4M moves it green cleaning initiative forward with guest speaker Tom Seitz from JohnsonDiversey and introduces GreenPath™

Mitch Murch’s Maintenance Management Co. (4M) has made another step forward remaining at the forefront of green cleaning. In the early 1990s, 4M recognized the need for a healthier building environment and made an internal commitment to be an innovator and industry leader in healthier cleaning launching its Cleaning for Health program.

Since then, 4M has been making industry leading strides‑constantly seeking out the newest and best cleaning practices it can use to benefit its customers, prospects and the environment. 4M has been evolving its green cleaning program and remains at the front of its industry’s foray into the green movement.

A recent seminar with JohnsonDiverseys’s green cleaning expert, Tom Seitz, topped off a string of seminars and 4M’s 2005 green cleaning initiative that was spurred on by its newest green commitment—GreenPath™.

GreenPath™ was designed to give 4M’s customers and prospects, who want to take their facilities to the next level in green cleaning, a plan with specific objectives to get them there. Tom Seitz was invited to speak to a large group of 4M employees from sales, marketing and operations, 4M customers and prospects about the benefits of green cleaning. The event was held at the Alberici Constructors corporate headquarters in St. Louis, Mo. Alberici, a long-time customer of 4M, is recognized as the greenest building in the World.  It received 60 of 69 points in its LEED-NC Platinum certification. 4M was chosen out of other candidate companies to transition the LEED project and remain the janitorial services provider for Alberici due to its ability to keep Alberici sparkling and help them achieve and maintain the highest LEED recognition.

Notable points that Tom made:

• The initiative of many government agencies and private sector corporations to go green
• The fact that 75 percent of building expenses are wrapped up in operations and energy costs, two things that can be significantly affected by the actions of facilities services providers
• The janitorial provider is responsible for 44 percent of the points required for LEED certification
• The use and implementation of JohnsonDiversey’s Healthy High Performance Cleaning (HHPC), which is aligned with the USGBC and LEED certification and a major component of the 4M GreenPath™ initiative
• The benefits of having a green building, including reduced impact on the environment, improved worker safety and health, reduction in operating costs and brand equity
• Some examples of the savings associated with going green are:

- A large California building had its waste removal, cleaning supplies, landscaping and electricity cost per square foot reduced from $1.87/foot to $1.16/foot after LEED certification.

- Alberici Constructors operates 60 percent more energy efficient and has reduced operating costs by 50 percent.

- JohnsonDiversey’s global headquarters, a LEED-EB Gold certified building, saves more than 4 million gallons of municipal water and $90,000 per year in energy.

4M’s GreenPath™ has a great many resources at its disposal to maintain the highest standards and practices in green cleaning. GreenPath™ utilizes specific procedures that ensure a greener work place in key areas like:

• Chemical selection
• Dusting
• Entryways/walk-off mat programs
• Mopping and vacuuming
• Floor and carpet care
• Rest rooms
• Recycling
• Waste disposal
• Reducing wasted chemicals, water and energy

4M is a privately held cleaning and building services provider that has been servicing office buildings, government facilities, corporate headquarters and campuses, light and heavy industrial facilities, pharmaceutical facilities, educational institutions and large entertainment venues and theme parks throughout the United States since 1978. 4M cleans over 50 million square feet nightly and has over 3,000 employees. It offers its customers the best value in the industry and provides many services in addition to janitorial that are not limited to: hard floor and carpet care maintenance, light fixture re-lamping, window cleaning programs, power washing, grounds maintenance, construction clean-up, fabric, upholstery and partition cleaning, computer room raised floor cleaning and rest room paper, soap and trash liners resale.

For more information on 4M and its commitment to keeping its customers and the environment greener, visit them at www.4-m.com or contact Mitch Murch , II at 1-800-535-8285.