Is Your Facility Really Eco-Friendly?

Many offices and facilities work hard to be more sustainable. They are conscious about turning off the lights each night. They choose energy-efficient electronics and appliances. They embrace renewable energy. They bring in plants to improve air quality. They maximize natural light. They encourage carpooling. They don’t go crazy with the air conditioning and the heat. They even go paperless. 

But when it comes to the products they choose to clean their office, well, that’s often where businesses fall short. Being “green” doesn’t mean being less clean. It just means offering environmentally friendly cleaning solutions that are healthier for people and gentler to the planet than those traditionally used. 

Is it really such a big deal? See for yourself.

• 1 in 3 chemical cleaning products contain an ingredient that can harm human health or the environment.
• Manufacturing traditional cleaning products uses 6.2 billion lbs. of chemicals and 30 million trees.
• Traditional cleaning solutions often contain VOCs (volatile organic compounds) such as nitrogen, phosphorous and ammonia, which are dangerous water contaminants.
• Chemical cleaners can cause serious side effects, such as burns, respiratory issues, hormone disruption, skin irritation, allergies, asthma, poisoning, and in severe cases, death.
• Using traditional chemical cleaners greatly contributes to indoor air pollution.

           Sources – safegreencleaners.com and theworldcounts.com

At 4M we are dedicated to providing non-toxic and eco-friendly cleaning solutions for your business. We feel it is our responsibility to not only protect our customers’ and Team Members' health, but the health of our planet as well.

How we do this:

1. We are the proud recipient of the GREENGUARD® Indoor Air Quality Certification, the only cleaning program certified under GEI Product Emission Standard for children in schools. All GREENGUARD® certified products have been tested for more than 10,000 chemicals to ensure they are low emitting, safe and healthy for your facility.
2. We only use Green Seal™ certified products. The Green Seal Mark represents compliance with a rigorous set of criteria designed to achieve leadership levels in sustainability. 
3. Ingredients known to deplete ozone, such as CFCs, (chlorofluorocarbons) will not be used in any of our aerosol dispensers.
4. All environmental regulations governing the storage, use and disposal of materials will be followed. This includes disposal of regulated materials by evaporation, dumping into sanitary sewers, landfills or runoff.
5. We continually strive to reduce and eliminate waste in our operations, including any materials, time, packaging, labor, energy or other resources.
6. We strictly follow all of our customers’Environmental Polices and Rules, including notification requirements for spills and other emergencies.
7. The use of new materials or changes in equipment that impacts the environment will be approved first with our customer.
8. Our Vice President of Safety and Risk Management and Executive Leadership Team will review our Environmental Policy at least once every twenty-four months.
9. All of our Team Members, supervisors and managers, as well as our subcontractors follow our Environmental Policy and any additional environmental policies of our customers. 

So, is your facility really eco-friendly? At 4M we make sure customers and our Team Members work in a non-toxic environment. This is just another way we deliver the best, innovative, safe and sustainable cleaning and service solutions for your facility.