Green Cleaning is not just a “trend” – it’s here to stay and it’s growing in importance by the day. The reason for this is because there are some high risks that you may not realize you could face if you don’t have a Green Cleaning program in place. Aside from obvious negative effects on the environment, traditional cleaning chemicals and procedures can have direct effects on your employees, your building, and your finances.
Employee Health and Safety
The cleaning products and practices we use in our office buildings can have short term and long term effects on the custodial staff that is involved on a day-to-day basis and also the people who work in the building every day.
Traditional cleaning products and practices bring significant health risks (ranging from acute to chronic) to custodial staff, such as skin and eye irritation, headaches, respiratory problems, cancer, and neurological and reproductive disorders. Custodial staff often has direct contact with high concentrations of cleaning chemicals – proper cleaning procedures can prevent over-exposure and using Green products instead of traditional products increases the safety of these workers.
To put the effects of traditional products and practices into perspective, the cleaning industry employs about 2.8 million potentially exposed janitors who use cleaning products daily. Data shows that 6% of janitors experience a job-related injury from chemical exposure every year. (epa.gov)
As for the people who work in an office building where traditional cleaning chemicals and procedures are used, indoor air quality becomes an issue from airborne dust and chemical gases. Poor indoor air quality (IAQ) and improper cleaning techniques can lead to “sick building syndrome” resulting in unhealthy symptoms in occupants such as sensory irritation (eyes, nose, and throat), headaches, and asthma-like symptoms. OSHA estimates that poor indoor air quality, aka sick building syndrome, affects between 30 million and 70 million workers annually.
Financial Costs
There are financial implications associated with improper cleaning – costs relating to absenteeism, as well as building and maintenance related costs.
With regards to costs of absenteeism – in the workplace, allergic reactions to unhealthy indoor air quality account for more than 10 million workdays missed by employees each year (OSHA). A study done by the Harvard School of Public Health concluded that preventable absenteeism due to poor indoor air quality cost a company studied $480 per worker per year in lost productivity. (Business News Daily)
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, in 2010, janitors and cleaners suffered more than 46,000 injuries requiring days away from work and had the 16th highest injury rate of all occupations. US institutions spend more than $75 million a year on medical expenses and lost time wages for janitors due to chemical-related injuries (cleanlink.com)
Implementing a Green Cleaning Program reduces absenteeism and healthcare costs, and improves productivity (US Green Building Council).
As far as building and maintenance costs, using traditional products and not following proper cleaning procedures can limit the life of your carpets and flooring. Green products and cleaning procedures help protect the longevity of buildings. Better, more efficient cleaning procedures also means that you don’t have to do the same procedures as frequently, which saves time and money.
While there are many risks associated with not having a Green Cleaning program in place at your company, the ones featured above show the direct impact it can have on your entire operation – from absenteeism, loss of productivity, and medical expenses to the costs of maintaining your building – the high costs of not having a Green Cleaning program alone make it worthwhile to take the next step to find out more about how to implement a program at your office.
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