Healthy businesses are strong businesses
In a competitive landscape, more businesses are realizing that their workplace
can be a strategic business tool and its care is vital to protecting its most
valuable asset—its workers.
Recent studies have shown that sustainable
buildings, or buildings that go green, have measurable financial gains
due to employee health, productivity, and retention as well as lower operating
costs and certain government incentives.* And, as
more and more businesses benefit from green cleaning, their individual impact
grows exponentially to reach a global scale.
Research has shown that facilities that switch to green cleaning have:
Green cleaning is one of the easiest and fastest ways for building managers to
make their facilities healthier and safer for employees, not to mention their
contribution to the overall environment. Plus, it offers the ability to easily
earn quick LEED®
points in the process.
Healthier employees—your business at its best.
With 30% of U.S. workers suffering from health problems caused by Sick Building
Syndrome, companies are vastly underutilizing their human assets and
underestimating the benefits of switching to green cleaning. With the same
effectiveness as traditional cleaning, and little or no cost increase, the
return on investment for switching to green cleaning is immense.**
In the 1960s, Sick Building Syndrome (SBS) was first identified when research
revealed that volatile organic compounds from carpeting and furniture,
inadequate air circulation, poor lighting, mold buildup and disruptive
temperature variances were contributing to nausea, respiratory problems, skin
rashes, lethargy, headaches and numerous other health concerns. Since then,
many independent studies have shown that switching to green cleaning leads to
reduced employee sick days and absences.***
A 2002 study by the Indoor Environment Department at the Lawrence Berkley
National Design Laboratory in California found that the improved air quality by
use of green design, building materials and technologies can lower sick
building symptoms by 20% to 50%, while cold and influenza are reduced by 9% to
20%, and allergies and asthma drop by 8% to 25%.
Get the most out of your business by keeping your employees at their healthiest.
Incentives and programs: lower operating costs and financial incentives.
Switching to green cleaning is an easy way to get your building and business on
the path to saving money, being healthier and getting green-certified. There
are several programs in place to reward your
business and/or make certain it is as green as possible.
The big picture: positive environmental impact.
In addition to the immediate and direct human benefits of switching to green
cleaning, the long-term relief for our environment is vast.
In the United States, commercial buildings consume 17% of the water, 33% of the
energy, 40% of the raw materials and 71% of the electricity. They produce,
directly or indirectly, 40% of the landfill waste, 33% of the carbon dioxide,
49% of the sulfur dioxide and 10% of the particulate emissions.
When each of us takes on the responsibility of switching to
green cleaning and other green building practices, together we can make
an enormous improvement to our overall environment.
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