Green Seal Achieves Baseline Funding; Initiates Standard

Washington, DC - based Green Seal, Inc., has announced that it is initiating development of an environmental standard for cleaning service providers, including building service contractors, now that it has received the necessary funding.

“I am pleased to report that we have raised the base funding required to initiate developing the green cleaning service standard,” says Arthur Weissman, Ph.D., President and CEO of Green Seal, Inc., in a news release. Sponsors, who each contributed $10,000, include the following: Spartan Chemical Co., Maumee, Ohio; National Chemical Laboratories, Inc., Philadelphia; JohnsonDiversey, Sturtevant, Wis.; ProTeam, Boise, Idaho; Coastwide Laboratories, Wilsonville, Ore.; and PortionPac Chemical Corp., Chicago.

There is also still an opportunity for additional sponsors to get involved and assist with funding and enhancing the development process. Companies interested in sponsoring the Green Seal Environmental Standard for Green Cleaning Services should contact Allen Rathey at 208-938-3137.

Green Seal now is issuing a general call for stakeholders interested in participating in the standard, starting with the scoping phase, says Weissman.

“Green Seal develops all of its environmental standards in an open and transparent process,” he says. “There will be opportunity for all stakeholders or interested parties to comment when the standard is proposed for public review.”

To participate in the development process, contractors can send an e-mail.

Coverall VP Authors Chapter

Marci Kleinsasser, vice president, marketing and communictions for Coverall Cleaning Concepts, Boca Raton, Fla., has been selected by the editorial board of Inside the Minds as a leader in marketing, and an author in the recently released book, Inside the Minds: CMO Leadership Strategies, published by Aspatore Books.

The book features top chief marketing officers, representing some of the nation's leading companies. It provides targeted, specific advice from a wide range of industry executives. As they reveal the secrets to successful campaigns, effective budgeting, and what it takes to become a leader in the field, these authorities offer practical and adaptable strategies for excellence.

“I am thrilled to be recognized by Aspatore Books as a leader in the marketing field” states Kleinsasser. “To share my experiences in over 19 years of marketing with my peers is quite an honor.”

UNICCO Service Company, a facilities services outsourcing company, announced two contracts with The Macerich Company. The contracts cover a total of 2.6 million square feet at the Danbury Fair Mall in Danbury, Conn., and the Freehold Raceway Mall in Freehold, N.J.

The contracts with Macerich, a new customer for UNICCO, are for comprehensive facilities services including cleaning, landscaping and snow removal, as well as building maintenance, electrical, plumbing and mechanical services at the two malls.

Commercial Flooring Solutions has acquired the South Florida territory for MilliCare, a leading provider of commercial textile and carpet care services.

Based in Charlotte, N.C., Commercial Flooring Solutions acquired two franchise licenses formerly owned by Nexs of South Florida. The Nexs franchise began in 1996. The acquisition will expand Commercial Flooring Solutions’ reach into Naples, Fort Myers, West Palm Beach, Fort Lauderdale and Miami.

Commercial Flooring Solutions operates five locations and employs more than 60 people in North Carolina, South Carolina and Florida.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is taking a “cautious approach” to a scientific panel's conclusion that a chemical used to make the nonstick substance Teflon is a likely human carcinogen, according to Associated Press reports. Teflon, manufactured by DuPont, is found in a variety of products, including cleaning chemicals.

In a draft report released in June, an EPA scientific advisory board concluded that perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) is “likely” to be carcinogenic to humans, and that the EPA should conduct cancer-risk assessments for a variety of tumors found in mice and rats.

This doesn’t mean that PFOA will end up regulated by the EPA; a spokesman for the agency told the AP that there are many questions that need to be answered before the agency can take action.

While PFOA is used to make Teflon, it is not present in Teflon itself.

In June, New York legislators gave final approval to a bill requiring schools to use nontoxic cleaning supplies, according to Associated Press reports.

The Assembly passed the measure, which will affect public and private schools in New York state. The bill follows Governor Pataki’s recent Executive Order to reduce toxic fumes produced by cleaning supplies in state agencies.

Because the single most important thing a person can do to stop the spread of disease is wash his or her hands (according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control), the Clean Hands Coalition is celebrating “Clean Hands Week,” Sept. 18-24, 2005. The Coalition suggests organizations wanting to get involved can mention the week on their Web sites, offer incentives for students or tenants to wash their hands, or submit a press release to the local media.

KC Joins USGBC
Kimberly-Clark Professional has become a member of the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), the nation’s leading nonprofit coalition advancing buildings that are environmentally responsible, profitable and healthy places to live and work.

Kimberly-Clark Professional will partner with the USGBC primarily in support of the Council’s efforts to advance the LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Program for Existing Buildings, which promotes sustainable operations practices in existing buildings.  

“We look forward to working with the U.S. Green Building Council to help further its goal of reducing the impact of commercial buildings on the environment,” said Don Totten, office building marketing manager for Kimberly-Clark Professional. “Our environmentally friendly, source-reduced products complement the goals of the LEED program because they are created to last longer, use more efficient dispensing methods and less packaging, so there is less waste from the start.”

Kimberly-Clark Professional will further support the efforts of the U.S. Green Building Council by sponsoring seminars throughout the country in support of the LEED-EB efforts and will participate in the USGBC’s annual Greenbuild International Conference & Expo November 9-11 in Atlanta.

IEHA To Recognize “Unsung Heroes”

In conjunction with International Housekeepers Week (Sept. 11-17, 2005), the International Executive Housekeepers Association (IEHA), Westerville, Ohio, has instituted a new award to be presented to front-line workers in the housekeeping and custodial industry who show exemplary initiative in going “above and beyond” their call of duty.

The association's new “Unsung Hero” award will assist in bringing more attention to cleaning departments in institutions across the globe.

An “Unsung Hero” might have pointed out suspicious individuals who seem out of place. He could have come to work and saved the company thousands of dollars in restoration costs when a flood hit. She may have smelled smoke and took action to stop a fire. Recipients of the award will go into a “Hall of Fame” of cleaners.

To nominate a cleaner for the award, identify the individual and submit a paragraph to IEHA explaining why the nominee is deserving of the award. The Unsung Facility Hero of the Year will be named during International Housekeepers Week. The recipient will have his or her story printed in Executive Housekeeping Today and will receive a complimentary one-year membership to IEHA and a $100 cash prize.

For more information, contact Beth Risinger at (800) 200-6342, ext. 104.

IICRC Announces New Courses

At its spring 2005 meeting, the Institute of Inspection, Cleaning and Restoration Certification (IICRC) elevated its Hard Surface Floor Cleaning and Maintenance Task Force to a division of the Certification Council.

The new division — the Cleaning/Maintenance division — will include all hard-surface floor disciplines with the addition of the Commercial Carpet Cleaning and Maintenance course (CCMT). Doug Bradford has been appointed as the Technical Advisory Committee chair (TAC) for the course and Joe Dobbins will chair the division, along with sub-chairs Dane Gregory, Stan Hulin, Bob Merkt and Doug Bradford.

Based upon recommendations made at the meeting, the IICRC is moving forward with development of additional courses. The next two courses to be offered are the Resilient Floor Maintenance Technician (RFMT) and the Wood Floor Maintenance Technician (WFMT).

The IICRC also has plans to complete course development of the remaining hard surface floor cleaning and maintenance categories. Ultimately, the IICRC’s new maintenance and cleaning division will consist of eight courses:

• CBFMT: Clay-Based Floor Maintenance Technician
• CCMT: Commercial Carpet Maintenance Technician
• CFMT: Concrete Floor Maintenance Technician
• HFMT: Hard Floor Maintenance Technician (formerly the FCT)
• RFMT: Resilient Floor Maintenance Technician
• SFMT: Stone Floor Maintenance Technician
• SPFMT: Specialty Floor Maintenance Technician
• WFMT: Wood Floor Maintenance Technician
For more information, contact Joe Dobbins.




POSTED ON: 7/1/2005