ISSA, the leading trade association for the cleaning industry, is at the forefront of reducing economic and other barriers to businesses that are interested in pursuing environmental strategies. For instance, at a recent regulatory forum, Green Seal, TerraChoice Environmental Marketing (EcoLogo Program), CleanGredients and NSF International (on behalf of the DfE Formulator Program) all announced that they will provide ISSA members with special discounted pricing.  (For more information on these new discount programs, contact Bill Balek, ISSA, bill@issa.com, 800-225-4772.) These incentives will encourage the further development and production of innovative, environmentally preferable, and effective cleaning products

The regulatory forum itself attracted more than 130 attendees -- more than double the number of attendees at the last  forum. The turnout required that the event move to a larger room. In fourteen sessions held over two days, the forum touched on the ISSA sponsored CleanGredients database; the EPA Design for the Environment Formulator Program; and the new GS 42 standard and certification process for cleaning service providers.  Other presentations addressed the USDA biobased procurement program; the USGBC LEED–EB certification program, and recent market research on the demand for green products.  Experts also addressed state and local government green procurement policies, and developments in the school and hospital sectors. 

“We are thrilled with the response to this year’s regulatory forum,” said Bill Balek, ISSA’s Director of Legislative Affairs. “As interest in environmentally preferable cleaning grows, ISSA will continue to keep its members up to date by offering opportunities like these. ISSA has a worldwide membership that includes more than 4,800 distributor, manufacturer, building service contractor, and in-house service provider members. The association has offices in Lincolnwood, IL; Amsterdam, Netherlands; Monterrey, Mexico; Shanghai, China; and Singapore. For more information, visit www.issa.com.