Green Cleaning: Customers Are Doing It, Shouldn't You?

It's not a fad! All industries are integrating greener — environmentally responsible, sustainable — practices into their business strategies these days, and the cleaning industry is not an exception.

At SustainableBusiness.com, we cover the trend toward greener practices across all industries, from design and construction to capital investments. Hospitals, schools, corporate headquarters and universities are increasingly building and renovating according the U.S. Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) standards.

A PricewaterhouseCoopers survey of senior executives and managers found that 75 percent of large corporations have adopted some sustainable business practices to enhance their reputation (90 percent), for competitive advantage (75 percent) and cost savings (73 percent). The top corporate initiative along these lines is pollution prevention (91 percent), which is an area where cleaning contractors can have a positive impact.

As companies “green up” their practices, they look to work with contractors who are doing the same and who offer products and services that help them move further toward sustainability. This is a huge opportunity for cleaning contractors who stand out as leaders in the field and who differentiate themselves from competitors.

Many cleaning manufacturers are switching to greener chemicals, and also to cleaner technologies to produce them. Being knowledgeable about these changes and using products help your customers reduce pollution and toxicity in their workplace can set you apart. (See story on p. 23 for more information on green products.)

But it’s not just products — there are other ways you can help your customers green up their operations.

As a cleaning contractor, you can help your customers save energy, for example, by being their eyes and ears. Since cleaning usually takes place at night, you can take the initiative of doing simple things like turning lights off and reporting water leaks in bathrooms. Simple actions like these can add up to big energy savings. And what building owner wouldn't rather work with a contractor that cares enough to notice the small things?

Cleaning contractors can also take the initiative to help building owners save money by suggesting they switch to cleaning during work hours instead of at night (in appropriate situations). Making this small change saves the California Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) building $100,000 in electricity!

When you market your company to potential customers as a leader in the field you are much more likely to win contracts with other leaders, and those are the customers you want.