by Brianna Crandall — March 25, 2015—Through a Los Angeles pilot program that is expected to expand nationally, janitors are now earning a seat at the sustainability table alongside building owners and managers. A press conference will be held today, March 25, at 1:00pm at Constellation Place in Century City to present the report of the inaugural Green Janitor Education Program and announce new Los Angeles partners.
The program, through which janitors are certified, provides hands-on energy management and green cleaning training to address operations and maintenance practices that enable buildings to meet green performance standards, with special focus on resulting energy efficiency. This pilot program involved eight LEED-certified buildings across Los Angeles, with 126 janitors earning certification.
The program was designed and piloted as a collaborative effort among Building Skills Partnership (BSP), the U.S. Green Building Council-Los Angeles (USGBC-LA), the Building Owners and Managers Association of Greater Los Angeles (BOMA-GLA), industry experts, building owners and Service Employees International Union (SEIU)-United Service Workers West.
The training curriculum—presented in Spanish—was created jointly by BSP and USGBC-LA over a two- year period, and addresses energy efficiency, recycling, waste management, water conservation and other sustainable and green cleaning practices.
In LEED-certified existing buildings, which include four of the eight participating buildings, green maintenance and operations practices are required. However, prior to this program, the janitors, who are at the forefront of building operations, did not necessarily understand why certain sustainable procedures or materials were required, or the kind of impact they, as janitors, could have on energy reduction and water consumption—and ultimately, human health—through their work, explain the organizers.
Several notable results, based on post-program discussions with janitors and building management, include:
- Increased understanding of sustainable concepts—19% intermediate level prior, 81% high level after training;
- Increased understanding of the importance and urgency “going green” and “green cleaning”—40% prior, 60% after training;
- Practice of sustainable methods at home—5% prior and 95% after training; and
- 100% support of “going green” and “green cleaning” after training.
Overall, the janitors developed confidence in their communication skills and became empowered to demonstrate what they learned at work (with their supervisors) and home, say the organizers. Managers acknowledged that as the janitors learned how and why, for example, turning off lights, unplugging appliances, and using green products all connect to the LEED rating system, they felt an increased sense of ownership and responsibility in helping control energy use and improve building health.
USGBC National established a LEED Operations+Maintenance: Existing Building pilot credit for building service worker training, adding value to the partnership and program participation, and encouraging other cities to follow Los Angeles’s lead.
“Janitors are the eyes and ears of what happens in a building. The work they do every night impacts a building’s ability to save energy, conserve water, divert waste and improve indoor air quality. It is important to invest in their education and skills to promote the best practices of a sustainable cleaning system,” states BSP’s Barragan. “By investing in this primar[il]y immigrant workforce we are integrating them in the workplace community and creating confidence and skill for career pathways.”
