Questions & Answers

  • Q. What is Green Cleaning?
  • A. Green Cleaning is effective cleaning which protects health without harming the environment.
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  • Q. What is the difference between Green Cleaning and the UGL Unicco GreenClean® program?
  • A. Green Cleaning is a generic term used in the marketplace to describe cleaning that is environmentally conscious. The UGL Unicco GreenClean® program is UGL Unicco's green service offering/program. It is a holistic approach to minimize health and environmental impacts in facilities and has been built around recognized "roadmaps" for Green Cleaning, such as the US Green Building Council's LEED for Existing Buildings (LEED-EB) program. The UGL Unicco GreenClean program goes beyond using "certified" green products and chemicals, focusing on every piece of the puzzle including equipment, procedures, training, occupant issues, recycling and more. Swapping out current cleaning chemicals for green ones does not mean that one has a green program. This is a very important distinction. With the UGL Unicco GreenClean program you are: Guaranteed Clean. Certifiably Green.®
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  • Q. Does this mean UGL Unicco is "certified"?

  • A. No. There are currently two prevalent certifications-LEED and Green Seal. LEED is a program developed by the U.S. Green Building Council. It is a certification process whereby new construction (LEED-NC) and existing buildings (LEED-EB) can achieve points toward different levels of certification. It should be noted that individual buildings, not cleaning programs in general, are certified. Currently, depending upon scope of work, UGL Unicco can help you achieve nearly half of the points necessary to achieve the basic LEED-EB certification, even more when our basic program is combined with our O&M capabilities.

    Green Seal is a not-for-profit environmental standard setting organization which has developed the de facto national standard for "green" cleaning chemicals and janitorial paper products. Although all "environmentally friendly" products are not Green Seal certified, UGL Unicco is dedicated to using Green Seal approved products where applicable as it ensures that the products are in fact designed, tested and "certified" by an independent third-party to reduce impacts on health, safety and the environment. In the future, Green Seal may develop standards to certify janitorial processes, which we will evaluate at that time.
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  • Q. What's wrong with the chemicals I'm using currently?
  • A. There is nothing "wrong" with traditional products. They perform well, are cost competitive and meet the minimum requirements of all laws and regulations. However, the cleaning industry like all industries has developed newer technologies which allow us to clean effectively and cost competitively, but which further reduce risks and improve the margin of safety for the people using the products and building occupants, and reduce impacts on the environment. Thus, there is nothing wrong with traditional cleaner, we just want to take advantage of these newer technologies to do better for our workers, customers, and the environment.
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  • Q: Can UGL Unicco help me attain LEED certification?

  • A. Currently, UGL Unicco can help you achieve the points directly associated with the services which we provide within your building. And these points can be a significant part of the overall number of points necessary for certification (nearly half of what is necessary for the basic certification, more when we perform the Operations & Maintenance in the facility). Furthermore, what some of our other customers have found is that the points that we can deliver are some of the least expensive points available, and with the best return-on-investment.

    We have extensive internal expertise on LEED-EB certification, and the UGL Unicco staff have demonstrated their understanding of green building practices and principles and the LEED Rating System by obtaining LEED Accredited Professional (LEED AP) status. While we currently do not offer certification services, our competency is demonstrated by the fact that the first LEED-EB certified building in the world is a UGL Unicco customer. If interested, we would be happy to provide you a list of consultants who can help you with the entire process.


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  • Q: Isn't Green Cleaning basically swapping out your chemicals?
  • A. The goal of Green Cleaning is to produce healthy and productive indoor environments while minimizing the impacts on the environment. Thus it requires us to go far beyond just switching chemicals. So while switching chemicals is a good first step, a true Green Cleaning program requires us to look at all of the products used in the cleaning program - chemicals, paper, vacuums, floor machines, mats, etc., as well as the procedures and training for cleaning personnel, plus all the other opportunities to improve health and reduce environmental impacts such as recycling programs, and energy and water conservation efforts. In addition, if you are interested in your building becoming LEED certified, either currently or in the future, only swapping out chemicals is missing the vast majority of the points that can be achieved by a comprehensive Green Cleaning program.
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  • Q: What is the market doing about Green?
  • A. The overall Green Building movement and organizations like the US Green Building Council are growing at exponential rates fueling the demand for green buildings and all of the products and services which they affect. The cleaning industry has responded by developing green products in numerous categories from chemicals to paper to equipment to tools to entryway mats and more. In a few years it is predicted that the entire cleaning industry will see Green Cleaning as the norm. Today, UGL Unicco has made it easy for guiding owners and property managers to implement Green Cleaning by bringing all of the components together into a single offering to maximize the opportunity to green a building, produce a healthy and productive indoor environment, and to do so cost effectively.
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  • Q. Why should I care?

  • A. The reasons are many, which can ultimately have a positive impact on what you care most about-the bottom line.

    • Green Cleaning is a major trend taking place in the cleaning industry. In a few years, everyone will be doing it. But the leaders, the early adopters can receive many benefits.
    • Used as a tool to market your facility, it becomes a key differentiator for you that can attract new tenants.
    • Studies show that Green Cleaning can significantly impact the overall health of employees, students and tenants resulting in less sick time and increase productivity and improving quality.
    • By creating a healthier and safer indoor environment, the UGL Unicco GreenClean® program can help reduce liability.
    • The UGL Unicco GreenClean program can help reduce occupant complaints and improve occupant satisfaction. This can reduce the costs associated with responding to the complaints. Retaining customers will greatly increase the bottom-line for building owners and property managers of multi-tenant buildings.
    • Our program can help you achieve points toward your building's LEED certification.
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  • Q: How can UGL Unicco's GreenClean Program help me promote my facility?

  • A. We have has developed the GreenClean program to better service our customers, meet their needs, and provide a service that not only provides them with the best and most innovative maintenance services, but allows our customers to use this service as a marketing tool where appropriate.

    Whether you decide to use the GreenClean program to promote your building or take the full step toward applying for LEED certification, we can help you achieve these goals. To assist in these marketing efforts, UGL Unicco is developing an on-line ordering system which allows customers to order and customize print marketing materials which highlight the benefits of the GreenClean program. Customers of our GreenClean program can choose from a variety of designs and formats and allows for the flexibility of ordering small quantities.
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  • Q: What is the market doing about Green?
  • A. The overall Green Building movement and organizations like the US Green Building Council are growing at exponential rates fueling the demand for green buildings and all of the products and services which they affect. The cleaning industry has responded by developing green products in numerous categories from chemicals to paper to equipment to tools to entryway mats and more. In a few years it is predicted that the entire cleaning industry will see Green Cleaning as the norm. Today, UGL Unicco has made it easy for guiding owners and property managers to implement Green Cleaning by bringing all of the components together into a single offering to maximize the opportunity to green a building, produce a healthy and productive indoor environment, and to do so cost effectively.
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  • Q: I hear a lot of people quoting productivity numbers, what's the real scoop?
  • A. As you might imagine, productivity is the "holy grail" of the green building movement. While the number of studies documenting improvements in productivity is relatively small, all place the improvements in productivity as being significant enough to be a major "soft benefit" of the program, ultimately effecting ROI. While we cannot guarantee that the productivity will improve within your building, it is clear that creating cleaner, healthier spaces, will significantly improve occupant health. With healthier occupants, their productivity will increase, absenteeism will be reduced, and the quality of their work will improve. And productivity is an area where even small impacts can have enormous benefits for an organization. As a leader in the field, UGL Unicco is beginning to work with 3rd party researchers to better quantify these improvement metrics.
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  • Q: Is Green Cleaning more expensive?
  • A. Green Cleaning is comparable in price to a good quality traditional cleaning program. Assuming that you are currently using a good quality cleaning program, Green Cleaning is cost neutral in the vast majority of cases.
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  • Q: Why UGL Unicco?
  • A. The name UGL Unicco is synonymous with quality, dependable maintenance services and for over 60 years we have delivered to our customers unparalleled maintenance services. We continually strive to offer innovative technologies and services which allow our customers to benefit. The GreenClean program does just that-allow our customers to receive the best in maintenance services while reaping the additional benefits of the program.
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  • Q: Can I save on insurance costs?
  • A. Indirectly. We are not aware of any insurance companies specifically offering discounts for green buildings or Green Cleaning. However, Green Cleaning can indirectly reduce the risk and liability associated with exposures to more hazardous products, slips & falls, indoor air quality and other problems.
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  • Q: Does UGL Unicco provide any other green services besides cleaning?
  • A. Currently (i.e. mid 2005), UGL Unicco is focused on Green Cleaning, as it is (1) the area of business that is getting the greatest attention and (2) the portion of our existing business that will be most directly effected. However, LEED-EB has significant impact on O&M and related services and it is anticipated that we will be enhancing our current offering in the future to align with those practices.
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  • Q. Where can I go to find out more information on Green Cleaning/the UGL Unicco GreenClean® program?
  • A. A great place to start is by going to www.greencleaning.com. Additional information can be found at www.AshkinGroup.com and www.usgbc.org.
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