Part Two: What Does it Really Mean to be ‘Green’?

by Compass Cleaning Solutions • May 31, 2016
Compass Cleaning Solutions

Labels. Do you believe what you read on those product labels? They scream, “We’re Green!” but then you look at the ingredients and half of what is in the product you can’t pronounce. Like most things there are two sides to every story. There are organizations that review products and rate them to help those of us who do not have a degree in Chemistry. These rating scales can be helpful but they can also be a little confusing as well.

From my perspective a product that requires processes and or components that consume natural resources without putting something back is not environmentally friendly regardless of what the label says. The effort to maintain a balance between what we take out of the environment and what we put back is what is more and more being referred to as ‘sustainability’. The EPA has determined that sustainability is “the satisfaction of basic economic, social, and security needs now and in the future without undermining the natural resource base and environmental quality on which life depends.”

Today, we have the opportunity to use products that are manufactured from resources that can be reproduced and do not deplete other more finite resources. Green products that do not have bi-products that destroy or significantly reduce other resources, would also fall into this category. To this end the commercial cleaning industry is turning to what are called ‘organic’ cleaning products. Of course not all organic products are necessarily safe. Arsenic is organic but I wouldn’t recommend using it as a diet supplement.

So what does this mean to you? When choosing a commercial cleaning company to service your building or office it is important to ask if the janitorial company is addressing these issues and using products that are safe and sustainable. Ultimately, you, as a consumer, have the power to change things simply by hiring only companies that demonstrate an understanding of these issues and consistently use these types of products to clean your facility.