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Green Cleaning
Thousands of institutions across the US and around the world -- government buildings, schools, National Parks facilities, office buildings, and health care facilities -- have successfully adopted “green”, or environmentally preferable, cleaning practices. Hospitals for a Healthy Environment (H2E) fully supports “green cleaning” as an integral part of efficient, effective and environmentally sustainable operations in health care facilities
What is Green Cleaning?
Green cleaning is about maintaining and improving cleanliness and supporting infection control while protecting workers and the environment from the risks posed by cleaning materials and processes. It encompasses a broad set of practices and is not about simply switching one product for another. A successful program is focused on overall “quality cleaning” – standardized operations, effective tools and cleaning chemicals, uniform dispensing systems, comprehensive staff training, proper protective equipment, and clearly written policies and protocols for the various levels of cleaning and response to blood and body fluid spills. It also includes ongoing performance evaluation and improvement. With planning and oversight, green cleaning provides a high-performance cleaning process that prioritizes infection control but also reduces waste, risks to workers and building occupants, and negative impacts on the environment.
 Infection Control and Green Cleaning
Infection risks are of paramount importance in health care settings. However, many cleaning products and processes -- whether conventional or “green”-- have little or no impact on infection control. H2E recommends that facilities engage with green cleaning by first addressing resource-intensive practices and toxic or irritating chemicals that can clearly be replaced by preferable alternatives without impacting infection transmission. For example, facilities can begin by replacing floor strippers and finishes that contain heavy metals and asthmagens, substituting low-VOC (volatile organic compound) glass cleaners, using 100% recycled paper products, employing carcinogen-free carpet cleaners, adopting general purpose cleaners with no hormone-disrupting ingredients, introducing high-filtration vacuums and water- and chemical-conserving floor maintenance equipment . None of these products or practices is linked to infection transmission or infection control and all can improve worker safety and reduce environmental impacts.
Disinfection Practices and Products
H2E strongly supports robust research into safer, more effective disinfection methods. All disinfectants are intentionally toxic to microorganisms, and none can be accurately qualified as “green”. Any claims of environmental preferability by disinfectant manufacturers are inappropriate, and may even violate EPA and FTC regulations. However, best practices can assure that disinfection is highly effective without involving unnecessary exposure for workers, staff and patients, and such practices should be encouraged as part of environmentally sound cleaning operations. These include careful classification of areas of the hospital as critical, semi-critical and non-critical, using the appropriate product for target microorganism(s), using products at the appropriate concentration and for the proper residence time. Infection control must also incorporate many essential practices unrelated to cleaning, like increased hand-washing.
Health care facilities throughout the country have successfully implemented green cleaning programs while maintaining the efficacy of their infection control efforts. H2E encourages health care facilities to continue to adopt environmentally sound cleaning as an overall quality improvement program, carefully considering each aspect of implementation. There is room for rigorous discussion, and progress still to be made, and H2E and our Partners will engage to drive continuous improvement and innovation in this vitally important area.
Has your facility successfully implemented a green cleaning program? Help us share your successes with other hospital peers. Contact H2E and we’ll help you write up a mini-case study that you can share with your facility, community and local press.
Key Resources:
H2E’s Ten Step Guide to Green Cleaning Implementation helps providers of care navigate the process of adopting greener cleaning tools and techniques to improve indoor air quality and reduce environmental impacts.
For regulatory compliance information related to cleaning chemicals, see H2E’s Hazardous Materials pages
Best Practice Recommendations
- Green Seal
- GS37 Industrial and Institutional Cleaners
- GS40 Industrial and Institutional Floor Care Products
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