Green Cleaning

Joe’s Cafe Green Cleaning Innovation Credit

As part of the recent LEED-Gold certification at Joe’s Cafe, Wharton received an Innovation credit for Green Cleaning. We created an extensive Green Cleaning Manual and High Performance Green Cleaning Policy to be used by Bon Appetit, the cafe operator who manages the servery and back of the house, and Wharton Housekeeping, who manages the eatery and the rest of Steinberg-Dietrich Hall. Our commitments included:

  • No cleaning chemicals will be used for daily cleaning in the eatery. Instead, we will use ionized water spray bottles and floor scrubbers, which have the same proven effectiveness in killing bacteria as nearly all other cleaners and sanitizers.
  • We will choose environmentally friendly cleaning products in the servery (meaning they hold a certification accepted by GBCI or within EPA’s Environmentally Preferred Purchasing program).
  • We will reduce packaging by using concentrated cleaning products, products in bulk or products in refillable containers.
  • We will train all staff on the environmental attributes of the products and how to correctly store, dispense, use and dispose of them.

This credit is drawn from the LEED for Existing Buildings: Operations + Maintenance rating system, Indoor Environmental Quality prerequisite 3.

Wharton’s Green Chemical Cleaning Program Including Carpet Care

In Fall 2008, Wharton launched a green chemical cleaning program for the entire Wharton complex including the first green carpet care guidelines for the University. Wharton’s carpet care policy is now being used across campus, and both increases the life of the carpet and significantly reduces the use of harsh chemicals used on carpets.

Chemical Reduction

Wharton Purchases the Tennant EcH2O Floor Scrubber in Partnership with Penn Facilities and Real Estate Services

With over 324,000 square feet of floors to clean in Huntsman Hall alone, eliminating cleaning chemicals in the floor scrubbers is having a big impact.The EcH2O uses ionized water to collect dirt, polish and remove residue from flooring, using 70% less water than conventional scrubbers, reducing the need for burnishing and saving money on cleaning chemicals.