Setting the Standard in Green Cleaning

Jani-King Southwest Creates Green Standard in 2009 for Good Stewardship and Environmental Sustainability in the Future

(Phoenix, AZ) - The 2009 Entrepreneur Magazine Franchise 500 rankings have been released and for the 22^nd year in a row, Jani-King has been named the #1 Commercial Cleaning Franchise. Jani-King Southwest, however, is not about to rest on its laurels. In an on-going effort to be good stewards to the environment and remain the industry leader in the implementation of environmentally friendly cleaning processes, the region’s largest commercial cleaning franchise company is instituting a Green Standard system-wide in 2009, proactively providing its franchise owners and their customers with Green processes and programs.

Green Cleaning is really defined as cleaning that protects human health without harming the environment according to Jeffrey E. Nunn, CBSE, Vice President and Director of Learning and Performance for Jani-King Southwest. Nunn is shepherding the Green Standard for the company that is now a member of the U.S. Green Building Council. The U.S. Green Building Council is the nation’s foremost coalition of leaders working to transform the way building and communities are designed, built and operated, enabling an environmentally and socially responsible, healthy, and prosperous environment that improves the quality of life.

“With 1200 accounts in Arizona and 260 franchise owners, this is a massive effort that we’ve been working on since 2006, way ahead of the current Green curve” marvels Nunn. “The exciting result is the effect that we’re going to have on the marketplace. Thousands of people will experience healthier workplaces, which translates into lower absenteeism, less sick days, greater productivity and higher morale. Just by changing procedures and processes, we can also lower our impact on the environment.”

Jani-King Southwest has adopted the stringent requirements of Green Seal® GS 42 Standard, which promotes products or services that have a lesser or reduced effect on health and the environment when compared with competing products or services that serve the same purpose. According to Nunn, the five objectives of Green Cleaning are as follows:

• Improve indoor air quality
• Reduce microbial sources – places where people touch
• Use safe cleaning products
• Manage resource usage
• Sensitive to vulnerable populations – people with allergies or asthma or who are sensitive to chemicals

The professionals at Jani-King meet these objectives with a variety of innovative methods. The company has been using HEPA filter vacuums for seven years instead of the traditional upright vacuums that most of us still use in our homes. “Upright vacuums actually employ a ‘beater-bar’ that acts like a ‘dust bomb’ when you turn it on,” notes Nunn. “You’re breathing in that unfiltered dust while thinking that you’re actually cleaning your house.”

 Jani-King also uses micro fiber flat mops with their own cleaning fluid reservoirs to prevent cross-contamination, which also reduces back strain and water usage, as well as micro fiber cloths, instead of dust stirring feather dusters that stir up airborne pollutants. The company also avoids products containing high volatile organic compounds (VOCs). “That ‘clean’ smell we associate with air fresheners and some cleaning products can actually deaden nerve cells in the nose, masking the true cause of problems,” warns Nunn.

Valley franchisor, Julie Robinson, President of Jani-King Southwest, sees her company’s Green Standard as a change in mindset that will produce a positive effect from the top down.

“Our franchise owners will hopefully go home and adopt Green purchase decisions in their own lives,” notes Robinson. “In turn, our customers will be impacted and they’ll also become part of the Green dialog. Suddenly, terms like ‘sustainability’ and ‘eco-friendly’ aren’t just hip buzz words, our people and our customers are actually living it.”

Jani-King Southwest’s Green Standard also emphasizes standards set by the LEED® Green Building Certification System and their efforts will have a positive impact on schools, hospitals, government building and commercial offices. Founded in 1993 and now comprised of 15,000 member organizations, 36 billion square feet of commercial building space now follow LEED guidelines for the operation of high performance Green buildings. Bill Pearsall, Jani-King Southwest’s Learning Manager is the company’s lead ‘Green Evangelist,’ taking the company’s Green Standard message out in the field to train, educate and monitor the firm’s Green cleaning operations.

“It feels good to be doing the right thing,” emphasizes Pearsall. “Providing a better, healthier workplace means fewer colds this season. It also means being sensitive to vulnerable populations – people who are more susceptible than the general population to chemicals and products that might pose a risk to human health. Everyone is affected by indoor air quality, but we’re actually doing something about it.”

According to the EPA, 80 to 90% of our time is spent indoors where air quality is actually two to five times worse than outdoor air. The World Health Organization also notes that 30% of buildings worldwide suffer from Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) problems. “It’s a sad reality,” remarks Pearsall. “Sick Building Syndrome – where people experience acute health and comfort effects that appear to be linked to time spent in a particular building – and Building Related Illness, where symptoms of diagnosable illness are identified and can be attributed directly to airborne building contaminants – are now unfortunately part of our working lives. It’s time to take action.”

In the end, fewer colds, less sickness, increased productivity and reduced insurance costs seem like lofty goals for a commercial cleaning company, but Nunn sees it as a perfect evolution from a historical perspective. “The word ‘janitor’ actually comes from the Roman God ‘Janus.’ Janus was in charge of the health, safety and well-being of the family. We feel the same way – we’re stewards of your building.”

Jani-King Southwest, headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona, has been named the #1 janitorial company by Arizona Business Magazine for the second year in a row and is rated as a top franchise by Entrepreneur Magazine. For more information, visit the web site at http://www.janikingaz.com/, or call (602) 433-0550 (Phoenix office) or (520) 745-6555 (Tucson office).

Technorati Tags: Arizona, Environment, Jani-King, Jani-King Southwest, Phoenix