Real Estate Innovation

The Green Building Solution

Depending on who you listen to, it can be very difficult to make your building Green. Businesses have been asked by many authorities to “Go Green,” but they have not been told what Green means except to being a lengthy process of conversion and retrofitting that is lengthy and costly. In truth, it is obvious that the concept of a Green building has been reinterpreted by a variety of services causing an endless demand for change.

The basis for a Green office or building comes down to improvement of the health issues of the building for the people that work there. While it is helpful to change the light bulbs, reduce energy, conserve water, and recycle the trash; the best place to start a Green office is in the janitorial service.

There are three pieces of the Green janitorial puzzle. The first of which is what we call the Green Agenda where the decision-makers implement polices. The second is to make sure the Green products are used, and the third is to require a Green certified janitorial service for your building.

The importance of a Green building is the improvement of the health factor for those who do the cleaning and those who put their eight hours in every day. Studies should that there are acute and chronic influences based on the cleaning of the building. This reflects in the cost of manpower and the loss of profitability through absenteeism, lost productivity, and increased medical costs.

The Green practices of the janitorial service are just as important as the Green products. For example, the use of microfiber cloths reduce chemical use, and also decrease the bacteria and dust moved around the building. New sanitizing methods must break the old “Spray and Wipe” routine to allow for a “Dwell Time” of the product. Disease spread is greatly reduced through change of cleaning tools and methods. It is not enough to toss a Green product into the mix and declare the whole project Green.

A “Green Practices Clause” should be included in all bid projects that gives preferential treatment to janitorial services that offer a line of Green products and include a Green trained and certified workforce. It makes a great deal of sense that the worker should be equally valued as the tools of the operation. A brand new set of tools will not make an woodworker into an expert mechanic. Why shouldn’t we require more of the people charged with protecting the health of your employees?

Find a Green Clean Institute Certified janitorial firm in your area or require that those hoping to service your building are Green Clean Institute Certified. Your employees will be healthier, your costs will go down, and you may even qualify for the Green Clean Institute Certified Green Building.