Green Cleaning Products:
Cost Competitive, Cost Neutral or Just More Costly?

There has been a fundamental shift in thinking about the performance and cost of Green cleaning products over the past couple of decades. Historically, many of these products have been viewed as inferior in performance and costly when compared to their non-Green counterparts.

Even as their performance improved, there was still considerable reluctance to use Green cleaning products due, for the most part, to the fact that their cost remained stubbornly high. This often caused building service contractors (BSCs) working in very cost-competitive markets, as well as end customers, to believe that transferring to environmentally preferable cleaning products would likely depress their profits, hurt their competitiveness, or both.

This was true for not only Green cleaning products but also for the use of many other environmentally preferable products as well. For instance, it was commonly believed in the 1980s and 1990s that incorporating Green designs, construction materials, and operating practices into facilities added as much as 20 per cent to the overall building project – if not more. How much of that added cost could be recouped as a return on investment (ROI), in tax benefits, rebates or other paybacks, was essentially unknown.

Today, because of new technologies and the more common use of a variety of Green building products and practices, the overall additional cost to build and operate Green facilities has been reduced significantly, to about five per cent. In addition, the ROI and other cost benefits are clearer and have even been documented.

For instance, software manufacturer Adobe Systems invested more than $1.2 million to incorporate Green features into their new world headquarters in San Jose, Calif., which opened last year. The company reports savings just under $1 million annually because of these feature, mostly in utility savings, and have received more than $325,000 in rebates from the local power company – Pacific Gas and Electric.*

An example of how this is being accomplished deals with the landscaping of the headquarters. A $3,600 smart irrigation system was installed to regulate watering. Adobe found that the system had paid for itself in less than five months in reduced water bills, and will save the company more than $10,000 annually. In other words, instead of depressing profits or hurting their competitiveness, going Green has become a savings account for Adobe that just keeps growing and paying dividends year after year.

Unfortunately, evaluating the potential cost savings of using Green cleaning products is not as clear nor are there reliable studies documenting their cost savings. This leaves BSCs to wonder what, if any, cost savings are possible using Green cleaning products and – if they do exist – how can they take advantage of them.

WHAT WE KNOW
Some things about the use of environmentally preferable cleaning products are now well established, such as product performance. If the products have been certified by EcoLogo(M), it means they have been tested and proven to meet basic industry standards of performance.

We also know that prices have come down and come down considerably. The “sticker shock” associated with some Green cleaning products, for use in both residential and commercial facilities, is now a thing of the past.

However, it is also true that some Green cleaning products still do cost somewhat more than non-Green products. Yet, this does not tell the whole story because even if these products cost a bit more at the checkout stand, they may still be cost competitive or even cost neutral, when all factors are taken into account. A closer examination points this out.

CASE IN POINT: GREEN CLEANING PRODUCTS ARE COST COMPETITIVE
Many environmentally preferable cleaning products are used, delivered and packaged in ways that help keep their costs economical. For instance, Green cleaning products are usually produced and sold in bulk, concentrated form. This is much less expensive than purchasing cleaning products in aerosols or sprayers. It also helps reduce transportation, handling and storage costs, which often lowers the cost of these products for the BSC and end customer as well.

And, inherent with using concentrated cleaning products, and often a critical component of Green cleaning, is the requirement of using auto-dilution systems to properly mix these products. These systems make sure just enough chemical is used to perform the required cleaning task satisfactorily. Cleaning workers have a tendency to “overuse” cleaning chemicals, believing that if using some is good, more will be even better. This is usually not true, and is wasteful and costly. An auto-dispensing system prevents this from happening.

In addition, companies making environmentally preferable cleaning products tend to use recycled containers and packaging materials. In many cases, this also helps keep costs down. Furthermore, it makes the product environmentally preferable every step of the way: from the ingredients used to manufacture it, to how it is packaged, to how it is delivered to the end customer.

CASE IN POINT: GREEN CLEANING PRODUCTS ARE COST NEUTRAL
But what if the Green cleaning product is still more costly than a non-Green product? There are often intangible cost savings that may be unknown or overlooked that “neutralize” these added costs. For instance, we know that environmentally preferable cleaning products can help reduce allergies and illness. If office workers are healthier, their work performance usually improves, improving worker productivity substantially, which, in turn, is a cost savings for employers.

A healthier workforce also means workers’ compensation costs as well as liability costs in general may be reduced. Such intangible benefits can prove to be significant cost savings for employers.

In schools, when Green cleaning and other Green features have been incorporated into educational facilities, attendance often improves, as does student performance. Many school districts in North America receive state and federal money based on attendance. If absenteeism declines, then this intangible feature of environmentally preferable cleaning products becomes very tangible indeed, in the form of more government funds.

Finally, don’t forget about the opportunities employing environmentally preferable cleaning products can present BSCs. Some federal, state and local cleaning contracts now specify that only environmentally preferable cleaning products be used to clean their facilities. We are seeing this in private industry as well. This means that not only are Green cleaning products proving to offer cost savings, but they are opening new doors and new possibilities for cleaning professionals as well.

(* San Jose Mercury News, Jan. 17, 2006)