June 2005

If you’re getting tired of hearing about the “green” movement, get used to it. It’s not going away anytime soon.

News sources of all kinds — large daily newspapers, online non-profit energy groups, government agencies — report daily about the evolution of “green” buildings. This week, The Wall Street Journal released a story about the increasing number of cities and states that now require or encourage government-financed construction to follow the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) program. Since LEED launched in 2000, more than 200 buildings have been certified and 1,800 more have signed up, the newspaper reported.

Housekeeping departments are responsible for no less than one-third of the credits building owners are required to earn before their facilities are LEED-certified. To better understand how you can do your part, two organizations just recently have announced their new green-cleaning certification programs: Green Seal, a non-profit organization, and Managemen consulting services, owned by Housekeeping Solutions columnist John Walker. The programs meet LEED requirements. Green Seal is still

developing its standard and Managemen certified its first operation last month: the Boeing Co.
If green cleaning isn’t already part of your organization’s “modus operandi,” there is a good chance it will be sometime in the future. A U.S. Green Building Council official says adoption by government builders will have a “ripple effect,” encouraging private builders to follow suit.