Executive Housekeeping Today - March 2008 - (Page 19)

the green We have come so far, in so little time, and we should all plan to use Earth Day as a valuable vehicle to spread our word. As we know, the Green Movement is happening, perhaps at a more rapid pace than even the most optimistic of us anticipated. I strongly encourage you all to take advantage of this opportunity of a very popular year in Earth Day celebrations—harness the Green momentum and get involved in Earth Day 2008. Is your building celebrating Earth Day in April? Obviously, we expect to see an unprecedented number of businesses and organizations create highly-visible festivities this year. I hope you all are prepared—or take the next few weeks to get prepared—and be ready to inform and educate about what you are doing and why. But, my real question to you this month is this: Will you, as an executive housekeeper, custodial manager, janitorial staff member, or building contractor take part in these celebrations and awareness campaigns, or are you delegated to set-up, tear-down, and clean-up after the event? I want to express a strong plea to all of you to actively participate in Earth Day 2008. If your marketing staff is taking care of your department’s promotional activities for the event, great. However, you should still ensure that the messages you want to reach occupants and visitors about your Green cleaning programs are included and accurate. Use this powerful public relations tool to educate your audience on the important role Green cleaning has within a Green building and the Green Movement. If you do not have the luxury of a marketing or public relations staff w Earth Day 2008: I Need YOU to Celebrate! by Stephen Ashkin to help you organize your celebration, do not worry, you still have plenty of time to draft and launch a small public relations campaign to promote and celebrate your programs. scene Developing an Earth Day Campaign from your Desk The first step in creating a small, effective, and affordable campaign inside your office or department is to resist the urge to think of all the fun things you can do, or give away, and instead focus on the specific goals you would like to see reached during and after the event. Do you want to further educate a school’s teaching staff about the effect of Green cleaning on the health of the students, or are you trying to demonstrate your program’s positive impact on the company’s bottom line through your new Green floor maintenance procedures? Be clear in defining your goals and do not settle for a sweeping generalization, such as “to educate the public on Green cleaning.” Be specific with specific audiences in mind. The second step is to define your audiences. Who, exactly, will be potentially visiting your exhibit, table, or booth? What are their interests and values? What are their personal stakes in your building’s sustainability? Are they economic, environmental, health-oriented, or something else? Are they staff, occupants, students, passers-by, contractors, or executives? Spend time thinking about who these people are, what makes them tick, and use this insight to cater to them when developing your messages and strategies. All efforts will be wasted if you do not craft the correct messages and the strategies for delivering those messages. If you are a facility manager at a private school system, and you have defined “parents” as a target audience, details on the health benefits of Green cleaning, such as showing real numbers in reduced absenteeism and increased performance, is a much more powerful message than information on your change to microfiber dust mops. This is an obvious example, but do keep these things in mind. Remember that your audience will only take away a few messages from your campaign, so keep them focused. And do not forget the obvious— while we all know Green cleaning is about health just as it is about the environment, most of your audience may not be aware. Keep your messages simple, easy to remember, and powerful. The First Review: Goals, Messages, and Strategies Check and see if your strategies and messages are in sync with your goals. Are you looking to change behavior, educate, or influence decision-making? It may help you to set some specific, measurable objectives. Set reasonable targets—perhaps you want an audience to complete a survey. How many returns are you hoping for? It may be a simple body count of (continued on page 25) March 2008/Executive Housekeeping Today 9

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Executive Housekeeping Today - March 2008

Executive Housekeeping Today - March 2008 Contents Executive Corner Mold Issues: Restoration and Prevention Mold Removal with Steam Vapor: Study Validates New Technology Frugal Housekeeper Executive Housekeeping Today Virtual Magazine is a Big Hit with Readers! Executive Profile The Green Scene 2008 Convention Information Inside the Industry Product Highlights New Members Joint IEHA/ISSA Members Advertisers' Index Calendar of Events Inside I.E.H.A. What I.E.H.A. Has Done For Me

Executive Housekeeping Today - March 2008

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