Encompass Insights

We’ve talked about the many benefits green cleaning can bring to your facility, including fewer health risks, savings, and a cleaner environment, but how can you get your own green cleaning program off the ground?

Here are a few ways you can approach it, and how you can get your employees on board.

What’s the big deal with LEED certification?

Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED), serves as “the most widely used third-party verification for green buildings.” 

According to the U.S. Green Building Council’s website:

Projects pursuing LEED certification earn points across several areas that address sustainability issues. Based on the number of points achieved, a project then receives one of four LEED rating levels: Certified, Silver, Gold and Platinum.

We often tout the benefits of going green at your facility here on the Insights blog. However, in this piece we’d like to underline the biggest benefit it can offer your organization: A positive impact on your bottom line.

Here are some ways you can go green and the facility energy savings you can enjoy!

As we mentioned in a previous post, making regulatory compliance a priority at your facility is paramount.

If you’re outsourcing your facility maintenance services, it’s crucial that you hire a service provider that is dedicated to meeting the highest standards of compliance and performance. 

One of the most important of these credentials is compliance with LEED EBOM regulations.

Encompass Onsite’s Green Program provides Energy Management, Waste Management and Green Cleaning Solutions to institutions of all sizes and complexities. 

Through our complete onsite management model, we are able to offer each campus 100% customizable solutions, improved efficiency, and sustainable practices in an environment that attracts only the most talented maintenance professionals. 

Here’s a quick look at the energy, waste, and cleaning components of our Green Program, a program built to make green schools and true school sustainability possible.

If you haven’t yet implemented a green cleaning program at your facility, now’s the time. Not only does it make the environment safer for employees and building occupants, it can lead to a reduction in facility costs.

Here are the problems with traditional products, some green cleaning benefits, and additional resources to help you implement a green cleaning program at your own facility.

It’s time your facility gets a grip on its plug load management.

According to the Department of Energy, overall energy consumption by commercial buildings will increase 24% by 2030. Additionally, plug and process loads (PPLs) will increase by 49%.

While traditional factors like location, academic standing and financial aid still dominate the decision-making process when it comes to choosing a university, sustainability is becoming an increasingly important factor for prospective students.

According to the Princeton Review’s fifth annual “Guide to 353 Green Colleges,” 54 percent of the 10,000 applicants surveyed said that having “a way to compare colleges based on their commitment to environmental issues” would “very much” or “somewhat” influence their decision to apply or attend. According to The Guardian, an additional seven percent said “a school’s environmental standing would be one of the most important factors in their decision to enroll.”

Benchmarking is an incredibly important practice in the field of facility maintenance; primarily because it’s a powerful way to reduce operating expenses and improve sustainability.

Here are some reasons why your outsourced facility maintenance contractor should be properly benchmarking their activities. 

It’s time we all do our part. As facility management professionals, we can have a big impact on how we run our facilities and how our facilities impact the environment. That’s why sustainability as a part of facility management is so important.

We all want to conserve energy and have high-performance buildings. That’s why we need to consider sustainability in all aspects of facilities: from energy, water and waste to standards and reporting.