Axent Promotes Environmental Safety and Tenant Retention Through Green Cleaning Best Practices

Axent Realty is committed to quality, excellence and performance, as expressed in its corporate mission, which strives to make a profound and beneficial impact on the productivity of the hundreds of individuals, companies and corporations it reaches. For Executive Vice President Jason Goldblatt, making tenant environments healthier through green cleaning is an extension of this mission. “It is important to us that our tenants and employees feel safe, secure and comforted that they are working in a healthy environment.”

Axent tapped the Building Wellness Institute to provide an initial assessment for a pilot program, in which the company applied LEED guidelines to a five-story, 101,000 square foot Class A office building in suburban Maryland. The Building Wellness Institute conducted an internal audit of tenant spaces, common areas and restrooms, carried out environmental testing, and produced a full report upon completion.

“The Building Wellness Institute helped us expand the scope of property management to embrace the total health of the building.”

Jason Goldblatt
Executive Vice President
Axent Realty Group

As a result, the Building Wellness Institute delivered a set of actionable recommendations for raising the level of Axent’s environmental wellness standards, including retro-fitting bathrooms, installing hand sanitizers throughout the building, using green cleaning products, instituting quarterly monitoring, and launching a tenant education and communication program that highlights the importance of environmental health.

The initial feedback encouraged Axent to implement its environmental wellness program throughout its entire commercial portfolio, in excess of 5 million square feet, over the next several years. Axent foresees even greater results for the future. “The goal for us is healthier occupants and tenants. We believe that goes hand in hand with employee and tenant retention,” said Goldblatt.

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Rising Above the Competition and Winning Contracts With a GS-42 Compliant Green Cleaning Program

The Wilburn Company, Inc. (TWC), a family-run business established in 1998, has enjoyed rapid growth over the past 10 years, having expanded from servicing one million square feet of commercial property to a current portfolio that includes a combined 7.5 million square feet of commercial and government space. TWC’s growth and continuing success is largely the result of its ability to compete for and win government contracts that increasingly include compliancy requirements with green cleaning standards such as Green Seal™ GS-42 or Cleaning Industry Management Standard (CIMS) certification.   

Most government contracts for facility services now require a Green Seal compliant cleaning program. The bottom line is that if you don’t qualify, then you won’t win.”

Jimmy Wilburn
President
The Wilburn Company, Inc.

TWC recognized early on that in order to compete for business, today’s facility services companies must have green cleaning programs in place. Completing the Building Wellness Certification Training program in the winter of 2008 has enabled TWC to fulfill green cleaning contract requirements and help its customers achieve LEED-EB certification. As a result of its ability rise above the competition, the company recently helped the prime bidder on a large government contract win because its GS-42 compliant program proved to be the key differentiator.

In addition to providing the tools and best practices necessary to establish a successful green cleaning program, Building Wellness Certification Training also helped the TWC staff understand the implications of the procedures and products it uses, both for the environment and the business of cleaning. Today, TWC’s ability to meet green cleaning contract requirements is paying dividends for its staff and its customers.

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Demonstrating a Commitment to Green Cleaning Training that Benefits Cleaning Staff and Customers

CRS Facility Services (crs) provides commercial contract cleaning, mechanical maintenance personnel, marble/stone restoration and other custodial-related services. With offices in New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Washington D.C., Virginia, Maryland and Florida, crs has a combined 120 years experience in the janitorial industry and a successful track record of personalized service for clients and state-of-the-art training for its employees.

crs demonstrates its commitment to its employees and to the health of its building occupants through an internal training program that parallels the latest standards of “green” cleaning as established under the Green Seal™ guidelines. Building Wellness Certification Training provided the foundation for crs’s own green cleaning initiatives and paved the way for GS-42 certification. The training provided crs with the best practices and procedures it needed to ensure that its own cleaning policies are understood, and to maintain the highest level of safety and awareness among its staff.

“For us, the Building Wellness Certification Training program reinforced the positive impact we have on the well being of all those who occupy the buildings we clean. And in addition to providing the tools we need to implement our green cleaning program, it helped strengthen our commitment to the care of our customers.”

Doralba Hebden
Operations Manager
CRS Facility Services

In addition to raising awareness of the importance of green, healthy cleaning among all staff members, crs’s continued commitment to green cleaning training—and its achievement of GS-42 certification—are also benefiting its customers. Of the four buildings chosen in 2009 by the U.S. Green Building Council’s National Capital Region Chapter to receive LEED awards of excellence, two (1331 L St., N.W. and the Discovery Communications building) are cleaned by crs—providing further validation that comprehensive GS-42 accredited training generates positive results.

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Committing to the Health of All Building Occupants Through a Sustainable Green Cleaning Program

Since 1977, Cavalier Services, Inc. has been providing building maintenance services that focus on measured performance and quality standards. With roots as a provider of commercial office building cleaning services, Cavalier now offers a diversified portfolio that includes commercial cleaning, interior and exterior maintenance, and staffing. Over the years, Cavalier has maintained a commitment to quality and responsibility.

That commitment is now reflected in Cavalier’s CavGreen™ program, designed to help clients become leaders in environmentally responsible facility service solutions. The Building Wellness Certification Training program provided Cavalier’s management team with the information and tools it needed to launch the program and successfully earn Green Seal™ GS-42 certification, which it did in December 2008.  

“Earning the Green Seal GS-42 certification provided tangible evidence of Cavalier’s commitment to providing healthier and safer facilities for our clients and their building occupants.”

Linda C. Pendergrass, CQM
Director of Performance Management
Cavalier Services, Inc.

In addition to helping Cavalier develop and implement a sustainability cleaning process, the Building Wellness Certification Training program also enabled the company to effectively train the rest of its workforce in green cleaning best practices and procedures. According to Linda C. Pendergrass, director of Performance Management at Cavalier, “The task of implementing a green cleaning program would have been much more difficult without the knowledge acquired through a GS-42 compliant training program.” As a result, Cavalier is able to offer a program that encompasses more than just green products. The company has adopted processes and procedures necessary to provide a complete program designed around LEED and GS-42 standards.

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For BMS, Going Green Helps Win Customers and Empower Cleaning Staff Through Education and Awareness

Building Maintenance Service, LLC (BMS) is a fully diversified facility services provider offering engineering, janitorial, security and architectural maintenance services to commercial Class A office owners, luxury hotels, pharmaceutical facilities, and colleges and universities. A wholly owned subsidiary of Vornado Realty Trust, BMS is responsible for servicing Vornado's 60 million square-foot office and retail portfolio, among numerous other clients.

BMS employs 2,000 service professionals across Washington, D.C., Philadelphia, New York and Boston. Like its parent company, BMS is committed to developing and maintaining indoor environments that enhance the health, productivity and well-being of all building occupants. BMS currently provides services to 25 LEED-registered buildings and was recently awarded a multi-year contract for services to the U.S. Green Building Council's Washington, D.C. headquarters.

BMS understands that going green means establishing a common standard that is practiced and promoted throughout the organization, and that each building maintenance employee must take responsibility and lead this effort in his or her own way. Building Wellness Institute training provided BMS the knowledge it needs to develop and enforce policies, document procedures, set goals for its building maintenance teams, and remain focused on all who occupy its buildings, including employees, tenants and visitors.  

“The Building Wellness Institute training helped our staff understand that their actions generate positive results every day. It has also helped us view the job of building maintenance in a whole new light.”  

Brian M. Snow, LEED AP
Regional Vice President
Building Maintenance Service (BMS)

Building Wellness Certification Training has enabled BMS to assist its building management clients in their efforts to achieve LEED certification. Additionally, the company now promotes green cleaning in all of its buildings through its  publicly displayed “BMS Green Clean” seal. By participating in the training, and by empowering its own staff with the knowledge and skills it needs to lead the effort, BMS has raised the level of public perception to the point where its tenants know that the people who clean their lobbies, offices and other public spaces are contributing to their overall health.

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Addressing Community Health and Growth Through a Green Cleaning and Environmental Wellness Strategy

As a premier military retirement community, Knollwood has been singularly focused for over 50 years on the well-being of the members of the American military family. In addition to offering a continuum of care to best fulfill the physical and emotional needs of each resident, Knollwood has also demonstrated a commitment to the health of the environment in which its military family resides.

To deliver on its commitment to environmental wellness, the facility mandated that all new construction on the picturesque campus overlooking Rock Creek Park in Washington, D.C. be LEED certified. Cynthia Akins, Knollwood’s Environmental Services director, approached the Building Wellness Institute to train its building maintenance managers in green cleaning practices and help the facility achieve LEED and GS-42 certification.  

“The Building Wellness Institute’s program has enabled us to raise the bar for quality care and generate tangible results in resident satisfaction and recruitment.”

Cynthia Akins
Environmental Services Director
Knollwood

In addition to helping Knollwood achieve certification, the green cleaning training provided by the Building Wellness Institute delivered benefits to the community and the facility’s management that extend beyond certification. The training program provided Knollwood with an overarching strategy to improve and sustain environmental wellness through best practices and awareness. By learning more about how cleaning products impact residents and staff, Knollwood has been able to improve the quality of its overall care, reduce the impacts on the environment and make the facility much more attractive to those who are seeking a dynamic continuing care retirement community. Knollwood now has a formalized training program to address its concern for the environmental health of the entire community of residents, healthcare providers and visitors.

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Achieving a Green Campus By Embracing Environmental Wellness Best Practices

The University of Virginia is one of the nation’s leading centers of innovation. Inspired by Thomas Jefferson, arguably this country’s most important architect and social thinker, the University’s commitment to the practices of sustainability dates back centuries, and its current activities in the area of environmental wellness, green architecture and sustainability are diverse and influential.

A sense of social responsibility, a student body and faculty that are committed to environmental health, and a belief that it must lead by example all play in important role in how the University embraces today’s environmental challenges. Because a healthy indoor environment plays a crucial role in the University’s overall environmental public health strategy, Bob Carman, Building Services superintendent, approached the Building Wellness Institute to train the University’s building maintenance supervisors in green cleaning best practices. The Building Wellness Institute’s Green Healthy Cleaning Training Program successfully demonstrated to the Building Services supervisors, through instruction and example, how to implement a cost-effective strategy that improves performance and reduces environmental impact.

“The Building Wellness Institute helped us distinguish the University and demonstrate to our students, parents and greater community that we are doing everything we can to sustain a healthy environment.”

Bob Carman
Building Services Superintendent
University of Virginia Facilities Management

The training helped supervisors and staff realize the direct affect they have on the health of building occupants, including cleaning personnel. Building Services supervisors and staff now have the ability to determine which chemicals, techniques, and equipment might positively or negatively impact the health of all tenants. Supervisors are also looking more closely at recycling practices and what they can do to prevent waste going to landfills. As a result of the Building Wellness Institute training, Building Services is now a leading contributor to the University’s overall pursuit of green cleaning success.  

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Leading the Effort to Green Maryland’s Public Schools

Home to the town of Columbia, a planned community built around the central idea of enhancing its residents’ lives and eliminating socio-economic barriers, Howard County, Maryland has a reputation for change that dates back to the 1960s. Today, Howard County continues its long tradition of innovation through a variety of programs aimed at achieving environmental sustainability among its businesses, residents and schools.

On June 25, 2009, the Howard County Public School System’s Office of Custodial Services demonstrated its commitment to the environment and the health of its K-12 students countywide by completing the Building Wellness Institute’s Green Seal™ GS-42 compliant Building Wellness Certification Training program. On that day, Howard County became the first K-12 school system in the state of Maryland to complete a green cleaning certification training program.

“We’ve now raised the bar by protecting the health of our students and faculty, and by providing our staff with the knowledge and hands-on skills they need to become leaders in environmental wellness.”

Olivia Claus, Manager,
Office of Custodial Services
Howard County Public School System

As demonstrated through green cleaning best practices and the renovation of existing schools to meet the LEED standard, Howard County understands the long-term benefits of going green. Howard County also understands that procuring green cleaning products for its schools, as mandated by Maryland House Bill 1363, is a great start to protecting the health of its students, but that a sustainable green cleaning program also requires best practices and procedures designed to ensure proper cleaning and document effectiveness. “We believe that the GS-42 accredited training provided by Building Wellness Institute will help us streamline our processes and clean more efficiently,” said Olivia Claus, Manager, Office of Custodial Services. “We now have a solid foundation from which to measure our own success.”

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