Executive Housekeeping Today - April 2008 - (Page 6)

frugal housekeeper It’s Not Easy Being Green: Beyond Green Cleaning to Sustainability Little did the inventors of a mega-phenomenon that was created in 1968 realize the impact that their innovation would have on people. In the U.S. alone, there have been over 74 million “graduates” of this program, which has won 109 Emmy Awards, has been seen in over 120 countries, and has over 18 million books and magazines in print as of 2005. In addition, the Web page for this phenomenon has over 1,000,000 visitors, each month! The Frugal Housekeeper was one. The name recognition of this educational program is so great that it “ is the number one program recalled by mothers of children ages six months to 11 years who were asked to name any children’s program.” One of the most famous characters in this educational program was invented and designed in 1955, and became world-famous through this educational program and movies. Probably his most famous song was “It’s Not Easy Being Green.” The singer was Kermit the Frog (a.k.a. Jim Henson), and the educational program that took the world by storm was Sesame Street, which has been in production continuously since November 1969. Today, the song could be used as an anthem for all things Green and environmentally-friendly since Kermit sung: “When green is all there is to be, it would make you wonder why, but why wonder why? Wonder, I am green and it’ll do fine, it’s beautiful. And I think it’s what I want to be.” (The Sesame Street Book and L by Alan S. Bigger and Linda B. Bigger Record. “Green” is copyrighted, 1970, Jonico Music, Inc.) Lest there be some confusion, this article is not about Sesame Street, fun as that might be. This article will address the issue of programmed sustainability in organizations today—in the same way Sesame Street has been around for years, the concept of Greening the planet has been around for some time, including in the janitorial services industry. I remember back in the late 80s (the 1980s, not the 1880s), a salesperson dropped into my office and told me about a new chemical that could do or clean almost anything and was pretty harmless. Thus, I was introduced to the start of a concept—Green chemicals. It sounded like a new trend, and many in the 1980s may not have been able to envision what was to unfold in the years to come. Green is in, and thanks to the incredible innovations of scientific researchers, product developers, and chemists, we now have many lines of new generations of cleaning products and chemicals that are environmentally-friendly, have less impact on individuals and the environment, and really work, making it much easier to be Green. However, being truly Green is much more than using chemicals or products that are environmentally-responsible; it means integrating the concept of sustainability into all that we do. The primary purpose of this article is to encourage you to think outside of the environmental box and push the envelope of sustainability efforts at your workplace. What is Sustainability? The concept of sustainability has been around for quite some time. In 1987, the World Commission on Environment and Development (The Brundtland Commission) adopted a definition of sustainability that is generally recognized today. That statement is on the header page of the United Nations NGO Committee on Sustainable Development and states, “Sustainable development is development that meets the need of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.” This definition was clarified in 1992 by The Declaration of Rio on Environment and Development to recognize “that sustainable development was a balance of three dimensions: environmental protection, economic growth, and social development.” (Note: If you like definitions, you’ll find 83 pages of definitions about sustainability at: http://maven.gtri.gatech.edu/sfi/resources/ pdf/definitions.pdf). In other words, sustainability was and is a living concept that impacts every component of the society in which we live. The concept of sustainability has leapt over states, nations, international boundaries, oceans, and continents. Each one of us lives in an environment that needs to be sustained and sustainable—anything else will lead to long-term catastrophic problems. The reality 6 Executive Housekeeping Today/April 2008 http://maven.gtri.gatech.edu/sfi/resources/pdf/definitions.pdf http://maven.gtri.gatech.edu/sfi/resources/pdf/definitions.pdf http://maven.gtri.gatech.edu/sfi/resources/pdf/definitions.pdf

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

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