Sustainable Cleaning Programs on Campus

Across the country, colleges and universities have instituted green cleaning programs for the health of their campus environments as well as the people who study, work and teach in their facilities. Here is a small sampling of initiatives in place.

Cornell University
Ithaca, NY
Cornell University’s Department of Building Care works to ensure that the facilities on campus are maintained using the safest and most sustainable “Green Seal Certified” cleaning products. The university also makes sure to train all employees on the ideal usage of green cleaning products to ensure their ideal use.

Harper College
Palatine, IL
As part of its commitment to the Climate Leadership Commitments (formerly the American College and University Presidents’ Climate Commitment), Harper College has undertaken steps to clean sustainably using aqueous ozone technology.

The University of Tennessee Knoxville
Knoxville, TN
The University of Tennessee (UT) is dedicated to a clean, safe and accessible study and work environment. In order to achieve these things, UT has a Green Cleaning Program. The program began in 2006 when the university became the first in the nation to be Green Seal Cleaning Certified.

Oberlin College
Oberlin, OH
Oberlin College is a leader in the higher education green cleaning movement, dedicated to reducing the environmental impact made. The Facilities Management Department works closely with vendors to ensure that the products used on Oberlin’s campus are on the cutting edge of sustainability.

Massachusetts Maritime Academy
Buzzards Bay, MA
The Massachusetts Maritime Academy (MMA) indicates that in order to build and maintain a sustainable building, it has adopted the MMA Green Cleaning Practices. This program is being piloted campus-wide. The green cleaning practices include the use of green cleaning chemicals, employing cleaning processes that benefit public health and the environment and purchasing environmentally preferable janitorial products.

This article originally appeared in the issue of .

Featured

  • Rethinking K-12 Schools as a Continuous Learning Experience

    Most students move through three or more separate facilities during their K-12 journey, yet the built environments they encounter at each stage have traditionally been designed in isolation, with little continuity in spatial language, learning philosophy, or physical resources. Each new school is a reset with different layouts, learning models, expectations, and ways of moving through a building. The next generation of school design is making the case that the first day of kindergarten and the last day of high school can and should feel connected through common support systems and infrastructure in the physical environment.

  • Montclair State University Debuts New VR Facility

    Montclair State University in Montclair, N.J., recently announced the completion of a new virtual reality learning facility developed in partnership with Dreamscape Learn, according to a news release. The 2,450-square-foot lab space is inside the College of Communication and Media building and will serve students pursuing careers in digital media, virtual reality, and content creation.

  • California District Opens New Continuation High School

    The Fort Bragg Unified School District (FBUSD) in Fort Bragg, Calif., recently held a ribbon-cutting ceremony for Noyo High School, a continuation high school that provides alternative education options for students in grades 6–12, according to a news release. The district partnered with Quattrochi Kwok Architects for design and FRC Inc. for construction, and the project’s funding came from Local Bond Measure B.

  • DLR Group Hires Three for Higher Education Practice

    Integrated design firm DLR Group recently announced that it has brought three new hires on board to help shape its higher education practice in California and the northeast, according to a press release.