Executive Housekeeping Today - April 2008 - (Page 4)

Green CertifiCation (continued from previous page) can negatively impact health and the environment. • Sin of No Proof: This is when a product makes Green claims, but provides no verifiable certification or independent proof. • Sin of Vagueness: These are products that make meaningless claims such as “all natural” or “eco-friendly” which do not provide consumers with any specific environmental information. • Sin of Irrelevance: This is when environmental attributes of a product are promoted, even though the manufacturer is just adhering to regulations that apply to all similar products made by all manufacturers. For instance, many products still claim to be CFC-free, even though CFCs were banned 30 years ago. • Sin of Lesser of Two Evils: A product may be less harmful than a conventional product, but yet, still is detrimental. A consumer may select “organic” cigarettes, for example, thinking they are less harmful but, in reality, it would be much better to stop smoking. • Sin of Fibbing: These are products that make misleading claims, including some falsely claiming to be certified. The Label Says It’s So Facility managers may be understandably confused by all of the competing Green claims, covering everything from cleaning products to upholstery. One of the ways to avoid the confusion is to focus on products that have been certified by an independent third party, such as EcoLogo. For facilities large and small that embrace environmentallypreferable products, an easy way to determine if a product is Green is to look for a label or logo of a certifying organization. This indicates the product meets the required criteria to be certified Green. In most cases, this designation will also be shown in advertising and marketing materials. Some key certifying organizations include: • EcoLogo, the world’s second oldest and largest environmental standard-setting and certification organization, with more than 7,000 certified products in more than 120 categories. • Green Seal, which has 1,000 certified products in 30 categories, including a respected lodging standard. • The Carpet and Rug Institute, which designates vacuum cleaners that meet certain criteria, including minimal impact on the environment, with their Green Label, and carpet extractors with the Seal of Approval certification • Energy Star, a joint program of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Energy, that identifies and helps promote energy-conserving products • WaterSense, another U.S. government program (sponsored by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency), which certifies water-efficient bathroom fixtures, landscaping products, and other products. What Green Certification Does Not Mean As the Green movement has taken hold, some facility managers have jumped on the Green bandwagon with the assumption that certified products are all fairly similar in cost and performance. However, this is not the case, and facility managers should show diligence in evaluating not only that a product is indeed certified and environmentally-preferable, but also that it is cost-effective and performs well. According to Mike Sawchuk, vice president of Enviro-Solutions, a leading manufacturer of Green cleaning chemicals, this issue surfaced quite often when it comes to Green cleaning products. “Some Green cleaning products are not as cost-competitive as they may seem at first review, and facility managers must look beyond the ticket price,” he says. “Some Green chemicals have dilution ratios that make them more expensive than conventional and other environmentally-preferable cleaning products. This often gets overlooked in the product selection process, coming to light only after the product has been purchased.” While facility managers know that not all conventional cleaning products are created equal, they do not, according to Sawchuk, necessarily apply this thinking to Green products as well. He cites an example where 25 environmentally-certified floor care products were tested at a government office building and only two met the performance levels of the facility. As facilities go Green, the first step necessary is to select products that have been certified Green. The next step, as with any product, is to evaluate that product’s cost and performance. Fortunately, the marketplace and competition are forcing many manufacturers to make their Green offerings more cost-competitive and effective, which is a big plus for the Green movement. W Scot Case is Vice President of TerraChoice Environmental Marketing™ and EcoLogo™ certification. Case is an internationally-recognized expert on responsible sourcing with more than a dozen years of professional experience. Case may be reached at scase@ terrachoice.com. 4 Executive Housekeeping Today/April 2008

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

Executive Housekeeping Today - April 2008 Contents Executive Corner Green Certification Issues The Green Benefit from the Roof Down Frugal Housekeeper LEED for Existing Buildings: Operations & Maintenance Greening with Mats A Greener Approach to Laundry Feature Article 2008 Candidate Information The Green Scene 2008 Convention Information Get Into the "O-Zone" Product Highlights CEH/REH Members 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 - April 2008

For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.