Over the last 50 years, there has been a greater push towards earth-friendly practices and the sustainability of natural resources. Environmentalists and others who are passionate about preserving the planet have talked about each person’s “carbon footprint” by becoming less wasteful and attempting to leave the world in the same (or better) condition in which we find it today. Being in the contract cleaning services industry, our company, our cleaning crews and our clients are exposed to chemicals, acids, degreasers and other harmful agents and it is easy to see how the careless use of such products can not only harm the environment, but also each of us. At the same time, I know of the importance of providing a healthy workplace for our commercial cleaning clients.

Perhaps it is the greater number of people that live on the planet or maybe it’s the fact that scientific data is more readily available to each of us through advances in technology, but modern culture, marketing and health ideas seem to stem from the idea of eliminating germs and disease through eco friendly cleaning services, especially in concealed areas such as homes, public transportation, clinics, classrooms and office spaces, among many other germ-harboring areas.

So we ask “Is it possible to provide proper sanitization without leaving a carbon footprint?” There is no simple answer, but perhaps the following will help clarify the “green” misnomer:

We can all agree that it is no longer acceptable to clean for appearance alone; we must consider the health of those in contact with our facilities and the sanitization of the facility itself. David Thompson, the President of the Green Clean Institute, recently sent out an email to those who have purchased Green training through his company that drives home this point: “Cleaning for appearance is the old, traditional method of cleaning.  This form of cleaning many times, as it is only judged by the person filling out the latest report form on how they “feel” it looks.  Perception is the only judge, and everyone has a different opinion.  When you move to a Green program, cleaning is done for health reasons first, by which the appearance will follow.”

It should be noted that costs of incorporating eco friendly cleaning services have traditionally been higher than those of conventional cleaning methods and that there is probably no cleaning practice that leaves a 0% carbon footprint. In recent years, however, the demand for green cleaning services has increased and that has reduced the costs, in many instances, of instituting eco friendly cleaning. Many practices that would be considered more “green” than others, still institute the use of chemicals, albeit “lighter” chemicals, which can still harm humans and the environment. However, there are less environmentally-impactful ways to clean, like the use of steam cleaning services, which incorporate the use of water at high temperatures and pressures. Even this practice requires the use of electricity to heat the water, but is for all other intents and purposes leaves as close to a 0% carbon footprint as possible.

Truly, there is no way to properly sanitize without utilizing some of earth’s resources to achieve this purpose. However, implementing environmentally friendly cleaning through thorough training and quality controls can limit the exposure we have to chemicals and can ultimately mitigate the damage that cleaning chemicals have on the environment.