How to Specify Green Cleaning Products in Montreal
What does “green” or “eco-friendly” actually mean for a commercial cleaning product?
Honestly, it depends on who’s making the claim. A label that says “eco-friendly” means nothing by itself. A product can carry that word with no testing, no third-party review, and no ingredient disclosure behind it. What separates a real green cleaning product from a marketing label is independent certification from a recognized program with published standards.
In practical terms, a genuinely green commercial cleaning product has been evaluated on a few things: the toxicity of its ingredients to people and to aquatic life, how it breaks down after it goes down the drain, the concentration needed to do the job (which affects how much product gets used per square foot), and the packaging. A product that requires heavy dilution to work is not greener just because its label is printed in a leaf-green colour.
We’ve been working with green product lines in our commercial cleaning programs for years now. The single most common mistake we see is a building manager who assumes that whatever cleaner their provider uses is automatically compliant with their sustainability goals. Get specific. Ask for the certification, the name of the certifying body, and the product list in writing.
Which certifications should you look for in Quebec?
In the Quebec and Canadian commercial cleaning market, the two certifications that carry real weight are EcoLogo (now operated under UL Environment) and Green Seal. Both require third-party testing and have published criteria that products must meet to stay certified. Either of those on a product data sheet gives you something you can actually verify.
Some suppliers reference Safer Choice, a U.S. EPA program, and while it has rigorous standards, it is not as common in the Canadian market. Proprietary “green” programs run by product manufacturers themselves are worth scrutinizing carefully. A manufacturer certifying their own products is not the same as an independent organization doing it.
For building certification programs like BOMA BESt or LEED, the requirement is typically that a documented percentage of cleaning products (measured by cost) must carry third-party environmental certification. The exact threshold varies by version and pathway, but 80 percent of cleaning product purchases by cost is a figure that appears regularly in both programs. If your building is pursuing either of those certifications, your janitorial contractor needs to track their product purchases and provide documentation. That’s a scope of work item, not an assumption.
Will switching to green cleaning products mean a less clean or less disinfected building?
This question comes up every time, and the short answer is no, not if the products are chosen and applied correctly.
There was a period, maybe fifteen years ago, when the green product options in the commercial cleaning market genuinely were not as effective as conventional products in certain categories. That gap has closed considerably. The formulations available today for hard surface cleaning, restroom care, and general disinfection are effective at the concentrations they’re designed to be used at. The performance issue we do still see is misuse: a product diluted at the wrong ratio, applied to the wrong surface type, or not given adequate dwell time.
Disinfection is a separate conversation. If a facility has a requirement for hospital-grade or specific kill-claim disinfection, the product being used has to meet those specifications regardless of its environmental profile. Green disinfectants exist and work, but you need to match the product to the actual requirement, not just pick the one that has the nicest certification. A medical clinic we clean has different needs than a warehouse office. The scope of work has to reflect that.
How does a green cleaning program support BOMA BESt or LEED certification for your building?
Both BOMA BESt and LEED credit buildings for having documented, managed janitorial programs that use environmentally preferable products. The word “documented” is doing a lot of work in that sentence.
For BOMA BESt, the operations and management section covers cleaning and waste practices. You need to show that your cleaning program addresses indoor air quality (which is directly tied to product chemistry and application methods), that your products meet recognized environmental standards, and that the program is written down and followed. A verbal agreement with your cleaning provider does not satisfy a BOMA BESt audit.
For LEED, the relevant credits fall under Indoor Environmental Quality. Products need certification, the cleaning program needs to address high-concentration areas separately from general areas, and microfibre or similar reduced-chemical-transfer tools are often referenced. Again, documentation is everything.
Over more than six decades working in Montreal commercial buildings, we’ve seen a lot of facilities start a building certification process and then realize their cleaning program wasn’t documented at all, or that their provider had no written product policy. Getting that in order before you start the certification process saves time.
What should go in a cleaning contract to make sure green products are actually used?
This is where most sustainability commitments break down. A contract that says “eco-friendly products will be used” and nothing else is not enforceable in any meaningful way. Here’s what to actually include.
First, require a product list by category: general purpose, restroom, glass, disinfectant, floor finish, floor stripper. For each category, the contract should name the certification standard required (EcoLogo, Green Seal, or equivalent), not just use the word “green”.
Second, require that any product substitution during the contract term gets prior written approval. Providers change product lines. Without this clause, a certified product can be quietly swapped for an uncertified one and no one finds out until the BOMA audit.
Third, include a documentation requirement. Quarterly or annual product purchase reports tied to certification status give you the paper trail that building certification programs actually need. This is especially important if you’re tracking the percentage of certified product purchases by cost.
Fourth, if concentration-based or dispensing system products are part of the program, specify that dilution controls have to be used. A concentrate that’s supposed to be diluted 1:128 and gets used at full strength is not performing as designed, and it’s not green either.
Fifth, specify that product safety data sheets (SDS) for all cleaning products be available on request. This is a basic transparency requirement and costs the provider nothing to comply with.
The summer season in Montreal is a reasonable time to do this review. Building activity is often lighter in July and August, managers have a bit more room to think strategically, and Q3 is a natural point to reset a scope of work before fall.
At Can-Jan Inc., we have kept Montreal buildings clean since 1961. Reach out to talk about your property.
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