Green Clean Certified

The ubiquitous janitor has been a part of the fabric of business operation that has had no training and little supervision, but serve an important role in our comfort and provided us a clean office. The janitor was a task-oriented job that only required that the job gets done in the alloted time to a reasonable standard.

My grandfather was a janitor in Charleston, West Virginia. While spending a summer vacation with my grandparents, I recall going to work with him as the sun was turning the sky red and night was coming. We walked from their apartment home to the building that he serviced each evening. It was my first introduction to the janitorial world at about ten years old. My grandfather was one of those "Salt of the Earth" kind of guys that seemed happy to be what he was. So, we cleaned desks, emptied trash, and swept floors. It was a god experience as I learned another aspect of my grandfather's character.

We have come a very, very long way from the from those days, and the janitor now servicing your office, school, or building is expected to do more than clean the facility. As more and more rules, mandates, and regulation come out for the Green Office, Green Building, and Green Schools, the challenge falls upon the heads of this somewhat ignored workforce. So, it is no longer business as usual for the janitorial service.

The janitorial services are now being asked to be the "People who Bring the Green" of our offices, but this requires more than a microfiber mop, a double mop bucket system, or a non-ammonia window cleaner. We are only fooling ourselves by dumping all these mandates on people who only understand that the cleaners don't work like the old products that have used for years. You can expect a backlash, non-compliance, and less-than-effective janitorial program to frustrate the Green program.

Green Clean certified is a training course offered by the Green Clean Institute that provides a solid training program for the janitorial workforce. This is not something that people want to do. It costs a few dollars per employee, and it takes a few hours to get the reading done and an exam completed.

A Green Office, Green School, and Green Building is missing a critical ingredient if they believe that a Green Agenda and Green products will create a Green Program. The most vital ingredient are the people who apply the products, use the HEPA vacuums and microfiber cloths, and understand how to sanitize against MRSA, Rhino virus, or the flu using Green products.

The Green Practices Initiative encourages all people in the decision-making capacities to insert a Green Practices Clause in all contracts, RFP, and quotation guidelines.