Backstage Pass To Green Cleaning In Schools

Attendees at the Green Clean Schools Forum took full advantage of breaks between education sessions to network and talk sustainability.

For the first time, those interested in learning how to create more environmentally friendly cleaning processes had an entire educational track at their disposal. Organized by Healthy Schools Campaign, the Green Clean Schools Forum was a two-day event that was attended by more than 200 school facility directors, green cleaning experts, leading manufacturers and representatives from non-profits and NGOs.

The event was the first in a five-year partnership with ISSA. The goal of the two organizations is to build a network of school facility directors who are promoting green cleaning in their schools and communities, as well as within education, government and the cleaning industry.

“We were thrilled to welcome school facility managers as the vital members of the cleaning industry that they are,” says Rochelle Davis, president and CEO of Healthy Schools Campaign. “We know that it takes leaders, on the ground, in schools and universities across the country to help steward these institutions down the right path.”

Whether attendees were green cleaning novices, or sustainability experts, they were guaranteed to learn something throughout the nearly 20-hour forum.

Educational offerings included presentations from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Green Seal, multiple managers who have successfully implemented green cleaning programs, as well as the father of green cleaning, Steve Ashkin. And each session ended with a robust question and answer session, providing attendees the opportunity to personalize their learning.

“Listening to how other facility teams are implementing their sustainable programs, stories of their failures and successes, and their encouragement gave me a benchmark and the boost I needed to keep our program going,” says Mieko Joy Yoshida, operations and facilities director at Near North Montessori School in Chicago.

But the Green Clean Schools Forum wasn’t all “tell,” there was also quite a bit of “show.” Before sessions concluded on the second day, attendees were granted the opportunity to talk product and equipment options with key manufacturers that supply sustainable, green and healthy options for facilities. They were also provided personal tours of the vast exhibit hall where attendees could interact directly with industry representatives, test products and ask questions that are specific to their cleaning programs.