The Definition for Green Janitorial

The is no definition for Green Janitorial yet. Green products are not always as Green as advertised.  Isn't there an easy way to understand what makes a janitorial product or janitorial service Green?  Good news!  It is found in two questions that anyone can answer.

I had occasion today to encounter a question that was very simple yet profound.  It was "What is the standard for Green?"  The EPA has recorded the 12 Principles of Green Chemistry (http://www.epa.gov/greenchemistry/pubs/principles.html), but these are not universal.  Green Chemistry is hardly applicable to Green Janitorial applications.  If you take the time to ask around, you will find that defining "What is Green?" can be quite confusing.

If you ask a person interested in the biosphere type of Green, the phrase "Sustainable" is the major issue, meaning will this item deplete or can it be sustained naturally. Those interested in the oceans are concerned about "Marine Life" and how man has impacted the animal life in the oceans.  "Green House Gases" seem to preoccupy those concerned about the atmosphere.

From the manufacturing side of Green, we are concerned for "pollution" and waste from our industries.  From the energy side of Green, we are concerned about the "depletion" of our resources.  So, you can quickly see that "Going Green" is not the same for any strategic side of the Green Movement.

The Green Clean Institute is focused on the Green Office, Green Buildings, and Green Maintenance of the workplace.  This is something that needs definition, so here is how we DEFINE GREEN.  Green Maintenance is concerned for two aspects of our biosphere (in this case, buildings).  Green as we define it is:

1.  The Immediate Impact of our products and practices, and
2. The Residual Impact of our products and Practices.  If we are causing harm at either of these two levels, whatever we are doing is not a Green practice.

Could it really be that simple?  Green Seal has done a lot to confuse the world about what is Green, but it need not be that complicated.  A near-zero impact at the time of application, and a near-zero impact after application is the simplest criteria for what is Green.  This is where the training from Green Clean Institute is so effective.  This is not about product rankings but about the actual impact of a product.  That is something you can't fake. 

If the workers are negatively affected by the sprays, splashes, and pungent smell of a product ... it probably isn't Green.  There was a day when workers believed that if it stung the skin, it was good for cleaning.  That day has passed.

The residual impact is also important.  We now realize that spending the vast majority of our time indoors exposes us to repetitive and concentrations of the harmful substances in the house, school, office, or building.  We now hear about Sick Building Syndrome (SBS) where workers get sick for unexplained reasons.  We are also hearing about Building Related Illness (BRI) where select people get sick because they are more vulnerable to the chemicals in the office.  In either case, the attorneys will force this issue if those in the ranks do not.