How to get LEED Credits with Green Cleaning Products

Whether you own a BSC that wants to clean a LEED-certified building or you manage an in-house janitorial staff at one, the cleaning products you use are a critical component. If you’re unfamiliar with how LEED works, it can be a bit overwhelming at first. As the leading international green building certification, it covers a wide variety of different types of facilities. It also includes the various factors that make a building “green” from construction to ongoing maintenance. The newest version of LEED (version 4) has attempted to streamline the system and make it more flexible.

The good news is, the LEED cleaning standards that facility or BSC managers have to focus on is pretty straightforward. The way LEED works, the managers of new or existing buildings work to gain credits towards the LEED certification they wish to achieve. The choice of green cleaning products is directly related to the Indoor Environmental Quality category of LEED.

The Environmental Quality (or EQ) credits that deal with green cleaning cover: 

• Green cleaning-custodial effectiveness assessment 
• Green cleaning-products and materials 
• Green cleaning-equipment1   
  
  

Today, we’re going to focus on just the green cleaning products portion. The cleaning products used in LEED-certified buildings must meet certain standards to qualify toward a credit. These standards include certifications by Green Seal or EcoLogo. Products such as disinfectants have similar standards, including being certified as an EPA Safer Choice or meeting the California Code of Regulations maximum allowable VOC levels in specific categories. You can read the full list of these standards here.  

That’s it. As long as the cleaning product you use meets at least one of these standards, then your cleaning products can contribute toward LEED credits and certifications. EnvirOx offers many products that meet these criteria, including multi-purpose cleaners that can take care of 95% of your cleaning needs with just one product. This can really simplify a cleaning program while helping you accumulate LEED credits.

Complies with California Code of Regulations maximum allowable VOC levels for their categories 

• H2Orange2 Hyper-Concentrate 
• 112 H2Orange2 Concentrate 
• 117 Fresh Concentrate 
• 118 Carpet Cleaner Carpet 
• Spot & Stain Remover 
• RTU EnvirOx Non-Acid Disinfectant Concentrate (Absolute) 
  
  

Green Seal GS-37 certified products 

• Multi-Purpose Cleaner Hyper-Concentrate 
• Multi-Purpose Cleaner Concentrate 
• Neutral Floor Cleaner Hyper-Concentrate 
• Neutral Floor Cleaner Concentrate UL 
  
  

EcoLogo 2759 certified products 

• H202 Orange Cleaner Hyper-Concentrate 
• H202 Orange Cleaner Concentrate 
• H202 Orange Tile & Grout Renovator Hyper-Concentrate 
• H202 Orange Tile & Grout Renovator Concentrate 
• Mineral Shock Concentrate (Absolute) 
• Mineral Shock (RTU) 
• Industrial Degreaser Hyper-Concentrate 
• Industrial Degreaser Concentrate 
• Industrial Degreaser RTU 

Ready to make your cleaning program LEED-friendly? Ready to expand your business by offering LEED qualified cleaning products? Request a no-risk trial today. 

1. Holowka, T. (2017). Indoor Environmental Quality and LEED v4. USGBC.org. Retrieved from https://www.usgbc.org/articles/indoor-environmental-quality-and-leed-v4