Clean Green Certification benefits your business and nature
Good for Your Business:
- Provide the best: Your customer and employees will get the greenest and the cleanest textiles
- Cut down on waste: Replace disposables with textiles that are clean, safe and sustainable
- Save on utilities: Eliminate thousands of gallons from your water bill while using recycled water
Good for Nature:
- Reduce water and fuel consumption
- Reuse water from rinse cycles
- Recycle laundry supplies and wash water
Clean Green certified linen, uniform and facility services operations meet quality standards for effectiveness in conserving resources and minimizing environmental impact. Customers that use Clean Green certified companies to supply, launder and maintain linens, uniforms, mats and other reusable textiles can be assured that their provider maximizes sustainable practices.
Certification Requirements
A linen, uniform and facility services company becomes Clean Green certified by meeting water, and energy conservation standards and deploying best-management practices (BMPs). Laundries qualify for Clean Green certification by following one of two paths:
- Perform listed best-management practices (BMPs) and achieve water, and energy-use standards in accordance with millions of laundry pounds produced as shown on the table
- Perform a combination of BMPs considered more indicative of environmental stewardship and attain either water or energy standards.
Water and Energy Standards
| Water Standard | |
| 2.6 gal/lb. | > 5M pounds annually |
| 3.2 gal/lb. | ≤ 5M pounds annually |
| Energy Standard | |
| 3,000 BTU/lb. | > 5M pounds annually |
| 3,700 BTU/lb. | ≤ 5M pounds annually |
Best-Management Practices (BMPs)
Companies demonstrate their commitment to sustainability by earning Clean Green certification. They prompt their laundries to implement as many green best-management practices (BMPs) as possible, reflecting dedication to reducing their facilities’ carbon footprint and enhancing their environmental stewardship. BMPs are listed in the Clean Green standard, excerpted below.
Laundries clearly demonstrate their use of BMPs through written documents or visual evidence. Clean Green inspectors ultimately judge whether a BMP has been implemented.
- Boiler heat recovery or direct-fired hot water heater
- Wastewater heat recovery
- Wastewater pre-treatment (mechanical)
- Wastewater pre-treatment (advanced)
- Water reuse technology
- Alternative energy, solar or geothermal
- Energy audit (every three years)
- Fleet vehicles, alternative fuels
- Fleet vehicle route optimization
- Low temperature detergent
- NPE-free detergent
- Preventative boiler or water heater maintenance program
- Recycling program
- Skylights or energy efficient lighting
- Slug discharge control plan or spill prevention plan