Updates from the Leading Association for the Cleaning Industry Worldwide

ISSA & CIRI Partner Surveying The Green Landscape

ISSA and the Cleaning Industry Research Institute (CIRI) have agreed to enter a long-term partnership for the cooperative development of science-based cleaning standards that would develop industry data, training, measurement, and certification programs. The first initiative this joint partnership will undertake is to fund a series of independent research initiatives leading to the development of a Clean Standard for K-12 schools.

Said ISSA Executive Director John Garfinkel: “The ISSA project is to make the connection between science and cleaning for health. We are very pleased to fund such a worthwhile independent effort to identify and develop standards for cleanliness, utilizing a group of highly credentialed scientists and researchers. The CIRI Clean Standard Science Committee managing this much-needed research will be free from any outside influences or biases, including any from ISSA, CIRI, or the staff, board, or members of either organization.

“Many other facility-services industries have long been based in engineering and science while our industry has largely had to prove its public-health value based on assumptions and perceptions. Today, we want to remove any doubt about the benefits cleaning brings to facilities and their occupants, and we hope this initiative will bring the independent scientific verification many facility managers have been requesting.”

Following a significant period of laboratory and field testing, ISSA will lead the process of creating standards and certification based on the scientific findings, involving key stakeholders in the cleaning, facilities management, and education industries.

“Each organization will do what it does best during this project,” said CIRI Chairman Jim Harris. “CIRI will conduct research on measurement methods and current conditions in K-12 schools. ISSA will use the results as a basis for developing standards regarding what defines ‘clean’ in these very important and sensitive environments.”

The goal of the project is that individuals and organizations can then be certified with respect to their knowledge and use of methods that lead to measurable improvements in school cleanliness and hygiene, a topic of great concern to a large percentage of the public, especially those with children in K-12 environments or those who work within them.

The Cleaning/LEED-EB Connection

By Bill Balek

ISSA establishes the nexus between cleaning and maintenance activities and LEED-EB certification in its latest publication, Green Cleaning and LEED for Existing Buildings: Operations and Maintenance —What’s the Connection?, available exclusively to ISSA members at www.issa.com/leedeb.

The U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED for Existing Buildings: Operations and Maintenance (LEED-EBOM), issued in April 2008, establishes a framework that maximizes operational efficiency while minimizing environmental impacts of buildings. In effect, LEED-EBOM provides a roadmap for property owners and service providers who wish to drive down operating costs while increasing occupants’ productivity in an environmentally responsible manner.

Of particular note, green cleaning and maintenance activities can contribute a significant portion of the total points needed to obtain LEED-EBOM certification at a relatively low cost. Specifically, cleaning and maintenance activities (including green cleaning, hardscape and landscape maintenance, integrated pest management, and waste management) can contribute up to 14 points toward the minimum 34 points needed for certification. Moreover, most of the cleaning-related items in LEED-EBOM are relatively inexpensive and easy to implement.

ISSA’s new publication identifies those LEED-EBOM requirements that are related to cleaning and maintenance and describes the actions necessary to achieve credit for those items.

As more and more buildings seek certification pursuant to LEED-EBOM or otherwise adopt the tenets of this program, more and more opportunities are created for the cleaning industry to play a supportive role. And ISSA’s publication can help you take advantage of this opportunity.

The latest iteration of LEED-EBOM is the perfect opportunity to emphasize the critical role cleaning and maintenance activities play in reducing the environmental footprint of buildings and facilities as well as insuring a safe and healthy indoor environment. And now, LEED-EBOM rewards more thorough cleaning activities by providing a greater number of points toward certification for facilities that invest more in high-performance cleaning operations that protect the health of occupants.

Bill Balek is ISSA’s legislative affairs director. He can be reached at 847-982-0800.

 All information in "ISSA Reports" is furnished by ISSA. ©2008. All rights reserved.