(This is the first article in a two-part series of articles on green cleaning.)
Many hotels are turning to green cleaning products and practices to improve indoor air quality, reduce risk to building occupants, improve environmental performance and obtain a marketing advantage. This document is intended to help hoteliers determine whether to follow suit at their properties and how to do so.
1. What are the problems associated with traditional cleaning products and practices? The rise of the green cleaning movement stems from health and environmental concerns associated with the traditional cleaning industry and its practices.
There is a growing recognition that people harbor many synthetic chemicals, including ones found in cleaning products. According to an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Office of Toxic Substances study, “scientists estimate that everyone alive today carries within her or his body at least 700 contaminants.” Some of these substances are considered benign, some are known to be hazardous and most have not been well studied.
At the same time, hoteliers and other building managers have become more concerned about indoor air quality. Traditional cleaning products have been identified as part of this problem, along with other chemicals, HVAC issues, building design flaws and occupant activities such as smoking.
Serious health problems are linked to cleaning product chemicals. Cleaning chemicals emit a high level of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that are associated with, “eye, nose, and throat irritation; headaches, loss of coordination, nausea; damage to liver, kidney, and central nervous system… some are suspected or known to cause cancer in humans,” according to an EPA website. Cleaning chemicals that are causes for concern “include butane, chlorine, formaldehyde, hydrochloric acid, and perchloroethylene….”
Health Impact of Green Cleaning
A 2005 Carnegie Mellon University Center for Building Performance review of research regarding the impact of green cleaning on health and productivity, “identified 17 separate studies documenting a reduction in reported symptoms of asthma, flu, sick building syndrome, respiratory problems and headaches that ranged from 13.5 to 87 percent—an average improvement of 41 percent.”
A report by the Canadian Lung Assn. identified cleaning chemicals as a trigger for asthmatics; and one by the Barcelona Municipal Institute of Medical Research found that female housekeepers had more than twice the rate of respiratory problems as non-housekeepers. People with Multiple Chemical Sensitivity react mainly to petroleum-based chemicals, which are present in many traditional cleaning products.
Statistics on the impact of cleaning products and related chemicals on health are telling. The Worldwatch Institute reported that cleaning products were responsible for nearly 10 percent of all toxic exposures reported to U.S. Poison Control Centers in 2000, accounting for 206,636 calls. “A review of workers compensation data from Washington State indicates that six out of 100 janitors are injured by chemicals every year; 20 percent of these injuries are serious burns to the eyes or skin.”
Industrial cleaning products do not just impact hotel staff. They linger in rooms for hours or days, and make contact with hotel guests, too.
They also impact the environment. These products pollute our bodies of water, use energy unnecessarily and needlessly generate solid waste.
Green cleaning products and practices diminish the health and ecological issues noted above. When incorporated into a hotel’s indoor air quality program, they lead to a healthier indoor environment, with all of its benefits.
2. What is meant by “green cleaning products and practices?” What are the benefits of using them? President Clinton’s 1993 Executive Order 13101 defined green cleaning as “the use of products and services that reduce the health and environmental impacts compared to similar products and services used for the same purpose.” That definition is still the most common one used today.
Regarding human health, green-certified cleaning products have the following characteristics: low toxicity, they do not bio-accumulate, they are not carcinogenic, they do not contain chemicals associated with harm to the reproductive system, they are not corrosive to skin or eyes and they do not cause allergic contact dermatitis. They have a high flashpoint. Also, they do not off-gas beyond the recommended level.
Green-certified cleaning products also meet environmental standards such as low toxicity to aquatic life and aquatic biodegradability. Some certification agencies require green cleaning products to be highly concentrated, because such products require less energy to transport, thereby reducing greenhouse gas emissions and air pollution. Concentrated products need much less packaging, resulting in less solid waste.
There is one other category of green cleaning products worth mentioning: housekeeping supplies, like paper towels and toilet paper. They are considered to be environmentally friendly when they are made from recycled materials, and not bleached with chlorine.
Importance of Entrance Mats, Vacuuming
Green cleaning is defined by housekeeping practices, too. For example, airborne dust is reduced and indoor air quality improved by the proper use of entrance mats, and vacuuming with certified equipment.
A study performed for the EPA by the Research Triangle Institute showed that, “an organized cleaning program based upon environmental management principles and fundamental environmental protection guidelines contributed to improved indoor air quality through reduction of total suspended particles, total volatile organic compounds, and culturable bacteria and fungi.”
Studies show that worker productivity improves along with indoor air quality. One analysis demonstrated that, “the potential decreases in adverse health effects from improvements in indoor environments to be 10 to 30 percent for infectious respiratory disease, and allergy and asthma symptoms and 20 to 50 percent for SBS [sick building syndrome] symptoms. The potential direct increase in office workers’ performance was estimated to range between 0.5 and 5 percent.”
Another analysis pointed out that, “researchers have determined that the impact of the indoor environment on worker productivity can result in a savings of three to 34 minutes per day, per worker. BOMA (Building Office and Managers Assn.) estimates the cost of salaries and benefits per square foot in a “Class A” office building are nearly $150. Thus, a three-minute-per-day increase in productivity results in $0.75 per sq. ft. saved.”
Of course, cleaning is only one of several factors that impact a hotel’s air quality.
3. What is the history of green cleaning products and practices? Are they now commonplace? Concern about industrial chemicals goes back to Rachel Carson’s “Silent Spring,” published in 1962. However, the green cleaning industry did not get a substantial foothold until 1993. Executive Order 13101 required green cleaning products to be used at all federal facilities. Other developments soon followed.
The green building movement is one of the forces behind the growth of the green cleaning industry. The U. S. Green Building Council created the LEED-EB certification which requires a green cleaning policy and gives points for the use of green cleaning products and practices.
The creation of specific green cleaning product certifications was even more important, because they provided guidelines for manufacturers, distributors and users. Each group responded vigorously. Today, more than 100 companies make commercial cleaning chemicals certified by Green Seal, Environmental Choice and GreenGuard.
Mandates to Go Green
Six states now require their schools to use cleaning products certified by Green Seal or Ecologo. Other governments, including the State of Massachusetts, use purchasing contracts to boost the use of these products in their buildings. In July 2008, Boston’s Mayor Menino decreed that, “city departments must purchase only environmentally friendly cleaning products, hire only cleaning contractors with a specific “green” certification….”
Many hotels now use green cleaning products, too. The Kimpton, Fairmont and Starwood Element brands are committed to using them. It is common for hotels to mention their use of these products in their marketing material.
Some experts believe that green cleaning will soon take over the market. UGL Unicco, one of the nation’s largest facility maintenance services, says that, “In a few years it is predicted that the entire cleaning industry will see green cleaning as the norm.”
The green chemistry field is young, and cleaning products are still evolving. Many new and better products are in the pipeline.
To read part two of this article, click here.
Dan Ruben is Executive Director, Boston Green Tourism. He can be reached at dan_ruben@usa.net.
