Apr 17, 2023 | Articles
Over 1 billion individuals in 193+ countries mobilize for action every Earth Day. World climate leaders, grassroots activists, nonprofit innovators, thought leaders, industry leaders, artists, musicians, influencers, and leaders of tomorrow are all involved.
“Invest In Our Planet” is Earth Day’s 2023 theme, and in recognition of Earth Week, here are 52 daily actions and tips to make a difference every week (and day) of the year.
Also, we also encourage you to explore Green Seal’s certified products, facilities, and companies. For more than 30 years, they have accelerated market adoption of products and services that are safer for people and the planet and are uniquely positioned to help shift our economy from toxic to sustainable.
Aug 27, 2021 | Events, Homepage
Protecting Indoor Air Quality Amid the Pandemic
Program
The unprecedented focus on the safety of indoor spaces in the pandemic is normalizing hazardous cleaning practices that diminish the health benefits of green buildings. Over-emphasizing toxic cleaning chemicals can create significant health risks for building occupants, including – ironically – serious respiratory disease. How can building managers ensure effective pandemic protocols without creating a new set of health risks? Can third-party certifications add a meaningful measure of health protection? And how can managers leverage the increased attention on indoor air quality to effect progress toward sustainability goals?
This panel will take a deep dive into important considerations around pandemic-era cleaning, including health and environmental impacts, protecting vulnerable populations, promoting equity for frontline workers, and other emerging issues.
Experts from Corporate Sustainability Strategies, BMS Building Maintenance Services and Green Seal will provide insight into how industry leaders are meeting this challenge and provide actionable guidance for guarding against the spread of COVID-19 while protecting indoor air quality and sustainability goals.
Learning Objectives
- Understand the health impacts of exposure to disinfecting chemicals and identify safer disinfection products and techniques to support effective and responsible building re-entry
- Understand the basics of implementing the LEED Safety First Pilot credits
- Understand how a Green Cleaning program enhances a hygiene-focused cleaning program and how to effectively communicate this to building occupants and stakeholders
- Understand the real consequences of product over-exposure on custodial teams and other front-line workers so that their health and wellbeing can be addressed as a priority
Panel
- Doug Gatlin, MPP, LEED AP, CEO, Green Seal
- Brenna Walraven, MBA, BOMI-HP, BOMA Fellow, RPA, CPM, President and CEO, Corporate Sustainability Strategies
- Emily Gove, LEED AP O+M, TRUE Advisor, Corporate Director of Sustainability and Training, BMS Building Maintenance Service
- Taryn Tuss, MS, Vice President of Marketing and Communications, Green Seal
When & Where
September 22, 2021
3:00PM-4:00PM PT
In-person in San Diego & On-Demand
Greenbuild
San Diego Convention Center
San Diego, CA
Registration & More Information
https://informaconnect.com/greenbuild/agenda-2021/
Oct 7, 2020 | Articles, Homepage
Amazon initiative makes it easier for customers to shop for certified sustainable products
Green Seal continues to build upon its relationships by participating in Amazon’s Climate Pledge Friendly, a new program that makes it easier for customers to discover and shop for more sustainable products.
Amazon customers will now see a “Climate Pledge Friendly” label on the listings for products certified by Green Seal and other select organizations, indicating to shoppers that the products meet meaningful sustainability standards. Customers can also see which certifications the product has earned and learn more about the certification requirements.
Amazon evaluated hundreds of external sustainability certifications for its Climate Pledge Friendly program and chose organizations that certify products that have demonstrated sustainability benefits. Green Seal’s science-based certification standards emphasize health and safety, prohibiting carcinogens, mutagens, and reproductive toxins in certified products and requiring a rigorous examination of a product’s sustainability in areas including raw materials extraction, manufacturing, packaging and how the product is used and disposed. Critically, Green Seal’s testing requirements mean that certified products are proven to deliver uncompromising performance.
“Amazon’s Climate Pledge Friendly label makes it simple for shoppers to identify which products are in line with their sustainability values,” said Green Seal CEO Doug Gatlin. “Amazon’s high bar for choosing certifying partners aligns with Green Seal’s commitment to recognizing products that meet the highest benchmark of health and environmental leadership. Green Seal is proud to take part in this powerful initiative. Amazon is demonstrating true leadership by making it easier for customers to shop for more sustainable products and encouraging brands and manufacturers to produce and source more sustainably.”
Amazon’s selection for Climate Pledge Friendly includes grocery, household, fashion, beauty and personal electronics products, as well as other items from a range of categories. Hundreds of Green Seal-certified products are available from brands such as Georgia-Pacific, Office Depot, Rubbermaid, 3M, Ecolab, Diversey, Staples, Kittrich, Branch Creek, Tork, Simoniz, Neenah, Betco and PortionPac, among others.
For detailed information on the pledge qualification criteria visit Amazon Climate Pledge Friendly. Look for the Climate Pledge Friendly badge on products.
About Green Seal
Green Seal is a global nonprofit organization with a mission to transform the economy for a healthier, greener world. Since 1989, Green Seal has applied rigorous standards for health, environmental sustainability and product performance to its certification programs to empower better purchasing decisions. Green Seal has certified thousands of products, services and spaces from hundreds of leading companies including 3M, Ecolab, Georgia Pacific, Hilton, Westin, Marriott and Staples, and is specified by countless schools, government agencies, businesses and institutions. Today, the Green Seal certification mark is a universal symbol that a product or service meets the highest benchmark of health and environmental leadership.
Visit GreenSeal.org or connect with Green Seal on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.
Sep 29, 2020 | Articles, Homepage
Standard verifies safer, effective ingredients amid spate of toxic hand sanitizers
Green Seal, the nation’s leading non-profit authority on safer and more sustainable cleaning and facility care products, is now certifying alcohol-based hand sanitizers that meet the highest standard for health and safety in the marketplace amid growing consumer concern about toxic products.
With the COVID-19 pandemic spurring many first-time producers to enter the market, the FDA has warned consumers to avoid more than 200 hand sanitizer products because of incorrect formulations and high levels of hazardous ingredients including methanol (wood alcohol) and the contaminant 1-propanol. Meanwhile, even when properly formulated, hand sanitizers available on the U.S. market can include hazardous ingredients linked to cancer, allergies, skin and eye irritation and other harmful health effects – even if they have an ecolabel.
Green Seal’s new hand sanitizer certification standard, created with input from public health and industry experts, screens 100% of the product formula for carcinogens, reproductive toxins, skin irritants, phthalates, parabens and contaminants. All Green Seal-certified products must meet strict performance testing requirements to ensure effectiveness.
“There is a critical market gap right now where buyers know to beware of toxic or ineffective hand sanitizers but are hard-pressed to quickly and easily identify safer options,” said Green Seal CEO Doug Gatlin. “Green Seal certification gives consumers, purchasers and facility managers confidence that they are buying a hand sanitizer that has been independently verified to the highest standard for health, safety and effectiveness.”
Standards
Independent verification by a trusted authority
Green Seal’s hand sanitizer certification standard is the non-profit’s latest initiative to harness its expertise to provide products, services and guidance that help protect people from both COVID-19 and negative health impacts from toxic chemicals.
- Green Seal Guidelines for Safer Cleaning and Disinfection for schools and workplaces have been adopted by commercial cleaning companies servicing more than 1 billion square feet of space.
- SEIU 32BJ, the largest union of property service workers in the U.S., has partnered with Green Seal on COVID-19 training for its members.
- More than 30,000 Green Seal certified products are used in offices, schools and homes each day, including cleaning products and hand soaps critical to de-contaminating buildings and protecting people.
To learn more about Green Seal’s hand sanitizer leadership standard and Green Seal-certified products, visit www.greenseal.org/hand-sanitizer.
About Green Seal
Green Seal is a global nonprofit organization that pioneered the ecolabeling movement with a mission to transform the economy for a healthier, greener world. Green Seal’s rigorous standards for health, sustainability and product performance have driven permanent shifts in the marketplace, empowering better purchasing decisions and rewarding industry innovators.
Sep 24, 2020 | Articles, Homepage
As part of Corporate Sustainability Strategies’ commitment to a sustainable future, President & CEO, Brenna Walraven serves as a member of Green Seal’s Board of Directors.
Recently, Green Seal launched its Safer COVID-19 Disinfection Guidelines to provide actionable best practices for effective and responsible cleaning and disinfection.
These Guidelines are covered extensively by several relevant publications (below) and tie in with growing concern about the health risks of overusing disinfectants, as outlined in the Bloomberg article Rush to Disinfect Offices Has Some Environmental Health Experts Worried.
Green Seal’s Guidelines for Safer COVID-19 Cleaning and Disinfection are intended for facility, property, and housekeeping managers. They provide actionable guidelines for the safe and effective cleaning and disinfection of occupied spaces and are based on the latest scientific understanding of the particular characteristics of the COVID-19 virus. They also reflect Green Seal’s expertise in setting science-based standards for high-performance cleaning products, principles, and practices that reduce unnecessary use of hazardous chemicals and promote safer and healthier indoor air.
From the Front Lines: Cleaning for COVID-19
About Green Seal
Green Seal is a global nonprofit organization that pioneered the ecolabeling movement with a mission to transform the economy for a healthier, greener world. Green Seal’s rigorous standards for health, sustainability and product performance have driven permanent shifts in the marketplace, empowering better purchasing decisions and rewarding industry innovators.
Relevant Publication Coverage