Wachovia Tower goes green

BIRMINGHAM, AL — Janitorial supply company JanPak Inc. awarded Wachovia Tower a green certification, according to the Birmingham Business Journal.

Wachovia Tower is Alabama's first CleanZone, a designation JanPak offers and manages through on-site surveys, the story stated.

Jason Moore, JanPak’s Alabama representative, said: "We began the process a few months ago with our comprehensive site survey. Based on our findings, recommendations and how ‘green’ Wachovia Tower wanted to be, we converted to environmentally friendly paper products, plastic liners, soaps, hand sanitizers and chemicals."

The program incorporates green cleaning, workplace wellness programs and cost-saving measures to reduce energy consumption, including installing energy-efficient lighting in common areas and in the parking garage and adding an automation system for the 500,000-square-foot building’s HVAC and lighting, the story noted.

The building’s facility maintenance provider, Rite Way Service, has implemented the changes in cleaning and maintenance to the building, the story added.

Larry McAlpin of Rite Way Service said: "We have been training our supervisors, floor techs and front-line personnel on how to properly use more environmentally friendly mops, microfiber cloths, dusters and vacuums. It’s a learning process for everyone, but the improved health benefits of our people, our customers, their tenants and the environment immensely outweigh the extra time spent re-training."