Plus One Management in New York considered going green about two years ago. Only after the club management company received input from its clients about the green efforts they would support did the company initiate green efforts — including the use of eco-friendly cleaning products — at some of its facilities, says Lemont Platt, vice president and director of operations for Plus One.

Staff and members at the more than 85 clubs have reacted positively to the eco-friendly cleaning products, he says. All of its facilities use some sort of green products, whether it is cleaning products for equipment or other resources to make the building greener.

"Some people were concerned with the way [the products] would work, mostly if they would be strong enough, but it's been positive and very appreciated," Platt says.

Member appreciation is one reason beyond environmental responsibility that club operators are considering green products, Phillips says. Health clubs that go green could become role models for their communities and help those communities become more eco-friendly, he says.

"Being green and living healthy is a significant and long-term trend," he says, adding that clubs trying to distinguish themselves by focusing on wellness and health need to focus on being green, too. After all, many people consider the eco-friendly movement to be part of better health and wellness.

GreenHealthClubs.org was designed for club owners to share the results of their green efforts.

"The thing that will convince a club owner to go green is a recommendation from another club owner," he says. "This site is a place where people can post and read comments about things like trying green cleaners that really clean."

Perhaps as more people commit to using eco-friendly cleaning products and share their experiences, and as more manufacturers improve upon the green solutions, their effectiveness and reputation will improve and their cost will decrease, opening the way for their greater use.

Tips on Using Cleaning Products

Whether a club uses green cleaners or nongreen ones, it's important to follow usage instructions for cleaning products, since the cleaning agents are effective at various speeds, according to Michael Phillips, hospital epidemiologist at New York University Medical Center.

"Most disinfectants dry at different rates," Phillips says. "One kills rapidly, and one kills at a slower rate and takes longer to be effective."

Phillip Tierno, professor of microbiology and pathology at New York University Medical Center, also says that different products work at various speeds, adding that many green products take longer to kill germs than nongreen products. And many products have a short residual effect lasting only seconds to minutes.

Regardless of the type of cleaning agent clubs use, one cleaning product manufacturer representative says that users do not often let the cleaning solutions sit for long enough to make the product effective because they don't read the instructions on cleaning products.

Frequency of use also is important in ensuring that cleaning products are effective, depending on how often the surfaces are touched or contaminated.

What Is Green?

The definition of what makes a product green varies from company to company, but the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) offers help in defining the term.

Clive Davies, director of the EPA's Design for the Environment (DfE) program, says that the term "green" is used broadly to refer to products and processes that are better for the environment. The word has a range of meanings that vary with the user and context. The EPA defines environmental "preferability" based on its authorities and scientific principles.

For example, the EPA allows safer products to carry the DfE label, Davies says. This mark allows consumers to quickly identify and choose products that can help protect the environment and are safer for families.

The DfE logo on products means that the DfE scientific review team has screened each ingredient for potential human health and environmental effects. Based on currently available information, EPA predictive models and expert judgment, it is determined that the product contains only those ingredients that pose the least concern among chemicals in their class.

Product manufacturers who become DfE partners have invested heavily in research, development and reformulation, to create a greener product, while maintaining or improving product performance, Davies says.

The DfE program has allowed use of its logo on more than 800 products. Tens of millions of recognized products are sold each year. These products are formulated from the safest possible ingredients, Davies says, and, in 2008, reduced the use of "chemicals of concern" by 237 million pounds, an improvement from 118 million pounds in 2007.

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© 2012 Penton Media Inc.