ISSA is proud to be a sponsor of the 4th edition of The Quick and Easy Guide to Green Cleaning in Schools soon to be released by the Healthy Schools Campaign. The 4th edition of the Quick & Easy Guide was updated and expanded with the support of over 2 dozen partner organizations, including ISSA.

The Quick & Easy Guide offers an easy-to-use resource for schools that are moving forward with a healthy, effective, and affordable green cleaning program. The guide outlines five simple steps for developing a green cleaning program, including using green cleaning products and equipment, adopting new cleaning procedures, using green paper and plastic products, and involving all school stakeholders in maintaining a clean, healthy, school.

"Green Cleaning in schools provides students with a healthy indoor environment that enhances the learning experience," observed Bill Balek, Director of Environmental Services, ISSA. "And the Quick and Easy Guide provides schools with pragmatic instruction to make the transition to green cleaning as simple and cost effective as possible," Balek added.

About the Guide

The 4th edition of the guide has been redesigned to more effectively communicate what the guide is all about: health, students, and the environment. The redesign includes elements that improve the readability of the guide and convey the essence of a healthy school environment and the importance of green cleaning to children's health and learning. The contents have been updated to include current trends and information on the challenges facing green schools today, new technologies, case studies of innovative leaders, expanded product directory, and new participating organizations.

The Quick & Easy guide references the ISSA Cleaning Industry Management Standard-Green Building (CIMS-GB) as a preferred method for schools to identify service providers capable of providing high-performance cleaning in a manner that minimizes the impact to the environment.

In addition, the 4th edition of the guide recognizes Transpare as an emerging method of identifying and selecting cleaning products with preferred environmental attributes. Transpare, developed by Ecoform with the support of ISSA, is a web-based platform that provides information on the environmental, health, and safety characteristics of cleaning products. As such, Transpare can serve as a valuable resource for schools that want to ensure that they're purchasing products that are suitable for use in a school facility. It is expected to be fully operational and available to the school community in early 2013.

The Quick & Easy Guide is available online at www.greencleanschools.org.