Updates from the Leading Association for the Cleaning Industry Worldwide

ISSA & Green Group Meet With EPA

ISSA and green cleaning consulting firm The Ashkin Group met recently with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Pesticide Program Dialogue Committee (PPDC) Work Group on Comparative Claims in Washington, D.C.

As part of the EPA, the PPDC provides a forum for various groups to discuss policy and regulatory changes to the agency’s pesticide-registration process.

ISSA Legislative Affairs Director Bill Balek and Ashkin Group President Stephen Ashkin met with the committee and recommended a pilot program that would allow manufacturers to make “green” claims on disinfectants and sanitizers used in institutional settings.

The EPA currently prohibits manufacturers or distributors from labeling or marketing disinfectants or sanitizers as green. This policy is based on the EPA’s determination that Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act, or FIFRA, registration is sufficient assurance of a product’s safety and effectiveness and that any additional claims may be misleading.

ISSA and The Ashkin Group, however, both maintain that the professional cleaning industry has broadly accepted the use of green cleaning products and that facility service providers want to be able to identify and use environmentally preferable disinfectants and sanitizers.

Observed ISSA’s Balek: “We remain confident that the EPA will carve a reasonable path forward, allowing the use of objective and verifiable claims of environmental preferability regarding disinfectants and sanitizers to the benefit of the institutional market.”

Destination Cancun

ISSA has selected fun-in-the-sun capital Cancun, Mexico, as the new location for ISSA/INTERCLEAN^® Latin America 2010, which the association will host with partner Amsterdam RAI. ISSA will also launch the first-ever Latin American Green & Healthy Cleaning symposium during the week of the tradeshow, which will be held June 9-11, 2010.

“This is the next step in bringing together leaders from the Latin American market in accordance with ISSA’s global strategy to discuss the most pressing health issues and science behind cleaning,” said ISSA Executive Director John Garfinkel. “And what better location to host our popular tradeshow and launch a new executive symposium than one of the most connected and growing locations in Latin America?”

With more than 26,000 hotel rooms and 7.5 million-plus tourists per year, Cancun has become an important destination in Mexico and one of the main hospitality locations in Latin America — a situation that not only provides the perfect location for ISSA/INTERCLEAN, but that also presents a large market of cleaning professionals from one of the region’s fastest growing hospitality markets.

ISSA at PRSM Event

Be sure to stop by the ISSA booth at PRSM2009 — the Professional Retail Store Maintenance Association’s national conference, a dynamic event that gives you the world of retail-facilities management at your fingertips. This year’s conference, held at the Phoenix Convention Center in Phoenix, AZ, April 19-21, will be tailored to bring you only the best in education. You’ll find presentations designed to give you insight and knowledge that will drive your expertise to the next level. Hope to see you there!

ISSA to Host I.C.E. Workshop at BSCAI Show

In support of ISSA’s alliance with the Building Service Contractors Association International (BSCAI), a Cleaning Industry Management Standard (CIMS) ISSA Certification Expert (I.C.E.) workshop will be held in conjunction with BSCAI’s Annual Convention & Trade Show, which takes place March 6-9, 2009, at the Hyatt Regency Chicago, Chicago, IL. (This workshop was originally scheduled for February 18, in Las Vegas, NV.)

“By working together, ISSA and BSCAI can provide tremendous value to cleaning and building service professionals worldwide,” said ISSA’s Director of CIMS Dan Wagner. “This package is just one example.”

The I.C.E. workshop will take place at the Hyatt on March 6, 8 a.m.-5 p.m. The course will provide all cleaning, facility-management, and building-service professionals with in-depth knowledge of CIMS, the standard that many top organizations have begun to utilize as a primary benchmarking resource and as an indispensable qualification. Individuals who attend the workshop and pass an examination covering the management elements contained in CIMS will achieve I.C.E. certification.

“I.C.E. certification has proven to be a valuable asset for a variety of individuals who have used this knowledge to either help their own organizations excel or have shared its benefits with customers to greatly improve their operations,” said Wagner. “Our workshop veterans consistently describe it as a key component in their ongoing success.”

Several I.C.E.-certified professionals have pointed to the operational and budgetary knowledge provided in the workshop as a significant factor in their ability to position themselves as indispensable resources in harsh economic times. And with the current trend of organizations reducing their custodial budgets by 5 percent to 10 percent, the workshop helps cleaning and facility-service professionals identify efficiencies to meet such reductions.

The March 6 workshop is unique in that ISSA’s alliance with BSCAI allows individuals to take this course on the primary characteristics of an effectively managed service organization, join the more than 335 industry professionals who have already achieved I.C.E. certification, and then network with decision-makers at the leading tradeshow for contract cleaning — all in one weekend. As part of the workshop package, participants will receive a free badge to the BSCAI exhibition. Workshop registration information.

In addition to the I.C.E. workshop, ISSA will host two other educational sessions during the BSCAI event, sponsor the keynote opening session, and exhibit at the tradeshow in Booth 1111.

Survey Says...

By Robert Kravitz

A survey concerning water-related issues in the United States conducted during the first week of January 2009 indicates that all the respondents expect federal, state, and local governments to mandate new water-conservation measures in the coming years.

In addition to new government mandates, 72 percent believe they will be paying 3 percent to 10 percent more for water and sewer charges in the next five years; 18 percent believe the charges will be even higher, more than 10 percent above current rates.

The survey, which was conducted by Waterless Co. LLC, Vista, CA, manufacturer of waterless urinal systems and other restroom products, also found the following:

• For more than 60 percent of respondents, the Internet is the main source of information on water-conservation issues.
• For those seeking LEED certification, 40 percent believe the easiest and most effective way to reduce water use is by installing water-conserving toilets.
• Asked what steps they are taking right now to conserve water, 35 percent indicate they are installing waterless urinals; 25 percent say they are putting in water-conserving faucets and toilets.
• More than 60 percent indicate they do not use recycled or “grey water” for landscaping or other nonpotable-water uses; however, those that do use recycled water use it mainly for watering plants and exterior landscaping.

Robert Kravitz is a writer for the professional cleaning, building, education, and health-care industries. Based in Chicago, IL, he can be reached at 773-525-3021.

 All information in "ISSA Reports" is furnished by ISSA. ©2009. All rights reserved.