It’s never been easier or more cost-effective to replace outmoded equipment and practices with sustainable, or green, options. This idea is at the center of IFMA’s newly updated “Sustainability How-To Guide: Global Green Cleaning.” The extensive guide is a part of IFMA’s efforts to change the culture of the cleaning industry for the better, and is available for free download here.

The guide, which was co-authored by Jennifer Corbett-Shramo, IFMA Fellow and CEO of Innovative Cleaning Services; Bill Conley, CFM, SFP, FMP, LEED AP, IFMA Fellow; Dan Wagner; Palle Esbensen and Dorothy Scholnick, FMP, takes a practical and data-driven look at green cleaning’s benefits. Facility managers who have yet to dive into sustainable cleaning options from the business side can find in the guide a solid place to begin. Even FMs who have experience in creating green cleaning plans for their facilities stand to benefit from the newly revised edition, which includes updated case studies and detailed findings that reflect the latest developments in green cleaning. The wealth of topics, including greenwashing, green cleaning equipment, product and service providers, and the effects on indoor air quality and occupant health, can provide direction for those who are ready to take their sustainability programs further.

Corbett-Shramo explained the important role that guides like this can play in the industry. “Green cleaning is about more than just choosing green products over traditional ones. We wrote this guide to reflect the most updated practices in sustainability; for the environmental benefits, yes, but also the health benefits, the business benefits, and the human benefits that come with creating a green cleaning program.”

With 17 other titles available to download, IFMA’s Knowledge Library can be a great place to start your research into the world of sustainability for facility managers.

About Innovative Cleaning Services (ICS) 

ICS was founded in 2000, on a commitment to better the industry of janitorial services. The founding members’ commitments were threefold: to improve customer service by implementing a communications model that eliminates barriers between the client and the operations team; to put decades of research and advocacy in sustainable cleaning into practice in a company; and to work to foster a community of janitors whose relationship to their company and its clients is built on mutual respect and honor rather than stigma and status quo.