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Turner Construction Company, a 40-year-old company with construction projects and offices throughout North America, Asia, Africa, Europe, and Latin America is undoubtedly one of the world’s largest and most experienced building contractors. In 2005, 665 of its top executives were asked why they are not building more Green facilities, which use less energy, water, and other natural resources and incorporate environmentally preferable building materials,  designs, and cleaning products.

The executives responded that they were discouraged from undertaking Green construction projects because of such concerns  as:

• Increased costs to build the facility, 68%;
• The inability to qualify the benefits of going Green, 64%;
• The difficulty to quantify the benefits of designing, building, and operating Green facilities, 47%.

Often overlooked in Green building design and technologies are the products and materials used to clean.

And, many school districts have traditionally had similar concerns— questioning whether the added costs would have beneficial results.

However, recent studies indicate that building and operating Green, which includes Green cleaning products and systems, may have a greater return on investment than previously realized. In fact, the cost savings and benefits are so substantial that some school districts are wondering why they have not already started the Green process.

This is essentially the conclusion of a 2006 study, Greening America’s Schools: Costs and Benefits, which was sponsored by such worthy organizations as the American Federation of Teachers, the American Institute of Architects, the American Lung Association, and the U.S. Green Building Council. The study found Green school construction to be slightly more expensive—but considerably less than previously believed— compared to a non-Green school and that Green schools “provide an extraordinary, cost-effective way to enhance student learning.”

Additionally, although conventional schools may have lower design and building costs, the study found that these schools’ operating costs were much higher compared to Green schools.

Current State of Affairs
According to the report, over 60 million students and staff in the United States attend schools that are often “unhealthy and restrict [students’] ability to learn,” very frequently because of poor cleaning and maintenance. The study also noted that schools are often designed only to meet the baseline building codes and requirements of their local communities, which keeps design and construction costs down. To further reduce costs, many districts use the same basic building designs over and over again.

However, according to the study, many of these schools are not comfortable or conducive to learning, nor are they healthy work environments. Additionally, many reused school building designs often have inadequate ventilation, resulting in unhealthy indoor air quality (IAQ).

Furthermore, the problems are compounded because inadequate HVAC systems allow certain school activities, such as those associated with art and science classes, to contribute to poor IAQ. Another factor is the use of conventional cleaning products, which have been shown to emit fumes that are potentially harmful to people as well as the environment. Since children breathe more air relative to their body size than adults, this makes them high risk to sustain health problems from these chemicals.

The result, according to the study: schools across the country are unhealthy; illness and absenteeism are high, which contributes to lower test scores and student performance; the learning experience is hampered; and the school quality and competitiveness is reduced.

The Green Premium: A Closer Look at Costs and Cost Savings
The extra cost that may be required to build and operate a school in an environmentally preferable manner is often referred to as the “Green premium.” Typically, these added costs are the result of: using more sustainable-sourced materials; more efficient HVAC and other mechanical systems; and designs that take advantage of available light and outdoor air.

The study analyzed the building and operating costs of 30 Green schools in 10 states from 2001 to 2006. It found four of the schools cost no more to build than conventional schools, eliminating any Green premium. However, the other schools cost from 3% to more than 6% more to build. Taking all of this together, the average cost increase was between 1% - 2%, resulting in a Green premium of just 1.7% or about $3 per square foot—much less than expected.

Quite surprisingly, however, the financial benefits were reported to be as much as 20 times the cost to go Green. In fact, the savings and benefits were so significant that enough money could be saved to pay for an additional full-time teacher in most of the schools. Among the findings:

• Energy costs were reduced by $9 per square foot;
• Water and waste-water costs were lower by $1 per square foot;
• Improvement in student earnings later in life equaled $49 per square foot;
• Savings as a result of asthma reduction amounted to $3 per square foot;
• Improved teacher retention equaled $4 per square foot.

Overall, the net financial savings were more than $70 per square foot and this did not include reduced teacher sick days, operating and maintenance costs, or such considerations as reduced social inequity and educational enrichment. Although these intangibles are difficult to quantify, they are recognized as derived benefits from Green schools.

The Green Cleaning Connection
Often overlooked in new Green building designs and technologies are the products and materials used to clean educational facilities. However, one study reports that all of the benefits associated with installing an environmentally preferable floor, for example, are negated once they are cleaned with a conventional, non-Green cleaning product.

This is only one reason many school districts are now adopting Green cleaning policies and insisting on environmentally sensitive cleaning products. More studies are finding that there is a definite correlation between the use of Green cleaning products and a reduction in respiratory illnesses—including asthma— improvement in student and staff school attendance, and an improvement in student performance.

But, just as budget-conscious schools have been historically designed and constructed to meet minimum building codes and requirements, conventional cleaning products were often selected based on cost—the lowest-cost products were the ones selected. However, Green cleaning is helping to change that equation.

Today, astute school districts are selecting products that offer the “best value.” This changes the purchasing equation from price- focused to selecting products based on performance and their reduced impact on worker and occupant health as well as the environment. Green cleaning appears to be a proven winner in this new buying focus.

Learning Benefits
Cost benefits as a result of going Green, as significant as they are, are not the only perks of building and operating environmentally sensitive schools. A school’s goal is to teach and several studies conclusively point out that when a school is built and operated in a Green manner, it improves student performance. For example:

• Studies in Chicago and Washington, D.C., report that Green schools can add 3% - 4% to a school’s standardized test scores.
• Average student oral reading fluency scores increased by 19% when students were transferred from a conventional to a Green school in Pennsylvania.
• When a new Green school replaced older conventional schools in Statesville, North Carolina, test scores improved so significantly that the new school recorded the most gains in academic performance in the 32-school system.

Many of these gains are accomplished simply because the students in Green schools are healthier. Asthma and respiratory illnesses as well as allergic reactions to building materials and conventional cleaning products were significantly reduced. The result is a healthier school environment, enhanced student concentration, and significantly improved student attendance.

Changing Minds
The Green movement has quite rapidly taken hold in North America. In the cleaning industry, not too long ago, there were few manufacturers making environmentally preferable cleaning products. Now, it seems, all are rushing to enter the Green marketplace.

We see this happening in all aspects of building operation, construction, and design. If the same 665 senior executives at Turner Construction were asked today about the costs, benefits, and value of building Green, it is likely their answers would be much different, just two years later.

Greening schools is without question cost effective. Any upfront Green premium is quickly returned in the form of cost savings. And, possibly most important, our children are healthier and receiving a much better education as a result of attending Green schools.

Mike Sawchuk is marketing manager for Enviro-Solutions LTD., a Peterborough, Ontario Canada-based manufacturer of green cleaning products.