Long-Term Success

To ensure the long-term success of your Green Cleaning Program, it is critical to get input and commitment from many school stakeholders. Creating a green team, developing a green cleaning plan, adopting a Green Clean policy, implementing the plan and evaluating progress are important steps in this process. Instituting a comprehensive, ongoing effort to communicate about green cleaning is also important. Here is a brief overview of how to go about institutionalizing your Green Cleaning program:

Create a Green Team

Understand who makes decisions concerning your school’s cleaning program and based on that understanding, form a Green Team. The team should reflect various segments of the school population to oversee the development and implementation of a Green Cleaning Program, including administrative staff, teachers, union members, students, parents, facility operators, custodial staff, the school nurse, school board representatives and contract services providers. More…

Develop a Green Cleaning Plan

Having a written plan that includes measurable outcomes, along with specific strategies and implementation steps for meeting these goals, can help move your Green Cleaning Program forward. The plan should also outline a general timetable for implementation, identify responsible parties and suggest methods for evaluating success. More…

Adopt a Green Cleaning Policy

A Green Cleaning Policy helps establish a solid foundation for long-term success by expressing the administration’s support for the Green Cleaning Program and their willingness to commit the staff time and resources needed to make it work. More…

Implement the Green Cleaning Plan

Once the plan and a policy are approved, the Green Team should oversee its implementation. Remember that you don’t have to do everything at once -- often a pilot project may be the best way to gain acceptance for green cleaning, work out issues or test various solutions. More…

Evaluate Progress

The Green Team should conduct periodic reviews of the Green Cleaning Program, referring to the plan’s measurable objectives and attempting to quantify the benefits and savings. This information can help identify areas for change or improvement, and serve as a source of pride for students and staff. More …

Communicate About Green Cleaning

Frequent two-way communication is critical when you are starting a Green Cleaning Program. The objectives are to educate and inform all stakeholders about the Green Cleaning Program, why it was initiated, how they fit into the implementation and on-going success of the program, and the benefits that can result. More…