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Washington, D.C. — Aug. 31, 2015 — Green Seal, Inc., the nation’s first independent nonprofit certifier of sustainable products and services and the original “green seal of approval,” has announced that Montgomery College’s Takoma Park/Silver Spring Campus in Maryland has received certification for its custodial cleaning services.
The campus is the first community college in the country to earn certification under Green Seal’s GS-42 standard for Commercial and Institutional Cleaning Services.
Certification under GS-42 standard requires a cleaning service to use products and equipment that have less impact on the environment and to adopt processes and procedures that help protect human health and the environment for building occupants and custodial staff.
“Green cleaning programs are critical for advancing human health and environmental protection on the nation’s college campuses,” said Arthur B. Weissman, CEO of Green Seal. “The achievement of Montgomery College’s Takoma Park/Silver Spring Campus in becoming the first community college to gain this certification is an important milestone in sustainability in higher education.”
Green Seal’s cleaning service standard also requires that custodial staff receive a specified amount of training each year, and that each building within the green cleaning program have a specific plan for cleaning.
"We are so proud to have received this certification because it aligns our cleaning operations with one of our college values, sustainability," said Terrence Evelyn, director of facilities on Montgomery College’s Takoma Park/Silver Spring Campus.
The GS-42 standard can be downloaded and applications for certification can be made online at www.greenseal.org. The evaluation process includes review of data; assessment of service policies and procedures; and an on-site audit of service locations. Annual monitoring is also conducted for those awarded the Green Seal to ensure continued compliance.
