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Green Seal to Certify Cleaning Services

by Allen Rathey

Green Seal certification will enable cleaning companies to validate and market their green procedures and protocols based on meaningful criteria, and capitalize on the growing demand for green products and services.

Washington DC (PRWEB) February 28, 2005 -- Cleaning companies committed to a green cleaning program will soon be able to apply to become Green Seal certified, according to Arthur Weissman, President and CEO of Washington DC-based Green Seal.

"It will be a Green Seal Standard for cleaning services as opposed to products," said Weissman. "It was driven largely by requests from the BSC and residential cleaning industry seeking guidance and validation for their green cleaning programs."

Upon completion of the standard, estimated to be within 6-9 months of obtaining the necessary funding, cleaning services, both commercial and residential, which apply for certification and meet the standard will be able to get "Green Seal Certified".

"This certification will enable these cleaning companies to validate and market their green procedures and protocols based on meaningful criteria, and capitalize on the growing demand for green products and services," said Weissman.

The benefits don't stop there. According to Weissman: "An environmental standard for cleaning services will have a number of other beneficial outcomes." For example, it will:

Provide a benchmark for service providers to use to green their offering;

Provide criteria for institutional purchasers to use in specifications;

Provide the basis for a certification program for purchasers, both institutional and residential;

Complete the suite of Green Seal environmental standards in the janitorial/custodial area;

Drive the market to greener cleaning services, including the chemicals, products, and equipment used.

Green Seal is seeking five sponsors to provide the funding necessary for developing and finalizing the standard's environmental criteria.
Initial sponsors will contribute $10,000 each toward development of the standard.

"In appropriate places in Green Seal's marketing and communications materials and vehicles, sponsors will be identified as having contributed to the development of this standard. In addition, all sponsors will be designated as lifetime members of the Green Seal Environmental Partners Program. Sponsors will also be able to reference their contributions in their marketing materials as well as in corporate environmental or annual reports. Lastly, funding in support of this standard can be considered a tax-deductible contribution," said Weissman. Like all other
stakeholders in Green Seal's open process of standard development, sponsors will have the opportunity to provide input on the standard.

Initial sponsors will be sought from among a variety of sectors of the cleaning industry, but, to avoid the appearance of a conflict of interest, cleaning service companies, which could be certified under the standard, will not be able to sponsor the standard.

"We expect the fund-raising will be completed within a month or two since there is strong interest from the industry," said Allen Rathey, president of InstructionLink/JanTrain, Inc., the company Green Seal has chosen to assist with fundraising and initial marketing of the standard. "Green Seal has the expertise and a process in place to accomplish this program cost-effectively."

Companies desiring to sponsor the Green Seal Environmental Standard for Green Cleaning Services should contact Allen Rathey at 208-938-3137 or by email at e-mail protected from spam bots.

For technical questions specific to standard development, contact:

Arthur B. Weissman, Ph.D.
President and CEO
Green Seal, Inc.
1001 Connecticut Avenue, NW, Suite 827
Washington, D.C., 20036 USA
tel. +1 202-872-6400
fax +1 202-872-4324
e-mail protected from spam bots

Green Seal
Green Seal is an independent, non-profit organization that strives to achieve a healthier and cleaner environment by identifying and promoting products and services that cause less toxic pollution and waste, conserve resources and habitats, and minimize global warming and ozone depletion. Green Seal has no financial interest in the products or services that it certifies or recommends nor in any manufacturer or company. Green Seal's evaluations are based on state-of-the-art science and information using internationally recognized methods and procedures. Thus, Green Seal provides credible, objective, and unbiased information whose only purpose is to direct the purchaser to environmentally responsible products and services.

Green Seal provides the current "gold standard" for green cleaning product certification. The GS-37 standard (institutional cleaners), for example, has been recommended by the federal government for adoption by all federal agencies. Many states and municipalities have also adopted Green Seal product standards.

www.greenseal.org

Allen P. Rathey
President
InstructionLink/JanTrain, Inc.
13998 West Hartford Dr.
Boise, ID 83713
Voice 1 (208) 938-3137
Fax 1 (208) 938-3138
Mobile 1 (208) 724-1508

http://www.greenseal.org