A poll released by The Ashkin Group, the professional cleaning industry’s leading organization advocating the use of environmentally preferable cleaning products and sustainability, finds that most respondents believe the United States will place greater emphasis on Green issues after the upcoming election.

Invitations to take the online survey were included in the October issue of DestinationGreen, the monthly newsletter of The Ashkin Group distributed to more than 5,000 subscribers. The respondents included:
• Janitorial suppliers and manufacturers
• Building owners/facility managers
• Building service contractors
• Jansan distributors and manufacturer’s reps
• Others, such as consultants, writers, etc.

When asked which candidate for President would be most supportive of Green issues, 52 percent say Senator Obama; 15 percent give the nod to Senator McCain. The remainder indicated both would be “about the same” or they were “not sure.” *

As for the new Congress, 68 percent of the respondents say the next Congress will be “more supportive” of Green issues, while only 2 percent say they will be less so. The remainder indicated they were not sure what direction the Congress will take or thought it will be similar to that of the current Congress.

Some of the other key findings:
• Fifty-two percent believe their own state and local representatives will be more involved in promoting environmentally preferable issues than current legislators are.
• Asked whether the United States will play a leadership role in Green issues, 24 percent say yes. However, 52 percent believe the United States will “closely follow” Green technologies and developments in Europe and other parts of the world.
• Private industry, according to nearly half the respondents, will lead the way in promoting Green and sustainable issues in the United States. Only 20 percent believe U.S. government agencies will be our Green leaders; the remainder indicate the leadership role will be “equally divided” between private industry and government or are not sure.

Where Green Cleaning Fits In
“We also asked the respondents to rank which Green and sustainable issues will be most actively promoted after the election,” says Stephen Ashkin, President of The Ashkin Group and Founder and Executive Director of the Green Cleaning Network. “At the top of the list was Green cleaning. I think this is because [the professional cleaning] industry has played such an outstanding role in developing and promoting the use of environmentally preferable cleaning products.”

Ranked after Green cleaning were:
• Installing building retrofits that conserve energy and water
• Developing next-generation biofuels
• Developing and installing systems that reduce greenhouse gas emissions
• Developing alternative energy sources

Ashkin adds that his organization is nonpartisan and does not support or endorse any candidate. “Our goal is just to look for [Green] trends,” he says. “It is clear by this survey that environmental issues are becoming a growing concern in our country.”