Green Cleaning, Sustainability Related, But Not the Same

  • By Stephen P. Ashkin
  • 06/01/10

 When it comes to green cleaning, many administrators and custodial crews are now sitting back, comfortable that they understand it and have properly implemented it in their facilities, making their schools much healthier with a reduced impact on the environment. Well, get ready for a little jolt. Green cleaning is evolving. Now, healthy well-operated facilities need to be not only green but sustainable as well.

 

Some administrators may believe that the two terms address the same issue. However, although they are related, they are not the same. The concept of green cleaning focuses on reducing the negative impacts on health and the environment associated with conventional cleaning products.

 

Sustainability goes far beyond this. It includes green, but also encompasses more aspects of how a facility is operated and its impact on the community and the environment. This is often referred to as the triple bottom line: planet, people and profit. As to a school facility, which is often government owned or operated, profit would refer to cost savings because becoming more sustainable is typically a way facilities reduce their costs.

 

Defining Sustainability

When the term green cleaning was first introduced, there was considerable misunderstanding as to what it actually meant. A similar problem is occurring with sustainability right now, even though it is actually a very old term.

 

Some say the word dates back to the 18th century, when foresters in Europe were becoming increasingly concerned at how fast the continent was being deforested. At that time, wood was used for just about everything from making homes and buildings to powering factories and heating homes.

 

To address the problem, some foresters developed what was then termed “scientific” or “sustainable forestry.” They realized that if enough trees were planted to replace the wood provided by the trees harvested every year, the entire forest could be better monitored and managed.

 

This is all well and good when it comes to trees, but what about oil, ore or other natural resources. In 1987, the Brundtland Commission, formally the World Commission on Environment and Development, officially defined the word sustainable to mean the using of natural resources in such a way “that it meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.” This is the definition in use today.

 

Making a School Sustainable

With your school already much greener as a result of green cleaning, how can you take it to the next level and make it sustainable? This requires school and college administrators to consider virtually every aspect of their daily operations. Some examples include the following.

 

Planet

  • Finding ways to reduce energy and water consumption, from adjusting heating and cooling to replacing urinals and toilets with high-performance systems that use less than half the water of older fixtures.
  • Reducing waste, increasing recycling and implementing purchasing policies that require the selection of products that are packaged in recycled and recyclable materials.
  • When building or retrofitting facilities, requiring the use of construction materials that are green certified and are derived from renewable, reusable or recycled resources.
  • Buying locally whenever possible to reduce transportation costs, which reduces fuel consumption and the emission of greenhouse gases.

 

People

  • Emphasizing greater social responsibility as to the impact your facility has on local neighborhoods and the larger community.
  • Ensuring workers are provided adequate wages, benefits and training opportunities for advancement.
  • Having nondiscriminatory practices.
  • Encouraging volunteerism and philanthropic efforts of the organization and its staff, as well as increased community involvement.

 

Profits

A business is in operation to make a profit. But as touched on earlier, this is not necessarily a goal for an educational facility. Instead, something quite interesting has been noted: sustainable facilities can save money. And the reason is simple. A sustainable building tends to operate more efficiently, and this greater efficiency leads to cost savings. In addition, sustainable buildings tend to have lower utility bills along with decreased maintenance costs when compared to conventional facilities.

 

The triple bottom line has transformed the way institutions and corporations conduct business. With these factors in mind, becoming sustainable is very much a winning proposition: the planet wins, people win and, with the cost savings, school administrators win as well.

 

 

Stephen P. Ashkin is president of The Ashkin Group, a consulting firm specializing in greening the cleaning industry, as well as Sustainablity Tool LLC, an electronic dashboard that allows jansan companies to measure, track and report on their facility’s environmental impacts. He is also coauthor of both The Business of Green Cleaning and Green Cleaning for Dummies. For more information, visit www.AshkinGroup.com.

Featured

  • How One School Reimagined Learning Spaces—and What Others Can Learn

    When Collegedale Academy, a PreK–8 school outside Chattanooga, Tenn., needed a new elementary building, we faced the choice that many school leaders eventually confront: repair an aging facility or reimagine what learning spaces could be. Our historic elementary school held decades of memories for families, including some who had once walked its halls as children themselves. But years of wear and the need for costly repairs made it clear that investing in the old building would only patch the problems rather than solve them.

  • KI Launches K–12 Classroom Furniture Giveaway

    Contract furniture company KI recently announced the launch of its fourth-annual Classroom Furniture Giveaway, which awards $50,000 each to four K–12 educators across the U.S., according to a news release. The goal is to address decreasing student engagement and increasing teacher burnout numbers by updating learning spaces to accommodate modern needs.

  • Tennessee State University Gains Approval for New Engineering Facility

    Tennessee State University in Nashville, Tenn., recently announced that it has received approval from the Tennessee State Building Commission to build a new engineering building on campus, according to a university news release. The 70,000-square-foot, $50-million facility will play home to the university’s engineering programs and the Applied & Industrial Technology program.

  • Colorado State University Global, SCTE Launch Online Certificate Program

    Colorado State University Global (CSU Global), based in Denver, Colo., recently announced a partnership with CableLabs subsidiary the Society of Cable Telecommunications Engineers (SCTE) to launch an online certificate training program for broadband professionals, according to a news release.