LEED Eligible Equipment And More

Two other newly accepted options include Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certification for fiber procurement as acceptable green criteria for paper products and California Integrated Waste Management requirements for can liners.

To help find acceptable products that meet the credit, distributors can use ISSA’s Transpare program, which is listed as an accepted resource in the LEED Reference Guide. 

Earning the point for The Green Cleaning – Equipment credit also means cleaning providers must purchase more green products; in this case, the amount of LEED eligible equipment has doubled from 20 percent to 40 percent.

Other than the increased amounts, much of the mandates for this credit remain the same for LEED eligible equipment: vacuums and carpet extractors should meet Carpet and Rug Institute’s Seal of Approval and floor scrubbers should have on-board chemical meters or use tap water to clean. In addition, all equipment should have ergonomic designs, bumpers to protect building surfaces and operate at 70 decibels or less.

One addition to this credit relates to battery equipment. Gel batteries were accepted in LEED 2009; that has now been expanded to also include absorbent glass mat (AGM) and lithium-ion batteries. However, cleaning providers should note that equipment that uses sealed batteries are not acceptable for cleaning heavy loads because battery life will be reduced.

For equipment that LEED doesn’t consider green, these machines should be phased out and replaced at the end of their life with products that meet the criteria. Before LEED v4, building owners didn’t know how long cleaning professionals would use equipment that wasn’t environmentally friendly, says Arny. Now, that uncertainty has been addressed.

In addition, the revised credit solely focuses on the purchasing of LEED eligible equipment. It no longer states that cleaning staffs are required to keep a maintenance log of repairs.