Is Your Facility Really Eco-Friendly?

Many offices and facilities work hard to be more sustainable. They are conscious of 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, 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 such a big deal? See for yourself.

• 1 in 3 chemical cleaning products contain an ingredient that can harm human health or the environment.
• Traditional cleaning product manufacturing uses 6.2 billion lbs. of chemicals annually.
• Traditional cleaning solutions often contain VOCs (volatile organic compounds) such as nitrogen, phosphorous, and ammonia, all 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 dramatically 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 protect our customers’ and Team Members' health and 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 our aerosol dispensers.
4. All environmental regulations governing materials' storage, use, and disposal will be followed. This includes removing regulated materials by evaporation and dumping them into sanitary sewers, landfills, or runoff.
5. We continually strive to reduce and eliminate waste in our operations, including materials, time, packaging, labor, energy, and other resources.
6. We strictly follow our customers' environmental policies and rules, including notification requirements for spills and other emergencies.
7. The use of new materials or equipment changes that impact the environment will be approved first by our customers.
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, managers, and subcontractors follow our Environmental Policy and any additional environmental policies of our customers. 

So, is your facility genuinely 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.

Find out more. Contact us for a free consultation.