Green Product Certification: A Guide To Maintaining Sales

LEED Program

The United States Green Building Council (USGBC) is a not-for-profit established in 1993 that is dedicated to promoting the construction, maintenance, and certification of sustainable buildings (green buildings). The council is considered to be a national consensus due to their diversity of membership, which includes representatives in the following fields: architects, attorneys, builders/contractors, consultants, corporations, retail businesses, engineers, federal/state/local agencies, lending institutions, interior designers, landscape architects, city planners, environmental organizations, universities, media, and utilities companies. In 1998 the USGBC launched the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) program which established a rating system to identify and certify green buildings.

The LEED program is a consensus based, market driven building rating system based on existing proven technology. It evaluates a building’s environmental performance (inside and out) from a whole building perspective using life cycle analysis. This system provides a definitive standard for what constitutes a "green building". Certification can be obtained for new construction projects as well as existing buildings and homes. It is a performance-oriented system where points are earned for satisfying criteria. Different levels of certification can be achieved based on the number of points earned as follows:

• Certified 32-39 points

• Silver 40-47 points

• Gold 48-63 points

• Platinum 64-85 points

There are six categories, or aspects, of green buildings for which points can be earned in the LEED program.

1. "Sustainable Sites" Deals with the preservation and restoration of the ecology around a building. Landscaping and planting decisions can affect the amount of irrigation water and fertilizer required in addition to other things that impact local environments. The design of buildings, parking lots, etc, can impact storm water management and can contribute to the "urban heat island effect". Sedimentation that results from construction and landscaping activities around buildings can greatly affect local water quality. Excess use of external lighting can be disruptive to the lives of nocturnal animals and wastes energy. There are 14 possible points that can be obtained in this category.

2. "Water Efficiency" America’s use of water is increasing. The US Geological Survey estimates that between 1990 and 2000 our fresh water use increased by 12% to 43.3 billion gallons per day. Use of water in buildings is second only to the generation of thermoelectric power and agriculture. The increased demand for fresh water has caused water levels in underground aquifers to drop by 150 feet since the 1940’s. All but 14% of this water is used, treated, and discharged to our nation’s water bodies. The goal of LEED is to make green buildings sustainable water users by evaluating all water usage and implementing controls and conservation strategies. There are 5 possible points that can be achieved here.

3. "Energy and Atmosphere" This category deals with a building’s use of energy and the pollution/environmental damage that is caused by the generation of this energy. In 2003 the US generated 3,961 billion kilowatt hours of electricity. Thirty two percent of this was used to heat, cool, and light commercial buildings. Energy costs are a significant operating expense and major concern for any building owner. Coal fired plants accounted for 53% of the electricity generated in 2003. Each kilowatt hour of electricity produced in this way generates around 250 pounds of green house gasses, in addition to the pollution and environmental damage caused by mining and transporting the coal. Economical and readily achievable practices can greatly reduce the amount of energy used by commercial buildings. There are 23 possible points that can be achieved here.

4. "Materials and Resources" Buildings create a large amount of waste through their operations and maintenance. Waste can be avoided by implementing plans that will (1) carefully choose the materials that are allowed to come into the building, keeping environmental impacts and the ultimate fate of the material in mind and (2) that manage the materials that leave the building in a way as to minimize land-filling and incineration. Source reduction of waste is a key priority. There are 16 points that can be earned in this category.

5. "Indoor Environmental Quality" People in the US spend most of their time (90% or more…) indoors. Combine this with studies released by the EPA on the poor quality of our indoor air, and you have a serious problem. On average indoor air is 2-5 times more polluted than outside air. This is due to legislation passed back in the 70’s that required building manufacturers to produce more energy efficient structures. The easiest way to do this is to make buildings “tighter”, reducing the number of air exchanges with the outside. We must now spend more money on expensive HVAC systems to circulate our air. Chemicals and particles introduced into a building can build up over time to toxic levels under these circumstances. Much of the problem comes from the building materials themselves, containing chemical treatments and preservatives that are slowly released into the air. Moisture buildup due to poor ventilation makes the problem worse by accelerating the growth of mold, which is associated with asthma and allergic reactions. Building Related Illness (BRI) and Sick Building Syndrome (SBS) are relatively new problems for building owners and cause an estimated $180 billion in annual business losses due to absenteeism and "presenteeism". Presenteeism is a buzzword for the loss of productivity that results when people show up sick to work (resulting in more sick workers). This is where Spray Nine can help, by offering cleaning products with a greatly reduced ability to impact indoor air quality. There are 22 points that be achieved in this category.

6. "Innovation in Upgrades, Operation, and Maintenance" This is an abbreviated category that allows up to five points to be awarded for clever or unique approaches to reducing environmental impacts that may not be addressed in the rest of the standard.

Green Cleaning and LEED:

Cleaning is a sub-part of the IAQ category and the Materials and Resources category, and is further broken down into the following:

• 1 Point- "Entryway Systems" Involves the use of mats and grates to reduce the amount of dirt, dust, pollen, and other particles in the first place. A written maintenance plan should be kept that demonstrates the strategy and cleaning techniques for keeping halls and entryways clean, and quarterly reports that document the performance of the plan. This can greatly reduce the need, frequency, energy consumed in, and chemical used during cleaning in the rest of the building and is often overlooked in conventional buildings.

• 1 Point- "Isolation of Janitorial Closets" This means that the janitorial closet should be separated from the plumbing and air ventilation system of the rest of the building. These areas should have negative air pressure provided by a separate outside exhausting, and should have drains designed to separate waste liquids from the rest of the buildings water waste for disposal. Requires a written program covering the procedures for mixing and storing cleaning and maintenance chemicals, as well as security procedures to keep unauthorized personnel from coming into contact with chemicals.

• 2 Points- "Low Environmental Impact Pest Management Policy" A plan should be in place to identify and encourage the use of alternative Integrated Pest Management (IPM) techniques designed to reduce reliance on chemicals. This includes sanitation procedures, building maintenance schedules, regular pest inspections, and evaluations of any chemicals that may be required to identify those with the least impacts. When applying any pesticide on sight, the building occupants must be alerted so those individuals that may be sensitive can remove themselves.

• 1 Point- "Low Environmental Impact Cleaning Equipment Policy" This entails the use of energy efficient and low noise/vibration producing equipment. Machines that have variable speeds should be used so that only the right amount of energy is expended for a job (no overkill). Includes a plan for the training of maintenance personnel.

• 1-3 Points- "Sustainable Cleaning Products and Materials" This includes cleaning products purchased for in-house use, and those used by cleaning services. For each 30% (cost) of cleaning chemical products purchased that either meet the Green Seal GS-37 standard, or if a GS category standard does not exist for the product it must meet the California Code of Regulations maximum allowable VOC content levels (CARB). Disposable janitorial goods such as paper towels and trash bags must meet the minimum requirements of the EPA’s Comprehensive Procurement Guidelines, which specify recommended amounts of post consumer recycled content that products should contain.

Scientific Certification System (SCS):

SCS is an internationally recognized third party evaluation and certification organization. Its programs span the economy and include mostly agriculture, energy, manufactured goods, forestry, and fisheries. SCS also conducts a program that verifies the accuracy of environmental claims on product, including cleaning products. SCS only certifies the following four single environmental attribute claims for cleaning products: VOC content, biodegradability, recycled content, and no formaldehyde. Each of these attributes would have to be pursued independently.

NSF Environmentally Preferable Products - Hard Surface Cleaners:

The National Sanitation Foundation (NSF) is a non-profit, non-governmental organization that is recognized for its standards development, product certification, education, and risk management for public health and safety. NSF  is working on a soon to be finalized standard on EPP: Hard Surface Cleaners.

The draft standard establishes requirements for a product development process that can be included in an environmental management system (PDP-EMS). A hard surface cleaner developed with this process that meets the requirements of the standard will be considered EPP. The draft of the standard addresses pollution prevention and responsible energy use throughout the life cycle of the product by systematically integrating environmental considerations into every step of the product design process. This standard attempts to contribute to the goal of ultimate sustainability by evaluating and addressing significant environmental impacts associated with each product life cycle stage such as:

• Raw material acquisition

• Manufacturing process

• Package selection and design

• Distribution

• Use and performance of the product

• Disposal of product and packaging

Participating in this certification program represents a commitment to continual environmental improvement in each product life cycle stage. The draft, in its current form, establishes a framework by which a company can assess its current environmental footprint, set specific environmental goals, and measure its environmental progress.

Standards Used by Federal Agencies

• Agency-Specific Standards

• Green Seal Standards

• Navy Standards for Surface Ship Cleaning

• Recycled Content and Biobased Content Recommendations

To Source "Green" Cleaners That Really Work

Contact Spray Nine Corporation (1-800-477-7299) for more information on our new "Adirondack Green" Line. These products meet environmental guidelines while outperforming the competition.

Spray Nine Corporation web site: www.spraynine.com
Adirondack Green green cleaners web site: www.adirondackgreen.com