Project teams have several different green cleaning options to choose from under this credit. Standard O+M projects can only document one of the four available options and earn up to one point. If you’re working on an Interiors project, you can pursue up to three options and earn up to three points.
Option 1: Custodial effectiveness audit
This option is straightforward but potentially time consuming. When performed professionally and objectively, the custodial effectiveness audit can help you evaluate the quality of your cleaning services and draw your attention to areas of the building that present particular cleaning challenges.
The audit can be time consuming for larger buildings, since the amount of floor area you’re required to audit is calculated based on the total size and the number of rooms in your building. Audit guidelines suggest a maximum time commitment of ten minutes per room, which can add up!
A 2023 LEED interpretation allows for the cleaning audit pathway in v4.1 O+M to be fulfilled by testing surfaces in the project boundary for surface contaminants. Instead of a regular Audit, project teams can develop and implement a protocol for routinely measuring surface contamination with an ATP (adenosine triphosphate) meter or equivalent.
Project teams are told to randomly sample all spaces while prioritizing high-circulation spaces and high-touch surfaces within these spaces. Reports must then be created to verify testing was completed, identify cleaning performance of tested spaces, and clarify any corrective actions needed.
The truth is worth more than a “good” score
This option gives you the choice of training in-house staff members to perform a cleaning audit without third-party oversight, or hiring an outside auditor.
To make sure you get the most out of your audit make sure it is conducted objectively. It’s more valuable to your project to learn the truth about the quality of service delivered by your custodial provider—whether that service is good or bad.
How much ground will you have to cover?
It can be difficult to maintain objectivity and assign numerical scores to something as seemingly subjective as cleanliness. The APPA protocol provide a fairly objective framework for evaluating cleanliness, however, so you’ll have plenty of support to work with.
Determining how many rooms and how much square footage needs to be audited can also be a challenge. Remember that you must audit:
- At least 10% of the total floor area in the building
- At least 10% of the number of rooms in each space type
- If 10% for a space type is fewer than five rooms, at least five rooms must be audited
- If a space type has fewer than five rooms total, all rooms must be audited
Consider these questions when approaching this option
Do you have the time to perform the audit in-house? Keep in mind that this requires training two in-house staff members, carving out time for both of them to conduct the audit, and compiling and calculating the results.
If you don’t have the time to designate two staff members to conduct the audit, do you have the room in your budget to hire an auditor? Remember, you need only one outside contractor to conduct the audit, not two. Competent providers of comprehensive green cleaning services make very good third-party auditors.
Does your facility have a wide variety of space types? If so, the audit will be more complex, and you should expect to spend extra time and money to complete it.
Option 2: Entryway systems
Earning this option is easy for most projects. Make sure you have 10 feet worth of entryway system at main building entrances and keep them clean.
Entryway systems may be mats, grilles, or grates. Most buildings that don’t already have entryway systems purchase mats because that’s typically far easier than installing grilles or grates retroactively. Regular building carpeting does not count under this credit. Entryway mats are specially designed to capture and hold dirt and particulates, which standard carpeting is unable to do.
Document with a floorplan
Provide a ground level floorplan that notes the location and size of entryway systems. You don’t need to provide systems at emergency exits and infrequently used or personal office entryways. Remember that entrances leading from loading dock and parking garage areas into the building interior must have compliant entryway systems. Simply note these on the floorplan.
Protecting IAQ and safety
Entryway systems are a simple and effective way to improve indoor environmental quality. Dust and dirt as well as allergens such as pollen and pet dander can be carried into buildings on people’s footwear, contributing to IAQ problems and reducing the life of interior floor finishes. Entryway systems that absorb rain and snow decrease the risk of personal injury due to slips and falls on wet floors.
Option 3: Powered janitorial equipment
This option can be challenging to achieve if your project is not currently using compliant cleaning equipment—and many projects are not, particularly those that are paying attention to green cleaning for the first time.
Teams should become familiar with the required sustainability criteria by equipment type. It’s fairly common for a piece of equipment to meet some but not all of the criteria—the noise limit, for example, can be difficult to achieve.
Start with your inventory
Complete the equipment calculator provided by USGBC early in your project timeline to better understand your existing equipment inventory and to see where you land with respect to the 40% compliance threshold. If you don’t meet the 40% threshold, check if any equipment needs to be replaced anyway. This is a good opportunity to replace obsolete equipment with a LEED-compliant model.
Remember that your inventory must include all vendor equipment and leased equipment that is used to clean the project. That said, for multi-tenant buildings, up to 10% of the floor area may be exempted if the area is not under management control. If you do not control the cleaning in more than 10% of your building, you will have to work closely with your tenants in order to achieve this option.
Option 4: Cleaning products and materials
Using environmentally-preferred cleaning products 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.
Finding a trusted source
Sourcing products can be the most difficult aspect of this option. 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 should still independently assess the products their vendors recommend to ensure they are compliant. Review the Safety Data Sheets and other documentation provided with products and make sure that they explicitly demonstrate compliance. Also take note that while many companies promote their products as “green,” that doesn’t mean that they meet the specific requirements of this option.
Getting your staff on board
Finding compliant cleaning products 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 option, 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.
Use of nonchemical cleaning alternatives
Eliminating the need for cleaning chemicals by using devices that use steam, or ionized or electrolyzed water can count toward achieving this option. According to the LEED Reference Guide, you can follow these steps to count nonchemical methods toward compliance.
- Provide a narrative description of the nonchemical cleaning product or method and describe what cleaning chemicals it replaces.
- Analyze the value of using the nonchemical alternative based on one year of cost data. Account for any changes in occupancy between the baseline year and the performance period or other factors that affect the need for cleaning products.
- Track the total cost of all cleaning products and materials purchased during the performance period, as is required by the credit, and add the amortized cost for the nonchemical cleaning alternative for the performance period.
- Perform credit threshold calculations, as described in Step 3, by using the assumed value of the nonchemical cleaning alternatives.
What’s New in LEED v4.1
- This credit is a combination of four different v4 credits: EQc6 Green Cleaning—Custodial Effectiveness Assessment, EQc2 Enhanced Indoor Air Quality Strategies (Option 1), EQc8 Green Cleaning—Equipment, and EQc7 Green Cleaning—Products and Materials.
- A few adjustments have been made for janitorial equipment (Option 3)
- Compliance is now based on percentage of equipment used to clean the project at time of inventory. Tracking over the entire year is no longer required.
- The requirement to create a phase-out plan for non-compliant equipment has been removed.
- For cleaning products and materials (Option 4), tracking total annual purchases is no longer required. Compliance can now be demonstrated with a product inventory or from total annual purchases.
Should I upgrade?
The v4.1 credit combines multiple v4 purchasing credits into a single credit. But, you can only earn one point (rather than up to four points if you pursued each of the options as their individual credits under v4). Consider how the point difference will impact your certification goal when you’re evaluating which rating system version to use.