Green Business Awareness

By now we all know that washing our hands is an important part of disease prevention.  It has been all over the television, and yet there are still things that need to be understood about handwashing.   As this clip points out, the Ethyl alcohol can be dangerous if consumed.  Doesn’t this send a message about how Green we are when pushed a little.

Another note of interest is the bacterial soap is not any more effective than normal soap.  20 second of good handwashing is the best suggestion which is about the some length of time it takes to sing, “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star.”  There is further concern about bacterial soap and the very real ability of bacteria to morph and develop immunities to any threat.  This is why doctors do not like to over-prescribe antibiotics.  They know that bacteria have a very unnerving way to mutating to something that they continue to see as a threat.

So, let’s get down to the simple stuff.  Wash your hands like your mother told you.  Use normal soap and water, and don’t be hasty.  If you want a really great kind of soap that comes from a very Green process, look into castile soap.  It is most often made from natural olive oil, its good for the skin, and doesn’t pollute.

Here’s my pique with the H1N1 mania.  Yes, it is a problem, and it could turn into a pandemic; but we do not have to the Green protocol in our daily operation.  The best solution is a proactive cleaning program that does not include the dangerous products like bleach, ammonia, and alcohol.  When school or business encounters a spreading infection, they call out the shock troops who come in a spray, slather, and scrub with some really awful chemicals.  At that point, all Green consideration is thrown out the door.  The problem is that there are reasonable and very Green ways to disinfect.

A massive cleaning project also misses the obvious.  These diseases came in from the community and enter the school and business.  The very next day after a major sanitizing project, the facility will be re-infected.   One of the first areas to examine iw whether the cleaning service is Green Clean Certified.  If not, they are playing at Green.  Secondly, take a trip to the janitorial closet and prepare yourself for a shock of unGreen products that you will find.  Most janitorial services are merely token Green at best, and need to step up their game.

During the infection cycle, increase the frequency of cleaning.  This need not be a whole building cleaning, but the regular cleaning of the “High Touch” areas, like: doornobs, light switches, the copy machine panel, keyboards, and countertops.  If the service isn’t able to do this, assign a person in your building to spot clean the prime contact areas with a Green product.

Be sure to use a microfiber cleaning cloth that is able to clean surfaces batter than any other cloth.  Also, make sure that employees are told to stay home if they are sick.  In this age of computer mobility, it seems reasonable that an employee can do some needful work right from home.  Everyone has a cell phone and an Internet connection.  If you have done the right thing and installed the paperless system in your business operation, the work at home idea is feasible and practical.

Inoculations and vaccines are helpful to break the cycle of disease as well.  Most every virus spreads from person to person.  Bacterial infections can spread by indirect contact.  Therefore, if a segment of the society is immunized from the pending virus, it forms a kind of firebreak to the encroachment of the target disease.  So, N1H1 is not an uncommon threat.  36,000 people die from the flu every year according to the CDC.  H1N1 presents an aggressive and fast-moving disease that could be a literal pandemic.  So, let’s get back to the basics and realize that the first line of defense is good sanitation processes.

Does it seem that we are suffering from Green overload as more and more environmental balls are being tossed our way?   Going Green can feel like a game of Green bombardment with ideas that are tossed your way from dozens of angles.  The feeling is not rare since there are hundreds of big and thousands of smaller Green ideas that really deserve our attention.  In the face of an emerging and complicated subject, it helps to have some straight-forward advice.  As someone heavily engaged in the overwhelming duties of your work and life, most of us are not ready for yet another wave of responsibility and pressing deadlines

Knowing where to start allows us to get into the game and gradually make progress.  While environmentalism is a substantial subject, knowing where to start and how to make basic progress is immensely helpful.   So, let’s start with a definition about the meaning of Green.   As a little research will show, the best definition of Green is “Health Impact.”  No matter what else we do to make the world better, it seems like a false start to neglect the health issues of those that are within the reach of our influence.

If Green is primarily about health, then what part seems universal to all of us?  No one controls what you eat, what you drink, or how often you exercise; but can we not control what we breathe?   This universal connection does provide a common area for universal participation.  Even the EPA has stated that Americans spend 90% of their time indoors, and the indoor air is 500-600% worse than the outside air.  That is why I propose that the obvious starting point for Going Green is the indoor air quality.

While many will think that Greening their business requires a major overhaul of the building, the fact is that Going Green may require a series of improved Green practices and changes in everyday options.  Cleaning products often emit volatile organic compounds (VOCs).  Furniture made from plywood or particleboard may give off formaldehyde gas.  The addition of live green plants will remove some bad elements from the air while adding much needed oxygen that will improve employee productivity.  These are examples of low cost ways to improve any facility that will help improve the company’s environmental program.

Sustainable issues create yet another level of issues that are not primarily health related, but deals with how a company manages its use of resources or adds to the waste disposal system.  However, this is the next level of environmentalism rather than the entry point for a Green business program.

The EPA also points out that businesses in America are losing $60 billion a year in lost productivity due to bad indoor air quality.  These are invisible and passive costs that should be considered for any company.  You will not find them on the ledger of accounts or in the annual report.  They are as much a part of the cost of operation as the aging of the equipment.   Therefore, making Green improvements will always improve company operation and will also show up as a more profitable company at year’s end.

Like other complex subjects, taking a company Green is not an amatuer-level commitment.  The task requires a trained and professional approach that comes only from a Certified Green Consultant.  Not only do these Green consultants know what Green is and how it is done, they also are capable of an independent assessment and certification of any kind of business.  Certified Green Consultants work with the Green Business League to provide the best Green business certification in the country.

Doesn’t it seem obvious that the world of paper is about to go through an incredible change?  Most national magazines and newspapers are already seeing a huge migration of advertisers and readers switch to the Internet.  This has taken place in less than a decade, and it seems that all but the most unusual will not be around in a few more years.  We are observing yet another facet of the next generation of environmentally-attuned Green businesses, and it is time to make the transition before the reality becomes too painful to bear.

Even books are under assault as downloadable books are using paperless players like Amazon’s Kindle or Apples’ iPad are a few of the eBook devices other than the normal computer.  I wonder if it won’t be long before cell phones work out yet another way to display larger images.

Paper is also a disposal problem.  When calculating the Municipal Solid Waste (MSW), paper is about 36% of the trash going to landfills.  That is the largest trash component in MSW, and it is not because there aren’t better ways to run a business!  It helps to use recycled paper in the office to remove it from the waste that is thrown out each day.  However, it is even better to create less paper and less paper waste.

If you are somewhat of a tree-a-phile, you can celebrate a strange right of passage as paper becomes the eight-track tape player of this decade.  Computers continue their omnivore-like technological advance, and paper forms and records are simply one of the next challenges in the way.  The fact that we can reduce the need for paper and save trees is only one, though very substantial, benefit of pending technology.

If you are not familiar with paper-making, it is not a pristine process.  Wood pulp is the first phase of paper making.  Paper primarily comes from the softwood type of tree, like spruce, pine, fir, and larch. Wood chips can be pretreated with sodium carbonate, sodium hydroxide, sodium sulfate and other chemicals prior to refining with equipment similar to a mechanical mill.  The pulp produced up to this point in the process can be bleached to produce a white paper product. The chemicals used to bleach pulp have been a source of environmental concern, and recently the pulp industry has been using alternatives to chlorine, such as chlorine dioxide, oxygen, ozone and hydrogen peroxide.  After paper production, these chemicals become the effluents that impact the environment.

Even faxes are on their way out as companies like efax.com and fax.com take a larger and larger share of this market.  Fax machines are costly to buy and operate, and add to the volume of machines we toss out after to few years.  They add to the landfill crisis, when in fact, a simple-to-install email conversion system literally works a hundred times better.

Need sticky notes?  Did you know that most computers and basic software packages offer sticky notes that are conveniently stored on your computer.  Your cell phone probably has a ToDo list that will keep track of critical items.  Better yet, why not dump the loathsome file cabinets for an online document storage and retrieval system?

It is doubtful that paper will go away 100%.  However, it is in decline because it is wasteful, adds to the cost of operation, is time-intensive, and not environmentally friendly.  By the way, have you canceled your phonebooks yet?  This is another way you can help unclutter your life and reduce the drain on our resources.

The Green Business League works with businesses of all type to assist in the Green Transition.  When done correctly, any business willing to Go Green can earn its Green business certification or work with a Certified Green Consultant as a helpful resource.

Let’s take a lesson in Green practice.  The common misconception is that nearly every Green project is expensive, an imposition, and poorly executed.  One of the newer discoveries about Going Green is that it will save your company money month after month and year after year.  When you understand the full impact of Green, the rewards will make a believer out of the most resistant critic.

One idea that illustrates my point is the bottleless water dispenser.  Let’s get price out of the way, so we can start this process fully informed.  A quality bottleless water dispenser will cost about $500 to $1000 if you buy it straight out.  It will last for 10 years, at least, with only an annual service requirement.

If your firm is using a bottled water system, it is easy to run up a $50 to $75 monthly charge.  Over a year’s time, the total outlay is $600 to $900, so the program is cost neutral at about 12 to 18 months.  Any business person knows that a one to two year return on investment is a good deal.

Bottleless water dispensers allow a near unlimited water supply which is a good idea for workers.  But, let’s now consider the other issues for a Green operation.  Think of the fuel spent and CO2 created hauling water around the city.  The five gallon bottles are a plastic waste, and the sheer liability of hauling water to the workplace is totally unnecessary.  If your firm is trying to be carbon neutral, these water dispensers are a good help.

Once the cost of acquisition is satisfied, a company is able to put the $900 per year back into the bank.  In ten years, a firm is likely to save $10,000 with the expected price increases.  But, this is just a small piece of the overall Green strategy.

Take the paperlesss system for an offce as an even greater financial impact.  It should be obvious that creating files, handling files, and updating files is a huge manpower drain and literally very expensive.  While it takes a while to upload these files to a paperless system, the speed of your business will be, quite frankly, amazing.  The cost of the system if about $2000 to $3500 per year, but you will find that three people can do the work of five.  Just one employee not hired can be a $30,000 to $40,000 savings.

Paperless systems operate fast and never lose or misfile your records.  Customer service is very fast, and you can access files from the office, at home, or while travelling.  There is no need to take files from the office.  Security is better, records are never lost, and everyone is impressed with speed of access to any record.

What would a 30% to 40% reduction in the electric bill mean to your business?  What if your heating or cooling bill was reduced by 20%?  Would a 50% reduction in the waste disposal bill help your company’s profit as well?

Green offices are also healthier places for employees.  The employees will be more productive.  There will be less sick days, medical claims, and eventual chronic illnesses.   These are hard to calculate, except that the U.S. Department of Labor estimates a $40 billion loss in actual cost from unhealthy offices.

There are more money-savings ideas that will impact any office that goes through the Greening process with a Certified Green Consultant.  The average person will not know how to make Going Green pay, and they will probably to it badly anyway.  It is true that Going Green is more than an environmental issue.  It is a smart economic decision.  The best advice, however, is not to take on this challenge in a half-hearted manner that will be a disservices to all involved.

When making the transition to a Green operation, do not neglect the cleaning aspect.  In fact, the cleaning process is a big part of any Green building.  To do this right, I’d like to explain the three components to insuring that you have a Green cleaning process in place.  They are: 1) Green Products, 2) Green tools, and 3) Green training.  So often, I hear of janitorial firms boasting of being Green just because they carry a few Green products.  This is what we call “Proxy Green” where the janitorial service merely purchases a Green product as the only qualifier.  This is a easy mistake to make, but this is not the way to Go Green.

Going Green is also about the tools that are used and the training that it takes to clean properly with Green practices.  For example, the idea of “Dwell Time” for Green product is part of the new strategy rather than the “spray and wipe” routine.  The idea of “Top Down” cleaning also needs revision.  In all honesty, I find that the vast majority of janitorial firms skimp when it comes to Green while boasting that they have the expertise to to the job in an environmentally-safe manner.

Green products are essential because former cleaning products were harsh and emitted volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that could cause immediate and long-term health problems to the workers and to the employees who came to work each day.   Cleaning programs are a big part of indoor air quality issues that may create an indoor air quality that is 5 to 6 times worse than outdoor air.  The EPA also reports that we spend 90% of our time indoors, so whatever gets into the air is something that we breathe in constantly.  Indoor air quality is a Green issue because is does impact our health in a powerful manner.

Green equipment includes microfiber cleaning tools, HEPA vacuums, and even the use of fragrances as a common practice that is improperly applied inside the workplace.  Finally, having a trained staff requires more than a five minute review as products are handed out.  Some distributors are handing our Green certifications based upon attendance at the product presentation.  This is all a sad testimony about the janitorial attitude toward cutting corners in a highly competitive market.

It is suggested that any RFP (Request for Proposal) or contract with a janitorial service insert a requirement for Green certification of the cleaning firm.  Do not accept the self-appointed brag that a company is Green, or that a logo has been created for private use.  There is simply a lot of deception and Greenwashing in the janitorial/maintenance business as many try to short-cut the certification requirements.  Green Clean Institute maintains a list of Green Certified firms across America.

If your business is going through a certification program with the Green Business League, a Green certified janitorial services is worth 10 points in their 100 point system.  The use of Green cleaning products and Green tools is worth another 5 points.  Your local Certified Green Consultant can assist you with finding a Green certified janitorial firm as well as helping your company earn the necessary points for Green business certification with the Green Business League.

The issue of environmental lawsuits is a growing concern in America.  We are seeing a substantial volume of lawsuit coming from poor indoor air quality, and it promises to get get much worse.  This is the exact wrong time to cut corners on the cleaning service, cleaning products, or the Greening of the office.  Health is a premium to all of us, and something that every employer must safeguard.

Was it really a shock when you heard that cities in Spain, like Barcelona, not only had some of the worst air in the world, but also contained at least five drugs.  n The Superior Council of Scientific Investigations, a government institute, said on its website that in addition to cocaine, it found trace amounts of amphetamines, opiates, cannabinoids and lysergic acid -a relative of LSD - in air-quality control stations in various Spanish cities.

There was no real threat from the minute amount of these drugs in the air, but this example does show the real concern for the amazing amalgam of ingredients found in the air.  We all share the air, and we breath in more air than food that we eat or water that we drink.  The air, with all that is in it, goes into our lungs where we absorb more than oxygen.  We are also ingesting a share of everything in the air.   Finally, we know that what you breathe can make you sick or open the door to various chronic illnesses.

The EPA has said that indoor air quality is 5 to 6 times worse than outside air, and we are now learning that indoor air quality is linked to a wide variety to diseases.   It seems that we are able to resist disease for the majority of our life because of our normal well-being and immune system.  Disease is always at our collective doorstep, but stays there only as long as we are able to resist it.

Disease is “Opportunistic” meaning that it waits for the time when our immune system leaves open the door for it to come in.  It is not just a matter of being exposed to germs or bacteria.  It is the point in your life when you are a good target for the diseases that have been floating around for years.  So, in many ways, disease is not just bad luck.  It is also connect to how beat up your immune system is over time.  Indoor air quality is a big, big part of disease immunity leading to such more serious issues as Sick Building Syndrome and Building Related Illness.

Get you Green Business Certification and IAQ review from a Certified Green Consultant.   This is part of the Green business certification through the Green Business League program.   They set a standard an area that badly needs a serious approach to the subject.  The current diversion from real commitment is found in websites offering a signed pledge and a payment of several hundred dollars.  This is a fool’s errand.  The Green Business League uses a field force of Certified Green Consultants and a 100 point system of Green Practices applicable to any kind of business.