Is Your Facility Really Eco-Friendly?
Many offices and facilities work hard to be more sustainable. They consciously turn off the lights each night and choose energy-efficient electronics and appliances. They embrace renewable energy. They go paperless, maximize natural light, bring in air-quality- improving live plants, and set moderate levels for heating and cooling.
But when it comes to office cleaning, businesses often fall short. Being “green” doesn’t mean being less clean. It means offering environmentally friendly cleaning solutions that are healthier for people and gentler for 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 dangerous water contaminants called VOCs (volatile organic compounds), such as nitrogen, phosphorous, and ammonia.
• 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 provide your business with non-toxic, eco-friendly cleaning solutions. We feel it is our responsibility to protect our customers’ and Team Members' health and our planet’s.
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. In most use cases, we 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. Our aerosol dispensers will not use ingredients known to deplete ozone, such as CFCs (chlorofluorocarbons).
4. All environmental regulations governing materials' storage, use, and disposal are understood and followed.
5. We use lean engineering 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 with any environmental implications are reviewed and approved by our customers, following our advice on best uses to mitigate ecological impact.
8. Our Vice President of Safety and Risk Management conducts Environmental Policy Reviews with our Executive Leadership Team at least once every twenty-four months. Policy updates, which include customer input, are reviewed and enforced throughout the company, from managers to frontline workers.
If you have questions about the eco-friendliness of your facility’s cleaning programs, Contact us now.
