Overall Rating Gold - expired
Overall Score 71.76
Liaison Mike Versteege
Submission Date Oct. 10, 2014
Executive Letter Download

STARS v1.2

University of Alberta
OP-11: Cleaning Products Purchasing

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 2.00 / 2.00 David Whalen
Manager, Cleaning Services
Facilities & Operations
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Does the institution have an institution-wide stated preference to purchase Green Seal (tm) or EcoLogo (tm) certified cleaning products?:
Yes

The website URL where the green cleaning product purchasing policy, directive, or guidelines are posted:
A brief description of steps the institution has taken to ensure that the purchasing policy, directives, or guidelines are followed:

There are monthly quality assurance inspections conduced by university staff to verify policy compliance.


Does the institution wish to pursue points for Part 2 of this credit (expenditures on cleaning products)?:
Yes

Expenditures on Green Seal and/or EcoLogo certified cleaning products :
11,830.44 US/Canadian $

Total expenditures on cleaning products :
11,830.44 US/Canadian $

A copy of the sections of the cleaning contract(s) that reference certified green products:
Data source(s) and notes about the submission:

Green cleaning is not limited to products; but also includes the equipment and processes used by staff. The University, in partnership with Bee-Clean Building Maintenance and Wesclean, has complemented our efforts to minimize consumable products by leveraging equipment designed to reduce energy use. This equipment includes 40 NaceCare Henry vacuums, which consume 33% less electrical energy than conventional vacuum cleaners.

The University further reduces its environmental footprint by using the Tennant ecH2O Autoscrubber replacing manual mopping (think of these machines as the Zamboni for hallways and classrooms). The Tennant ecH2O Autoscrubbers are chemical free; they use ionized water, eliminating the need for synthetic cleaning products, and use 70% less water than conventional equipment.

By eliminating the use of unneeded chemicals, using green cleaning products, leveraging innovative equipment, and delivering leading edge training programs, the Cleaning for A Healthy U program establishes the University of Alberta as the clear leader in sustainable operations in post-secondary institutions and beyond.


Green cleaning is not limited to products; but also includes the equipment and processes used by staff. The University, in partnership with Bee-Clean Building Maintenance and Wesclean, has complemented our efforts to minimize consumable products by leveraging equipment designed to reduce energy use. This equipment includes 40 NaceCare Henry vacuums, which consume 33% less electrical energy than conventional vacuum cleaners.

The University further reduces its environmental footprint by using the Tennant ecH2O Autoscrubber replacing manual mopping (think of these machines as the Zamboni for hallways and classrooms). The Tennant ecH2O Autoscrubbers are chemical free; they use ionized water, eliminating the need for synthetic cleaning products, and use 70% less water than conventional equipment.

By eliminating the use of unneeded chemicals, using green cleaning products, leveraging innovative equipment, and delivering leading edge training programs, the Cleaning for A Healthy U program establishes the University of Alberta as the clear leader in sustainable operations in post-secondary institutions and beyond.

The information presented here is self-reported. While AASHE staff review portions of all STARS reports and institutions are welcome to seek additional forms of review, the data in STARS reports are not verified by AASHE. If you believe any of this information is erroneous or inconsistent with credit criteria, please review the process for inquiring about the information reported by an institution or simply email your inquiry to stars@aashe.org.