Tag Archive for: Green Cleaning

Two (OS1) Programs win Green Cleaning Awards

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Dixon Middle School (Provo City School District) and University of Michigan were both awarded a Green Cleaning Award for Schools & Universities in the December 2011 Issue of American Schools & Universities Magazine. The Green Cleaning Awards for Schools & Universities recognizes education institutions for exemplary green cleaning programs. Award criteria are modeled on The Quick and Easy Guide to Green Cleaning in Schools, published by the Healthy Schools Campaign, a founding member of the Green Cleaning Network.

To download the complete digital edition of the December Issue of American Schools and Universities Magazine, please click here.

Congratulations to these (OS1) Programs and all of their hard work in 2011!

Austin Convention Center gets LEED Gold with the help of (OS1)

December 12, 2011. Austin, TexasThe Austin Convention Center is proud to announce that it has been awarded LEED® Gold Certification for Existing Buildings, established by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) and verified by the Green Building Certification Institute (GBCI). The LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Green Building Rating System is the internationally accepted benchmark for the design, construction and operation of high performance green buildings, which was developed by the USGBC.

LEED promotes a whole-building approach to sustainability by recognizing performance in five key areas of human environmental health: sustainable site development, water efficiency, energy efficiency, materials selection and indoor environmental quality. There are several types of certifications, but two primary ones for commercial facilities – New Construction (NC) and Existing Buildings (EB).

“We are tremendously proud of this achievement,” said Mark Tester, director of the Austin Convention Center Department. “Not only is the Austin Convention Center bringing economic benefits to the city of Austin, it is also a model of sustainability that will continue to set the standard in the industry. Credit certainly goes to the convention center staff’s dedication and commitment over the past four years to obtain the gold level, under the guidance of David Thomas, ACC Operations Manager, LEED-Accredited Professional and Certified Energy Manager.”

“Austin Convention Center’s LEED certification demonstrates tremendous green building leadership,” said Rick Fedrizzi, U.S. Green Building Council president, CEO and founding chair. “The work of innovative building projects such as the Austin Convention Center is a fundamental driving force in the green building movement.”

Austin Convention Center’s sustainable design features and practices include:

  • 66% of all waste diverted from landfill
  • Composted 250,000 lbs. of organic waste in 2011
  • Reduced our carbon footprint by 93% since 2007
  • Facility powered by Wind Energy
  • Reduced electric consumption by 20%
  • Installed LED lighting in all meeting rooms
  • Carpet made from recycled materials, generating zero emissions and installed without using glue
  • Reduced indoor water usage by 32%
  • Replaced 75% of all toilets to low flow fixtures
  • Implemented the (OS1) cleaning program to enhance, standardize green cleaning practices
  • Crushed glass, native and adaptive plants is used in landscaping to minimize water consumption
  • Installed Electric Car charging stations

“We are proud to have one of the greenest convention centers in the country, said Bob Lander, president and CEO of the Austin Convention and Visitors Bureau. “This achievement signifies Austin’s commitment to the environment – and will further Austin’s reputation as a premier destination for meetings and conventions.”

The Austin Convention Center is located in the heart of the capital of Texas, eight miles from the airport and a short distance from 6,000 downtown hotel rooms. The convention center is just down the street from the city’s vibrant nightlife. As the Live Music Capital of the World®, Austin echoes with the sound of country, rock ‘n’ roll, blues, jazz and Tejano in over 200 venues, any night of the week.

A leading destination in Green meetings and one of the country’s most technologically advanced facilities, the convention center stretches over six city blocks and 881,400 gross square feet of space. It offers 370,957 square feet of meeting space including 246,097 square feet of column-free exhibit space divisible into five contiguous halls. Ballrooms of all sizes are included in meeting package options. The 43,300 square foot upper level Grand Ballroom offers space for over 3,000 to dine in style. The Center boasts 54 meetings room and show offices, located on all four levels, with over 58,000 square feet.

Over 7 million people have attended 3,000+ events, including over 700 conventions, at the award-winning Austin Convention Center since it opened in 1992. The convention center expanded in 2002, doubling its size. More information about the Austin Convention Center and its LEED certification can be found on its website at www.austinconventioncenter.com.

(OS1) User News: UT at Austin Makes The Cover of Housekeeping Solutions

Our friends and colleagues at the University of Texas at Austin are the cover story in the November 2011 issue of Housekeeping Solutions. Click on the button below to read an article about their custodial training program, which makes them one of our most successful (OS1) Programs.

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Eight Green Cleaning Myths to Consider

We would like to share this fantasic article written by our friend Dr. Michael A. Berry for the January 2011 issue of Cleanfax Magazine. In this article, Berry discusses the eight myths to consider about “green cleaning” from a scientific perspective, and why high performance cleaning systems, such as (OS1), are the way to approach an effective cleaning result for the indoor enviornment.

To read the entire article, please click here.

 

Microbiology for Cleaning Workers Simplified – 2011 Edition

The Microbiology for Cleaning Workers Simplified book has been revised, re-editied and updated with new information. Co-written by John Walker and Dr. Jeffery Campbell, the newest version of this book offers 260 pages of information that was designed for the professional cleaning world.

All professional cleaners work in a jungle. An invisible jungle. A jungle of billions of microorganisms. Some are friendly, some are hostile, some are trying to (and eventually will) kill us. We are part of the jungle and home to millions of the micro-creatures who live on us, in us and around us in every nook and cranny we attempt to clean. The invisible jungle resides in the most pristine kitchen, the shiniest restroom and the cleanest smelling hospital or school. In these spotless environments, bad bugs ranging from MRSA to E. coli to coliform to salmonella are actively spreading from surface to surface, like chimpanzees swinging from bough to infected bough.

They are colonizing the plumbing, thriving on shelves and inhabiting the corners of counters. This book is not designed to be a medical manual. It’s is not a hospital reference book. It is not a technical scientific tome. It is a book designed to help cleaning workers. Housekeepers, janitors, custodians, trainers and their management who are concerned with the broad area of dealing with the problems of microorganisms, wherever they are found in the workplace. This book attempts to bridge the gap between science and common sense when it comes to cleaning facilities. Here are the sanitation basics, the vocabulary and the history of cleaning for health. It’s compiled to equip you to deal in a practical way with everyday cleaning and sanitation problems of facility operations. Once you master the basic knowledge, you can act professionally to provide the necessary health service to those who work in these facilities.

You can order your very on copy from the ManageMen online store, by clicking here.