Lake County votes to outsource maintenance work

NORTHBROOK, IL — The Lake County Board voted to privatize 13 county maintenance jobs yesterday, a move that will save the county more than $250,000, according to the Lake County News-Sun.

The Lake County Board voted to layoff the employees because their union, the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Local 5372, would not agree to delay their scheduled pay raise by a year, the story stated.

Lake County Administrator Barry Burton said: "The county has less revenue coming in and cannot afford to increase employee salaries. The reality is we don't like having to do outsourcing, but these are extraordinary times. We have to make cuts. This was a difficult decision we did not take lightly."

It would have cost $259,000 to give the 13 employees the $3.25 raise they wanted, but by outsourcing to Northshore Building Maintenance Inc., the county will save $275,000, the story noted.

The Lake County Board passed the resolution to outsource maintenance tasks with a vote of 17 to 6, the story added.

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Neshaminy School District eyes significant savings from outsourcing

LANGHORNE, PA — By outsourcing its janitorial services, the Neshaminy School District could save nearly $9 million over three years, according to the Bucks County Courier Times.

The Neshaminy School District anticipates that it will spend $15.8 million in three years if it renews a contract with its current union employees; however, by privatizing janitorial services with a company like Pritchard Industries Inc., the district foresees spending only 6.8 million in those same three years, the story stated.

Neshaminy School Board President Ritchie Webb said: "I want to point out that the board will exhaust every effort to negotiate a fair and equitable contract for both sides before using the outside contractors."

District janitors, represented by the Neshaminy Educational Support Professional Association, have been working on an expired contract since July and say they cannot afford the higher health premiums the district is proposing in negotiations, the story noted.

According to the Neshaminy School District website, "The union's refusal to adequately address the above issues, related primarily to benefits for full-time workers, leaves us little choice but to continue to consider contracting with third parties as a partial solution to the financial challenges we face."

The district plans to continually update their website on the status of the negotiations, the story added.

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Washington County School District unhappy with service contractor's work

CHIPLEY, FL — Nearly all of the six public schools in the Washington County School District expressed concerns over the quality of work performed by building service contractor Rite-Way Service Inc., according to the Foster Folly News.

According to the story, a major change occurred when the school district cut $300,000 from the cleaning contract with Rite-Way, seriously reducing the extent and thoroughness of daily cleaning.

The majority of complaints pertain to unclean restrooms, unswept and/or unmopped floors and insufficient cleanup in cafeterias and locker rooms, the story stated.

With the current cleaning schedule, custodians clean areas every other day, rather than the daily cleaning that occurred in the past, the story noted.

Rite-Way has changed crew members several times at some Washington County schools, hampering progress and instituting a new learning curve every time, the story added.

Washington County School Board member Terry Ellis, in explaining that Rite-Way is responsible for the cleanliness of the schools, said: "We are in the teaching business, not in the cleaning business."

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Study finds small businesses are curtailing cleaning

CINCINNATI — A recent survey conducted by Kelton Research for Procter & Gamble Professional found that 29 percent of small businesses have scaled back on workplace cleaning, according to a press release.

According to the release, more than 1,100 small business owners registered with the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) participated in the online survey that was conducted to identify how the economy has affected small business' cleaning standards.

Despite the fact that 31 percent of small business owners recognized "cleanliness and appearance" as having the greatest impact on customer first impressions, a significant number have curtailed their cleaning processes by either purchasing cheaper or generic products or eliminating professional cleaning services altogether, the release stated.

According to the survey, of those who have altered their cleaning practices, 44 percent report negative repercussions, such as rising customer and employee complaints and longer cleaning times when using cheaper products.

Pete Self, research and development manager for Procter & Gamble Professional, said: "Now more than ever, we recognize owners' needs for solutions that work at the speed of small businesses today and for information that equips them with cleaning best practices. Mr. Clean Professional provides small business owners with both powerful cleaning solutions as well as a 24/7 information resource, helping restore owners' confidence that their business' appearance makes a great first impression every time."

Six out of ten small business owners said time is the biggest barrier to keeping their workplace, whether retail or professional, as clean as possible; meanwhile, 14 percent believe staffing is the major hurdle to cleanliness, the release noted.

When asked what cleaning resources would be most beneficial, 49 percent of survey respondents cited the need for free resources and advice from trusted sources that help them get the cleaning job done, the release added.

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New York City Axes Green Buildings Plan

New York City Axes Green Buildings Plan

In theory, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s landmark plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by retrofitting leaky old buildings was a good idea. In the face of a global recession, and with a mandate for building owners to foot much of the bill, the owners didn’t agree. After fierce criticism, the city is dropping a plan that would have required older buildings — those measuring 50,000 square feet or more —to perform energy audits and subsequent efficiency upgrades.
If passed, the mandate would have applied to roughly 22,000 buildings, or nearly half the city’s square footage, requiring owners to upgrade light bulbs, old boilers and leaky windows. The legislation also would have represented a big push in the green building movement, since most cities impose efficiency standards on new construction only. In the city, buildings contribute 80 percent of the city’s total carbon emissions, and Mayor Bloomberg is trying to lower emissions by 30 percent by 2030.
A major sticking point was cost, with owners required to pay for most of the upgrades. Officials estimated private investors would need to kick in $2.5 billion for building improvements since the city only had $16 million in federal stimulus funds to pay for such changes.
Article continues: http://www.mnn.com/earth-matters/climate-change/stories/nyc-nixes-green-buildings-plan

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Wausau Paper releases 'The Art of Sustainability Reporting'

MOSINEE, WI — The Wausau Paper Corporation's latest print promotion, "The Art of Sustainability Reporting," provides companies with information, best practices and inspiration for producing effective corporate sustainability reports (CSRs), according to Quick Printing.

According to the story, Wausau Paper compiled the best data and research on sustainability reporting from leading authorities on the subject, including the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), KPMG, the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), Green Seal Inc. and the Sustainable Investment Research Analyst Network (SIRAN), into a valuable and practical reference guide to corporate sustainability reporting.

Featuring case studies of Fortune 500 companies, the print promotion is designed to fill readers with new ideas about CSRs and the many opportunities they present, the story stated.

Jeff Fox, director of marketing for Wausau Paper, said: "We have seen an increase in demand for our papers for sustainability reporting and we saw an opportunity to share some of the industry's best practices with others that are just starting their first venture into sustainability reports. At Wausau Paper, we believe it is our responsibility to help our customers produce not only beautiful, but effective and environmentally-conscious printed pieces."

Topics covered in "The Art of Sustainability Reporting" include: The difference between the commonly confused annual report and CSR; the ingredients of a sustainability report; reasons to produce a CSR; what greenwashing is and how to avoid it; and more, the story noted.

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Midwest Research Institute's headquarters receives LEED certification

KANSAS CITY — The Midwest Research Institute (MRI) recently earned Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification from the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) following a $25 million renovation of its headquarters, according to a press release.

"Green" design elements provide energy savings that have resulted in a reduction of nearly 600 metric tons of carbon dioxide when comparing adjusted energy usage data from the years 2008 to 2009, the release stated.

According to the release, the facility now has nearly 50 percent more laboratory space and office space for an additional 150 staff while still operating with the same carbon footprint it had before the renovation.

Sustainable features of the 250,000-suare-foot facility include: Energy efficient windows; high-efficiency air conditioning; high-efficiency boilers; low-flow laboratory hoods; water saving devices; provisions for waste recycling; day lighting; high-efficiency lighting; and low volatile organic compound (VOC) emitting materials, the release noted.

Mark Breitenstein, MRI's director of facilities management, said: "Results of the renovation have been extremely successful. We have a state-of-art facility that provides an enhanced work environment for staff, it accommodates growth, and the LEED certification validates MRI's mission to support a sustainable future. MRI's renovation demonstrates that green choices do have a positive impact on older facilities."

The renovations help save nearly 19 percent in overall energy costs and the high-efficiency plumbing fixtures reduce water usage by nearly 29 percent, the release added.

Click here to read the complete release.