ServiceMaster Restoration By Simons – Environmental Issues: Useful Tips For Chicago Businesses
Environmental Issues must be considered when managing commercial properties and businesses in Chicago. ServiceMaster Restoration By Simons suggests considering the environment when making decisions about managing your commercial property and business. As Chicagoland’s trusted name in cleaning and restoration, ServiceMaster Restoration By Simons prioritizes our environment by providing fire damage cleanup and water damage cleanup services in Chicago.
The following are helpful tips about the work environment; please enjoy them.
Green Cleaning—for You, Your Work Environment, and Your World. Why use traditional cleaning products and methods when you can Go Green? It’s better for your employees/tenants and better for our world—what could be better?
“Green” has become the new buzzword, but what is green cleaning? Traditionally, cleaning products—especially those in a commercial or industrial setting—have been considered harsh—harsh for both individuals and our world. Green cleaning products can deliver the same level of cleaning but also reduce the impact on health and other environmental issues.
However, green cleaning is more than just the products used. Ask your cleaning contractor if they have green programs available. If so, ask what their green program is comprised of. A viable green cleaning contractor, like ServiceMaster Restoration By Simons, will be able to say they use certified green products, equipment, and cleaning systems.
A green cleaning program in your facility can also earn the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) points. For more information about LEED, visit the U.S. Green Building Council website.
Greening Your Facility Through Recycling. Consider how much office paper and other items are thrown away in your commercial building. Implementing a recycling program is easy, and it helps reduce and address environmental issues.
One of the easiest ways to start “greening” your facility is through recycling. Think of how much waste, such as office paper, soda cans, water bottles, etc., could be recycled.
Your cleaning contractor is an obvious place to start the recycling discussion. After all, they take out the trash every night, and can probably guesstimate how much waste is truly recyclable in your facility. Have them help you conduct an on-site evaluation of your waste to determine how and what you can reduce, reuse, or recycle.
Also, consider the following:
- Centralizing trash and recycling pick-up
- Providing not only departmental recycling containers but also receptacles for all workspaces
- Asking local recycling resources in your area to determine the appropriate disposal of hard-to-recycle items
“Green” Lighting Programs. Changing traditional light bulbs to their “green” alternatives is a quick and easy way to reduce lighting costs in your operational budget.
Many green building practices can require significant capital expenditure to accomplish. Green lighting programs can often be a “quick win” in the steps to achieve LEED-EB certification. Here are just a few ways you can green your lighting:
Compact Fluorescent Bulbs – A few ways to reduce energy consumption through lighting include the use of compact fluorescent bulbs (CFLs), which use 75% less energy and last up to 10 times longer than standard incandescent bulbs.*
Occupancy Sensing – Occupancy sensing lighting recognizes when individuals are in offices or other indoor spaces. When no motion is sensed for a period of time, the lighting automatically dims or shuts off completely.
Daylighting – Daylight integration lighting recognizes the level of natural light in a space. If enough natural light is present, the lighting automatically shuts off completely.
* Source: ENERGY STAR – www.energystar.gov
Sick Buildings. A healthy work environment is crucial to your employees or tenants. Ensure that your building doesn’t breed sickness to ensure that your workers are as healthy and productive as possible.
Microorganisms are all around us, indoors and outdoors. Some do us a lot of good, some can harm us, and most are benign. The question is: Does your building act as a microbiological garden, growing the “contrary” microbes that will make tenants, employees, and you ill?
If you think you have a problem, have a professional test your indoor air quality. Ideally, the microbes inside your building should be about the same as the ones outside. When testing shows something significantly different, you know you have a problem.
Keep in mind that microbes are living things. If you cut off what they need to live, your building won’t be a breeding ground for the wrong kinds. Contact your cleaning contractor to discuss green cleaning programs. Using green products and equipment can reduce airborne particulate matter, eliminate volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from your cleaning products, and remove many harmful microbes in the indoor environment. Also, consider cleaning your HVAC system to remove particulate matter from your ducts and filters as well as a thorough cleaning of your carpets.
Daylighting –
Isn’t it nice that being “green” (environmentally responsible) can put green in your pocket?
“Daylighting” is a simple concept—more windows = more light. And making the windows operable (able to open) can even save on AC. Big savings in lighting are obvious, and in cooling are pretty obvious (in borderline weather, folks can open a window and save on AC). Also, savings in heating in temperate weather—more light provides natural heat. (Make the windows Low-E and reflective, and you won’t lose heat in cold weather.)
Daylighting can provide even more significant energy savings when coupled with light fixtures that sense the amount of natural light in a space. If enough natural light is present, the lighting dims or shuts off completely.
For environmentally “green cleaning” services, call ServiceMaster Restoration By Simons. We use ServiceMaster Clean’s proprietary “Green Cleaning” solutions and lessen the impact on the environment. Call 773-376-1110 today!