New laws and regulations are forcing school districts, colleges, and universities across North America to incorporate green cleaning and environmentally preferable cleaning products into their maintenance programs. However, many of these facilities have actually been one step ahead of local governments, having already initiated green cleaning programs on their own. One example is the University of Manitoba, western Canada’s first university and one of the largest in the country.

“I had personal reasons for going green,” says Jasmin Ismailovic, the University of Manitoba’s director of caretaking services. “I have long been concerned about the health of our 6,000 employees, the 28,000 students attending the university, and the environment.”

Under Ismailovic’s direction, the university has been moving toward using only green cleaning products for several years; however, the transition has not always gone smoothly. According to Ismailovic, the key issue with which he had to grapple was selecting the green cleaning chemicals that would provide the most effective results — in other words, green cleaning products that deliver the most “bang for the buck.”

Critical of manufacturer’s claims, Ismailovic said the only way he could tackle the problem was by trial-and-error, testing the green cleaning chemicals offered by various manufacturers around the school’s 6 million square foot campus. A representative of Charlotte Products suggested that Ismailovic and his crew conduct a “cleaning challenge,” testing the performance and effectiveness of different brands against each other, as well as against the conventional products that had been used on campus for years.

Heeding this advice, Ismailovic and the cleaning crew selected products from four leading manufacturers (including Charlotte Products), and the challenge began. The products were tested and compared for over a year, often side-by-side, in restrooms and food-service areas, on floors and carpets, and on many other surfaces throughout the school’s many buildings.

Ismailovic says that although the program was tedious and lengthy, it was valuable because the tests were actually quite revealing.

“Some of the products simply did not perform well, others did not measure up to our expectations or were not as effective as we needed, and some of the chemicals produced unwanted odors that irritated my crew.”

Ismailovic also reported that some manufacturers had a few good products but did not offer a full, effective green product line.

“This is important because having a full product line allows us to work with just one vendor. This saves both me and our administrative offices, which must process the orders and handle the paperwork, a lot of time.”

Finally, after a year of testing, one manufacturer’s products stood out above all the rest: Charlotte Products.

“We honestly found that many chemical manufacturers are really struggling when it comes to green cleaning products,” says Ismailovic. “But it looks like Charlotte Products has it down pat.”