management programs.  Mark has been working on institutional greening projects since 2001.  Most recently he directed Green Seal teams assisting the environmentally preferable purchasing efforts of the State of Colorado and the County of Los Angeles, and he manages Green Seal’s program to help state and local governments that want to initiate green lodging programs.  In the past he has led or worked as part of teams developing green purchasing and green facilities management programs for the World Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank and the Asian Development Bank.  Prior to joining Green Seal, Mark worked in a variety of environmental policy positions at the U.S. Agency for International Development, the Treasury Department, the White House, and the C. S. Mott Foundation.  Mark grew up in the rural Amish country of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, and went on to earn a BS from Lehigh University, a PhD in geology from Stanford University, and an MFA in fine arts from the School of Visual Arts.