UGL Unicco GreenClean initiative targets sustainability

UGL Unicco, a subsidiary of United Group Limited (UGL), on November 19 announced that it is extending its UGL Unicco GreenClean initiative to encompass energy, water, operations & maintenance and several other categories where the company has special expertise that it shares with customers.

Launched in October 2004, UGL Unicco GreenClean was the first comprehensive sustainability program in the industry by any service provider. It fundamentally changed the way UGL Unicco purchases equipment and supplies, manages worksites and measures results.

“Sustainability encompasses a lot more than it did just four years ago,” said George Lohnes, vice president of marketing, UGL Unicco. “UGL Unicco GreenClean is evolving to meet today’s needs and will continue to move forward as the understanding of how we can affect change advances. We are absolutely committed to the most progressive environmental practices so our customers can have safe and healthy buildings. We are pleased with how far we have come to date and we are excited about the prospects for the future.”

An expanded sustainability mandate

UGL Unicco GreenClean now addresses sustainability on more levels through a broader portfolio of services. The company also has several U.S. Green Building Council LEED AP (Accredited Professional) experts who are available to guide property owners and managers through the certification process.

The expanded UGL Unicco GreenClean program takes a more comprehensive approach to many core functions. For instance, the effects of cleaning operations on energy usage are considered, and have resulted in new site level policies and procedures to reduce energy usage on a case-by-case basis. Additionally, to meet the needs of customers in the U.S. and Canada, the list of approved cleaning supplies now includes not only Green Seal-certified products but also products approved by Environmental Choice.

The UGL Unicco GreenClean program now also supports a wider range of services that are relevant to LEED for Existing Buildings: Operations & Maintenance guidelines in order to help customers achieve certification and to retain the status going forward. It also helps others that have not gone through the formal process but want to follow a best practices approach to sustainability.

Specifically, UGL Unicco GreenClean addresses several LEED Registered Building Checklist categories including:

Sustainable Sites: In addition to core indoor and outdoor facilities services, UGL Unicco helps customers improve sustainable transportation options, as well as reduce light pollution.

Water Efficiency: The company brings its expertise to bear on water metering, as well as efficient indoor and landscaping water uses.

Energy & Atmosphere: UGL Unicco introduces customers to energy & atmosphere best practices, and monitors and manages renewable energy, refrigerants and other operations that affect indoor air quality (IAQ).

Materials & Resources: The company continues its sustainable purchasing and waste management practices and extends these services to customers for use with their internal systems.

Indoor Environmental Quality: In addition to continuous progress in cleaning operations, UGL Unicco offers HVAC services including thermal monitoring, filter maintenance and other services that improve IAQ metrics.

Automated inspections/LEED compliance

UGL Unicco GreenClean will further incorporate considerable technological resources to help customers monitor, report and improve sustainability metrics. The company’s UNI-Q handheld inspection system, which is already used throughout the company’s portfolio of accounts, is being enhanced to include capabilities to directly correlate inspection results with LEED credits. Based on the APPA CleanOpsStaff staffing guideline and inspection protocol for educational facilities, the new UNI-Q application becomes an integrated inspection tool for educational, commercial, government and for all other markets.

Using the system, operations supervisors and managers are able to conduct automated inspections using portable devices, analyze findings, compare results to the standard, share information with customers and aggregate results for comprehensive reporting. In addition to the day-to-day benefits, it significantly streamlines the LEED for Existing Buildings: Operations & Maintenance process by making the required data easily available for recertification.

About UGL Unicco

UGL Unicco, a premier provider of outsourced facilities services, is a subsidiary of United Group Limited and part of United Group Services, a $1.1 billion division of United Group Limited that provides Corporate Real Estate and Facility Solutions around the world. UGL Equis, a commercial real estate firm based in Chicago, is also part of the United Group Services division.