Since the “Orange Era” when citric cleaning products were first introduced to the public, there has been a stubborn mindset that environmentally-friendly products were more expensive and less effective. This was true, but things have changed over the last ten to twenty years. Going Green is generally more expensive, but that cost is estimated at about 2-4% more expense when taken over the whole project. Fortunately, the new “Green Era” products are actually as good as or better than the conventional product used for cleaning.
There are, however, other factors that should be added into the cost analysis for any facility, and I refer to them as the Green Premium because these are the other factors that go beyond the standard expectation of a clean building. When we are dealing with the Green issue, the primary emphasis is on health, and health costs are a subtle financial issues for any company.
We are finally learning that traditional cleaning products are harmful to the workers using them, but to everyone who works in the office. Constant and routine exposure to secondary levels of dangerous chemicals will have an affect on your employees. Therefore, changing the cleaning products in your business and working with a Green janitorial firm can be a financially-smart decision.
Employee absenteeism is a negative cost factor to your company. Your employees are the source of business and revenue for your company. You may think these costs are a problem for the insurance company, but the costs for these employees contribute to the premium increases paid by the company. While some costs are paid by the employee, the health insurance costs are a significant part of company expenses. Obviously, healthier employees will help reduce health insurance premiums.
More common than absenteeism is the problems of decreased alertness and lost productivity. Companies may actually spend money motivating workers while hurting their productivity through a hostile office environment. Most of us have experienced a strong smell, smoke, or fumes that caused a headache or depressed energy. These are subtle but very important factors in an empowered office.
Consider the tax implications for sick people that exceed what you see in your company’s costs. The cost of caring for the sick and chronically ill person is also a burden to society. Even after these people are off our payroll, they continue to need medical care, and someone has top pay for that. There is also the concern for all the trash and waste we produce which must be handled by local, state, or federal governments. The invisible cost of all these things are seen in constantly increased taxes.
As we consider the Green Premium, it is realized in savings through healthy employees. Health insurance, health costs, and taxes are part of the overall equation that we pay in one form or another. Therefore, the 2-4% costs of moving to a Green workplace seems powerfully overwhelmed by the health and tax cost savings.
Tags: Health Products
Popularity: 43% [?]
0 responses so far ↓
There are no comments yet...Kick things off by filling out the form below.
Leave a Comment