To earn this credit, 30% of your cleaning products and materials purchases must meet the credit criteria. You can earn exemplary performance for this credit if 60% of your purchases meet the credit criteria.
If you take a look at all of the products you currently purchase and can find compliant alternatives for each one that does not currently comply, you can easily achieve 100% compliance. Finding compliant products shouldn’t be hard.
Using environmentally friendly cleaning products is one of the easier and more effective green operations strategies to implement and can usually be achieved at no cost premium. It can be challenging, though, to get the proper product information from vendors and to determine how effective the products will be in practice. While there are plenty of green cleaning products available, the results of any given product may vary, and it may take your team time to switch to new products and assess them.
Builds off the prerequisite
To achieve IEQp3: Green Cleaning Policy, you have to develop a policy that addresses the requirements of this credit. The purpose of this credit is to get you to implement that policy to a certain threshold.
Finding a trusted source
Sourcing products can be the most difficult aspect of this credit. Doing it may mean working with your vendor to find compliant products, or doing research on your own—which can be time-consuming.
Having a trusted vendor who understands the LEED requirements can save time, but teams still need to independently assess the products their vendors recommend to ensure the products are compliant. Review the MSDS and other documentation provided with products and make sure that they explicitly demonstrate credit compliance. Also take note that while many companies promote their products as “green,” they have to meet the specific requirements of this credit.
Getting your staff on board
Finding cleaning products that meet this credit is getting easier all the time—most major cleaning supply companies offer compliant products. You may find that your cleaning staff is resistant to switching away from products whose performance they know and trust.
Once you source new cleaning supplies that comply with this credit, plan on a staff evaluation period before you commit to any bulk purchases. This will help determine whether the products work and will give staff the opportunity to adjust their expectations and become accustomed to the new products.
Ask these questions before embarking on this credit
- How is the project team currently sourcing products?
- Who can supply an inventory of products currently in use?
- If the team is currently sourcing products through a vendor, does the vendor have access to IEQc3.3-compliant products?
- Is the project team willing and authorized to take over purchasing if their vendor is not on board?