Volume 5 Issue 5 - May 2009
Welcome to DestinationGreen!
It has been a quick month since we celebrated Earth Day (and sent you our last issue of DestinationGreen) and it is quite remarkable how much has happened.
First, Green Cleaning in Schools legislation was passed and signed into law in 2 States (Maryland and Connecticut) and passed by 2 more State legislatures (Nevada and Hawaii) but both may not get signed into law this year, plus Massachusetts issued their new RFP for green products.
Also, our new workshop "An Operational Approach to Sustainability" not only was accepted into the USGBC’s Education Providers Program (we are still the only company in our industry to be accepted), but perhaps more important was that our program was accepted to be given at GreenBuild.
I attended 2 very important meetings on ecolabelling with the Keystone Center and ANSI (American National Standards Institute) and it is becoming clearer where this issue is headed (and we plan on being in the middle of it and making sure the Green Cleaning Movement is well represented).
And finally, I was asked to serve on the Sustainability Advisory Panel for Wal-Mart, which is extremely exciting considering how big they are and their ability to move entire industries.
Please enjoy the latest issue of DestinationGreen. Inside you will find a green selling tip on knowing your bundle of products, as well as a tip from the archives. Please also see the latest of the EPA's progress towards allowing disinfectants to make green claims.
For those of you helping your clients draft policies, procedures and other documents regarding their Green Cleaning program - please see this month's Expert Insight with Candy Hammer, Facilities Services Supervisor of Issaquah (WA) School District. She graciously provides the readers of DestinationGreen with a behind the scenes view of the formulation of an Indoor Environmental Quality (IEQ) Management Plan, and shares the final product.
Also, please note that nominations for the 2009 Green Cleaning Awards for Schools & Universities are opening in June. Please see the link below to access more information on how to help your outstanding Green Cleaning program get recognized.
Life certainly is exciting and Green issues continue to accelerate!
Steve
As always, we encourage you to share your personal and professional strategies for “Going Green” with us for future columns. Submit them to editor@destinationgreen.com.
Ashkin Group News:
"Solving the Green Puzzle" Accepted into USGBC's
Educational Provider Program, GreenBuild 2009
The Ashkin Group reports their new half-day workshop on Sustainability, "Solving the Green Cleaning Puzzle," has been accepted by the United States Green Building Council into their Education Providers Program. The Ashkin Group remains the only company in the cleaning industry to be accepted into this prestigious program.
"We are very pleased to have this important workshop on Sustainability accepted into the program," said Steve Ashkin, President of The Ashkin Group. "And we are also quite honored that the program will be given this year at GreenBuild."
Update on EPA’s Efforts on Green Claims for Disinfectants
Steve Ashkin, president of The Ashkin Group and executive director of the Green Cleaning Network along with Bill Balek of ISSA and other representatives of the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Workgroup on Comparative Claims recommended that the EPA Office of Pesticide Programs establish a policy that would allow suppliers of “green” disinfectants and sanitizers to use the EPA Design for the Environment logo as well as to make limited factual statements related to the product’s environmental attributes. The recommendations were made at the recent meeting of the Pesticide Policy Dialogue Committee conducted at EPA offices in Arlington, VA.
The recommendations were an outgrowth of a series of meetings conducted by the Workgroup on Comparative Claims that has been exploring the establishment of an EPA policy that would permit claims of environmental preferability to be made in relation to hard surface disinfectants and sanitizers.
Calls to Action
Opening nominations sought for the
2009 Green Cleaning Awards for Schools & Universities
In June, nominations will be accepted for the 2009 Green Cleaning Award for Schools and Universities. The awards are sponsored by American School & University Magazine, the Green Cleaning Network, and the Healthy Schools Campaign. We wanted to share this with DestinationGreen readers to give you a head-start in gathering the information needed to nominate your outstanding Green Cleaning programs.
The award recognizes the best in Green Cleaning programs within educational institutions across the nation. To see if your learning institution qualifies as a potential winning Green Cleaning program, one can look to The Quick and Easy Guide to Green Cleaning in Schools, published by the Healthy Schools Campaign, for a roadmap of judging criteria.
From the Green Selling Tips Archive:
Selling Green Step by Step
In this month’s Green Selling Tip we want to lay out the actual steps that we have found are essential parts of the project, so that you can manage them to a successful sales outcome.
Please keep in mind that the whole concept of project management does not equate to control. You cannot force your prospect to do something that they do not want to do. But you do have the ability to manage the events, time, people and other issues that can increase your chances of success.
Expert Insight: Candy Hammer
Facilities Services Supervisor, Issaquah (WA) School District
The Issaquah (WA) School District formed an Indoor Environmental Quality (IEQ) Management Plan in an effort to monitor and improve the overall quality of the indoor environment in their school district.
Read more about their plan with feedback from Candy Hammer, Issaquah School District's Facilities Services Supervisor. A link to the complete document is provided for those of you helping your clients that are considering drafting a similar document.
Green News Roundup: This Month's Top Headlines
Climate Change Update
Warming - it's a health hazard.
"Climate change will affect, in profoundly adverse ways, some of the most fundamental determinants of health: food, air, water," the director-general of the World Health Organization, Margaret Chan, says.
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Green Schools
In schools, a cautionary video about America’s ‘stuff.’
“The Story of Stuff,” a 20-minute video about the effects of human consumption, has been embraced by teachers eager to supplement textbooks that lag behind scientific findings on climate change and pollution.
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Green Marketing
Green-Marketing Revolution Defies Economic Downturn.
Advertising Age writes that not only are consumers still interested in buying green, but that companies are continuing to launch green products throughout 2009. If pace of launches continues, 2009 will have 3x the amount of sustainable products released compared to last year. Interest in green products seems to have spread beyond the LOHAS community to other markets.
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Green Consumption
Without cafeteria trays, colleges cut water use, and calories.
Scores of colleges and universities across the country are shelving the trays in hopes of conserving water, cutting food waste, softening the ambience and saving money. Such a move is expected to lead to a larger push for schools to embrace environmentalism.
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Green Regulation
EPA rapidly reversing Bush policies.
"Green" reversals have grown commonplace at EPA, where Administrator Lisa Jackson has systematically upended the agency's pro-industry tendencies of the past eight years, replacing them with decisions that strongly favor environmentalists.
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Green Politics
Barack Obama's 100 days: Green measures.
Barack Obama promised on his very first day in the White House to help move America towards a new green future. Now, 100 days on, environmentalists in general have been impressed by the speed and sheer sweep of Obama's efforts.
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The Ashkin Group Calendar of Events
Click below for The Ashkin Group's schedule of upcoming events and presentations.
