George Washington University
OP-3: Building Operations and Maintenance

None at this time.

The George Washington University has contracted its housekeeping management through ARAMARK as its primary housekeeping service manager. As part of this contract ARAMARK exclusively uses Green Seal certified cleaning practices, which have been used on campus for more than five years. GW and ARAMARK are in the process of transitioning all of its purchased cleaning products used on campus to "blue cleaning" products that substitute electrically activated water (EAW) for chemicals used previously in its green products (see: http://www.aramark.com/PressRoom/PressReleases/ARAMARK-Blue-Cleaning.aspx). Please refer to the link above to learn more about ARAMARK's blue cleaning program, and the health and environmental benefits it offers beyond those of existing green cleaning products. Additional links are provided below on the specific blue cleaning technology implemented to date on GW campuses. In FY13, we made our most significant investment in using blue cleaning EAW solutions in lieu of Green Seal, chemical-based cleaning products. To date GW has installed 8 Orbio machines (see: http://www.tennantco.com/am-en/equipment/innovations/innovations/5000-sc) and 25+ ec-H20 machines (see: http://www.tennantco.com/am-en/equipment/Innovations/Technology/ec-h2o) to process tap water into a electrically charged blue cleaning water solution. In addition, GW implemented microfiber cleaning at its Mt. Vernon and Virginia campuses to cut down on use of chemicals and paper-based cleaning cloths/towels. Such measures have reduced GW's total expenditures on cleaning products by more than $20,000 in FY14 relative to FY12.

GW is currently pursuing a campus-wide energy efficiency program for existing buildings called the Eco-Building program. http://innovation.gwu.edu/building-energy-efficiency The Eco-Building Program proposes a comprehensive capital improvement plan to strategically implement energy conservation projects in campus buildings. Implementation of this program will result in a reduction of energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions, and will produce short-term and long-term financial savings. Through these projects, GW aims to reduce energy use from the buildings by 15%. GW has also engaged a number of energy services companies to more closely monitor and manage the real-time energy use of our buildings and to employ demand response more effectively. In addition, all on-campus buildings are cleaned using green cleaning techniques and are transitioning to blue cleaning techniques. The university has been certified by a third-party organization for its green cleaning techniques used at the Mount Vernon and Foggy Bottom Campuses.

Energy use in existing buildings comprises 80 percent of the university's GHG emissions. In the first years of implementing the Climate Action Plan, GW prioritized improving building energy efficiency and enhancing IT systems that result in energy use reductions. When managing and retrofitting its buildings for sustainability, GW deals with many complexities due to the diversity of buildings. GW owns and operates more than 150 buildings on its three campuses. Some pre-date the turn of the last century, and most require historic preservation during upgrades. The sizes range from less than 10,000 square feet (historic town houses) to more than 200,000 square feet.