Green Cleaning and Environmentally Friendly Janitorial Services
ServiceMaster Building Services is committed to incorporating sustainable business practices into how we operate. Our management group has attended a number of workshops and conferences to understand the concept and practices necessary to implement more sustainable and ecologically friendly practices into the workplace. We are committed to green cleaning in as many of our contracted facilities as possible.
As technology advances, we have come to understand that the chemicals of the past are no longer viable for the cleaning we do today and in the future. We have replaced roughly 95% of our chemicals with environmentally friendly solutions that are better for the environment and for the people who use them. By extension, they are also better for our clients and their workforce. We believe that no one operates in isolation – we all share this fragile planet and everything we do impacts the resources and people around us. We are fully committed to the health, safety, and welfare of our customers, employees and the people of the communities we serve. We take our commitment to environmental stewardship seriously, and have developed specific principles to guide us in this responsibility.
We have experience in meeting the requirements for LEED certification as we have worked closely with multiple customers in their quest to attain this coveted designation. We had the privilege of working with the Moda Center as they modified their processes, equipment and cleaning solutions in order to attain LEED Gold status for an Entertainment Venue. This was quite a major project as the Moda Center was targeting waste stream reduction in the 90% range. We implemented changes to the way trash & recycling are sorted as well as how food compost is handled. Furthermore, we provided recommendations on the appropriate cleaning solutions to use in order to maintain the cleanliness of the facility. We can provide documentation to support this claim upon request.
In 2008, we partnered with Columbia Square in their green initiative to help them reach a specific goal. We replaced 90% of our traditional cleaning products with ServiceMaster brand green solutions and improved the equipment in use at the building to meet Green Seal standards. We welcome further opportunities for advice, consult and implement green cleaning practices to whatever level is desired.
Green Seal Certified
We were one of the first cleaning service providers in Oregon to be certified by the Green Seal organization. ServiceMaster Building Service has been GS-42 Certified, meeting Green Seal’s Environmental Standard for Cleaning Services for reduced toxicity, waste, and exposure. We were one of the first cleaning service providers in Oregon to be certified by the Green Seal organization. Currently, we are one of only five GS-42 certified cleaning service providers in the states of Oregon and Washington. All of them are ServiceMaster franchises.
What Does This Mean, You Ask?
This means that we are using Microfiber cloths that capture dust rather just moving it around.
- Using High-filtration, quiet vacuums that capture 99.9% of particles and are Green Label certified by the Carpet and Rug Institute.
- Using specially created vacuum attachments that help capture additional residue before becoming airborne.
- Using Green Cleaning Solutions that have been certified “green” by four independent agencies.
Green Cleaning for you and your work environment brings better air quality, a healthier workplace and a highly effective cleaning.
We provide green cleaning to over 98% of our customer base. Green cleaning is not just about adding products that have been certified or recognized as environmentally friendly. It is not just adopting new greener tools such as microfiber technology that makes cleaning more effective. Green cleaning is not even adequately described by the universally accepted definition, “products or services that reduce the impact on health and the environment compared to similar products or services used for the same purpose.” The benefits of green cleaning are maximized when environmentally preferable products, effective tools, efficient equipment and proper training are all married into a system that provides consistent and predictable results—time after time while reducing health and environmental impacts. All of the necessary elements have been identified and developed into the Capture and Removal Cleaning System (C&R) designed to deliver consistent effective cleaning efficiently.
