Environmentally friendly, or green, cleaning products have experienced an array of peaks and valleys in popularity over the past decade. However, green cleaning as a philosophy has been steadily gaining momentum in the sanitary supply industry.

Ten years ago, the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), an organization devoted to helping buildings become more environmentally friendly and energy efficient, had less than 50 members. Today, it is more than 3,000 members strong and is influencing purchasing decisions for some of the most prominent facilities in the country.

One of the Council’s most recent means of influence is the LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification program.

Building owners receive LEED certification when they accumulate points in four categories: site, water management and efficiency; energy and atmosphere; materials and resources; and indoor environmental quality. There are four certification levels within LEED: certified, silver, gold and platinum. A minimum of 26 points is required for certification, and a minimum of 52 points qualifies the building for the platinum rating.

The increased focus on green cleaning by building owners is directly affecting the sanitary supply industry, including distributors, says Steve Ashkin, president of the Ashkin Group, Bloomington, Ind., and a LEED committee member.

“Distributors have to realize that this is for real,” he says. “The trend of green cleaning products is really happening, and if they’re not becoming proactive about finding green solutions, then they’re putting their businesses at risk.”

Eagle Maintenance Supply, Pennsauken, N.J., has acquired a lot of new business from LEED-certified buildings and other environmentally conscious customers. One of those customers is the Department of the Interior in Washington.

“By cleaning with environmentally friendly products, we are positively influencing 20 million square feet in Washington and 90,000 federal employees,” says Brad Bobbitt, vice president of sales for Eagle Maintenance.

Building owners are more interested in green cleaning than ever before, he adds, which is why the LEED certification program is experiencing such success. There are 53 LEED-certified buildings and approximately 800 buildings registered for certification in the United States. That number is growing, according to Ashkin, and building owners are becoming more savvy in their attempts to promote their buildings as environmentally friendly.

“When distributors are faced with the need for green cleaning, far too many of them say, ‘Our customers aren’t asking for it, so we haven’t done anything about it,’” says Ashkin. “So they’re not out there selling products, or trying to find the newest and best solutions. They’re just saying that they’ll respond when and if the customer takes action.”

The distributors who are seeking out green solutions for their customers may be paving the way for big business down the road. “Because we provided effective green cleaning solutions for numerous government buildings, Penn State contacted us when they were looking to start an environmentally responsible cleaning program,” says Bobbitt.

Facility owners and managers are taking green cleaning very seriously. In fact many are willing to pay more, if necessary, for product lines that meet LEED-certification standards.

“It’s a big commitment for them to become certified,” says Ashkin. “The general incentive is that the buildings function more efficiently. Then there are the marketing aspects that allow the building to attract more businesses and more tenants.”

“It’s true that many distributors aren’t on board yet when it comes to green cleaning,” says Bobbitt, “but all I can say about that is hallelujia because when they don’t take the time to find those solutions, more customers will come buy products from us.”

NEWS MAKERS

The National Association of Wholesaler-Distributors (NAW), recently released its fourth volume in the “Profiles in Wholesale Distribution Leadership” series. The fourth volume, “The Power of Knowing Your Customer,” is an interview with Randall W. Larrimore, recently retired president and CEO of United Stationers, a leading distributor of office products.

Kimberly-Clark Corp., recently reported that first quarter sales were $3.5 billion in 2003, an increase of nearly 4 percent from the prior year. Diluted net income for the first quarter was 78 cents per share in 2003 compared with 84 cents per share in 2002, a decline of approximately 7 percent.

Rochester Midland Corp., Rochester, N.Y., was recently recognized as a co-winner of the 2003 White House Closing the Circle (CTC) Award for the category of “Environmentally Preferability — Civilian.” Rochester Midland is one of ten organizations that comprise the Green Cleaning Partnership as directed by the Committee for Purchase from People Who are Blind or Severely Disabled.

The Cleaning Show, United Kingdom, recently announced that 9,000 people attended the March trade show in Birmingham, U.K., a 23 percent increase from the previous year.

MERGERS & ACQUISITIONS

The von Drehle Corp., Hickory, N.C., a manufacturer of bulk paper products, recently completed the purchase of a Miami-based paper manufacturing plant that was formerly operated by American Paper Recycling. The company announced that it will use the plant to produce centerpull toweling.

Two manufacturer representative agencies, Allan Tanner Associates and Southern Connection, have merged to form a new company, Southern Sales and Marketing. The company will be headed by Allan Tanner, Trey Vick and Bo Johnson and will focus on business in Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Louisiana. Vick and Johnson are both formerly of Southern Connection.

Prophet 21, Yardley, Pa., recently announced the acquisition of Faspac Systems. This acquisition reinforces Prophet 21’s expertise in the fastener market and gives the company a better position as a technology provider in the fastener market.

REGULATORY NEWS

The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) recently published two proposed rules to limit workplace respiratory hazards. OSHA seeks to amend the Respiratory Protection Standard to include a new fit-testing procedure. In addition, the Administration seeks to make an amendment that incorporates new Assigned Protection Factors (APFs) for respiratory protection programs. APFs are numbers that reflect the workplace level of respiratory protection that respirators are expected to provide to employees.

OSHA stated that it expects revisions to prevent approximately 4,000 injuries and illnesses and prevent 900 deaths annually from cancer and other chronic diseases.
The Administration is seeking comments until September 4 in response to the proposals.

The Texas House and Senate recently approved a bill that would strengthen requirements for training and certification of mold remediation. House Bill 329 addresses insurance coverage on mold claims; regulation of mold assessors and remediators; and civil liability of mold remediation.

For the third straight year, the chemical distribution industry has recorded the lowest toxic chemical releases of any reporting industry, according to government data, the National Association of Chemical Distributors recently announced.
Data released by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency as part of the annual Toxics Release Inventory — a federally mandated program — revealed that the chemical distribution industry had releases of no more than 25 hundredths of one percent, which is a substantial reduction from 1999 levels and is the steepest decline of any other industry.

Bobrick Prevails in Federal Lawsuit

Bobrick Washroom Equipment, North Hollywood, Calif., recently announced that it has been dismissed from the “vast bulk” of accusations in the federal lawsuit, Santana Products vs. Bobrick Washroom Equipment, which was filed on October 1, 1996, by Santana Products. Santana, a manufacturer of high-density polyethylene (HDPE) toilet partitions for schools and other non-residential buildings, had alleged that Bobrick conspired with other toilet partition manufacturers to enforce a product standard that excluded Santana from the marketplace. The case is now on appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.

At issue is the fact that the National Fire Protection Association’s (NFPA) Life Safety Code 101 standard requires that toilet partitions be regarded as interior wall finishes rather than being furnishings or fixtures. The court agreed with Bobrick that where toilet partitions are governed by NFPA and interpreted to be an interior wall finish, a fire-rated material is required. When they are interpreted to be a furnishing or fixture, the toilet partitions are not required to be fire-rated.

Santana’s lawsuit alleged that Bobrick and its representatives violated antitrust and false advertising statutes. First, Santana said that Bobrick acted in concert with the now-defunct Toilet Partition Manufacturers Council to conspire to restrain trade and monopolize the toilet partition market by making false and fraudulent claims regarding the flammability and smoke generation qualities of HDPE toilet partitions. In addition, Santana accused Bobrick of engaging in false advertising, and making false allegations to intentionally interfere with Santana’s existing business.

House Votes to Permanently Repeal Inheritance Tax

The House of Representatives recently passed its third major tax bill of the year, a permanent repeal of the inheritance tax (also known as the “death tax”), as Republicans continued to make good on their promise to make use of the full $1.2 trillion of tax relief allowed in their budget.

The estate tax repeal builds on the 2001 tax cut, which phases out the inheritance tax until it disappears altogether in 2010. Under the 2001 law, the tax would be reinstated in full in 2011. The bill, totaling $162 billion in reduced revenue over the next decade, would repeal the tax permanently. Contention over the bill has fallen strictly along party lines; it passed 264-163, with 41 Democrats joining 223 Republicans in supporting it and four Republicans joining 158 Democrats and one independent in opposing it.

“This isn’t just for rich people. It’s for everybody who shares in the American dream,” said House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.). The legislation faces a hurdle in the Senate, which failed in the 107th Congress to pass any of the three versions passed by the House.

Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle (D-S.D.), said that he doesn’t believe Republicans have the votes this year, either. “I don’t think they have the votes to repeal, but we’re only talking about 1.5 percent of the people who pay estate taxes today who would be affected by repeal,” he said. “Those people whose incomes lie above $8 to $10 million are not ones we ought to be concerned about when we have a $500 billion deficit this year.”

Because many sanitary supply distributors are family-owned and thus are directly affected by the tax, the International Sanitary Supply Association (ISSA) and other organizations have continually lobbied Congress for an appeal.

Massachusetts Invests in Green

A new statewide contract is ensuring that all government buildings in Massachusetts are being cleaned with safe cleaning products. The state contract, issued by the Operational Services Division, the Commonwealth’s Central Procurement Office, demonstrates an increased commitment to environmentally friendly products.

“All of the general purpose, bathroom, glass and carpet cleaners approved for use under the contract were extensively tested by an independent laboratory at the Toxics Use Reduction Institute (TURI) at the University of Massachusetts Lowell using three different surfaces and soils,” says Marcia Deegler, Massachusetts’ Environmental Purchasing Program manager. “The results clearly show that all the green cleaners perform as well, if not better then, the traditional products they can replace.”

The environmental and human health criteria included in the Massachusetts contract were put together by a group of government purchasers, organized by the Center of a New American Dream and funded in part by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

Controlling more then $15 million in annual cleaning product purchases, the team also included some of the government purchasing pioneers who first attempted to define and purchase green cleaning products: the state of Massachusetts, Santa Monica, Calif.; King County, Wash.; Seattle; Minnesota; and the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, among several others.

“While governments spend millions of dollars on environmental products every year, this is the first time that Massachusetts has worked so closely with so many other government purchasers to change the markets on a broad scale,” says Eric Friedman, director of state sustainability for Massachusetts.

The Center for a New American Dream compared numerous competing definitions and specifications for safe cleaning products. After extensive analysis, the group discovered that current environmental standards were describing similar products using very different approaches. For example, some standards relied on extensive lists of prohibited chemicals while others used toxicity tests as their guide.

Because there was not a consistent cleaning standard, the group of state and city governments began searching for a single set of criteria to use in determining whether a chemical should be considered green.

Association Health Plans May Help Distributors

The Small Business Health Fairness Act of 2003, sponsored by Senators Olympia Snowe (R-Maine), Kit Bond (R-Mo.), Jim Talent (R-Mo.) and others, would authorize the formation and multi-state operation of federally-certified association health plans (AHPs). AHPs would be regulated under a single set of federally-prescribed rules, and permitted exemptions from costly state regulations that large corporate and union health plans already enjoy under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA).

Similar legislation, H.R. 660, was introduced last month in the House of Representatives by Ernie Fletcher (R-Ky.), Cal Dooley (D-Calif.), Sam Johnson (R-Texas) and Nydia Velazquez (D-N.Y.).

Distributors around the nation responded favorably to the bill; several distributor organizations, including the National Association of Wholesaler-Distributors (NAW), made endorsing statements of the bill.

“The improvements proposed in the AHP bill will make health insurance more affordable for small employers in two basic ways,” says George Valiga, vice president and general manager of the NAW Service Corporation (NAWSC). “First, the ability to band together on a national basis will enhance the bargaining power of smaller businesses, which today have virtually none. Second, and just as important: the AHP bill will inject some much-needed competition into a health insurance marketplace that is today minimally competitive and in some places, thoroughly uncompetitive.”

As health insurance costs continue to soar, business advocates will seek out alternative means of coverage. “At the end of the day, the ability to acquire quality health insurance products for workers and their dependents will be brought within the reach of a wider range of smaller employers,” says Valiga.




POSTED ON: 7/1/2003