Some of our favorite things about this time of year are the iconic smells of the holidays! From pumpkin spice to peppermint to Christmas pine, we love experiencing the comfort and joy of the holiday season through these signature scents and they always fill us with a glow of memories of many falls and winters past…

Besides their nostalgic powers, popular brands of home scent products (such as wall plug-ins, air fresheners, room sprays, and scented candles) also have strong chemical powers and harmful side effects. The most common chemicals found in artificial fragrances and, inevitably, in our air, are volatile organic compounds (VOCs), petroleum-based chemicals, and neurotoxins. Not only can these cause short and long-term health problems like headaches and respiratory illnesses, but they also can pose carcinogenic risks. 

But not to worry, you don’t have to give up your favorite apple cinnamon room spray altogether— there are always healthier, safer, and greener alternatives!  Here are some ways to liven up your air during the holidays without introducing harsh chemicals into your home or workplace:

Turn on the crockpot! Adding natural ingredients to your crockpot like apple, orange, and lemon slices along with some cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg and a splash of water (or even apple cider or lemon juice) is a great way to get your space smelling like the holidays in no time. I even like to throw in some rosemary and vanilla extract sometimes, if I’m really in the mood for some aromatherapy! You can even leave your crockpot on overnight or all day long to ensure a lingering fragrance.  Just make sure the ingredients are mulling on a low heat setting so they don’t overcook!

DIY Spray! Make your own non-toxic air freshener spray by adding essential oils to baking soda and then mixing in water.  Pour the mixture into a spray bottle and voíla!— you have your own all-natural, chemical-free air freshener spray! There are hundreds of natural essential oils out there and you can customize your spray’s scent however you please, the possibilities are endless! A few personal favorites of mine are peppermint essential oil for Christmastime, and clove and orange essential oils are also wonderfully fragrant together. Look for essential oils at your local natural foods grocery store, or you can order them online (you can even buy them organic!).

Pass the potpourri! Wax wick candles can pose a fire risk, especially at the office, so if you want to avoid the use of a flame make your own potpourri at home and then bring some of it to work! Homemade potpourri satchels also make great holiday gifts for friends and family. Read how to make your own holiday potpourri using natural dry ingredients here.

 Who knew that using some green sense could smell so good?

VOCs (Volatile Organic Compounds) harm our bodies and our environment, and they are a very common ingredient in most commercial cleaning products.  At GBS, all of the cleaning products we use are certified green, eco-friendly, non-toxic, and FREE of dangerous VOCs.  Clean green, everyone, and make sure you know what is in your air!

The US Green Building Council recently released a new infographic that shows how the LEED rating system has been a key driver of momentum across many facets of the building industry. The infographic covers the breadth of LEED’s supporters (12,000 USGBC member companies, 77 chapters, 185,000 LEED Accredited Professionals and Green Associates); LEED’s proven performance in reducing operating costs, helping drive the certification of 1.7 million square feet per day; as well as the rigorous, consensus-based approach to its technical development. Check out the full infographic after the break!

How office furniture makers tackled chemical transparency

If you are seeking more information about flood mitigation and/or floodwater safety, we found these tips outlined by the City of Boulder to be especially helpful:

1) You will, unfortunately, need to remove your carpet (and carpet pad) if it has been completely drenched by floodwater— Carpet absorbs moisture very easily and heavily (like a sponge!), and hazardous bacteria and molds will grow and permanently contaminate your carpet if it stays wet. Thus, removal is your safest option if floodwater enters your home and saturates your carpet.

2) Because the curbside collection of flood and storm debris in Boulder does NOT include water-damaged electronics, please be sure to dispose of them via Eco-Cycle’s Center for Hard to Recycle Materials (CHaRM). However, if you have large appliances that need to be disposed of (such as kitchen appliances), curbside services can come and collect these for you separately. For more information regarding the waste and debris collection program in Boulder, visit the City of Boulder’s website.

3) Continue to wear your rain gear (rainboots, jackets, gloves, etc.) to protect yourself from contaminated floodwater and sewage!  Floodwater and sewage (even just the smell) pose enormous health risks and it is absolutely vital that you do whatever you can to avoid physical contact with any free-standing water, as it could very well be contaminated! Check out the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) to learn more about how you can protect yourself and others.

Stay safe and dry, friends!

At GBS, we are passionate about ensuring the safety and well-being of our customers, environment, and community-at-large, and we want to take this opportunity to express our deepest support for all of those affected by the recent floods. Fortunately, our business office managed to stay safe and dry during the extreme weather conditions over the last couple of weeks, and we are still offering all of our normal carpet cleaning and office building cleaning services during this time.

Click here to get the important facts on floodwater safety as our community continues its cleanup and restoration efforts. Remember to consider all water to be contaminated and unsafe unless otherwise specified by local authorities!

Again, we support and stand strong with our Colorado community as we recover from this natural disaster.

For more advice and information about how you can protect yourself and our environment, visit the U.S. Department of Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) website.

Environment & Energy (06/19/13) Cusick, Daniel

A new study estimates that U.S. businesses that strive to curb carbon emissions by 3 percent annually through 2020 could gain as much as $190 billion from reduced energy bills. However, failure to curtail greenhouse gas emissions by the end of this decade could make it more difficult to meet carbon reduction goals over the long term, according to the report from the World Wildlife Fund and CDP based on an analysis by McKinsey & Co. Such failure could also increase the risk of business disruptions caused by extreme weather events such as droughts, floods and severe storms, the report states. Climate activists say U.S. businesses will need to close the “gigaton gap,” referring to the amount of CO2 expected to be emitted by the U.S. corporate sector by 2020 and the level of emissions necessary to prevent the planet from warming by 2 degrees Celsius from preindustrial levels. To achieve this, U.S. businesses must slash 1.2 billion tons (1.2 gigatons), or 25 percent, from their current annual emissions levels of 4.2 billion tons of CO2 equivalent by 2020, requiring a roughly 3 percent reduction in the U.S. business sector’s CO2 emissions every year for the next six years. Hundreds of U.S. companies have already started investing in carbon reduction programs while enhancing their profit margins, according to McKinsey’s Steve Swartz, the report’s lead author. Paul Simpson, chief executive officer of CDP, formerly the Carbon Disclosure Project, says the report shows that companies’ senior management must direct more financial capital toward programs and technologies to reduce the nation’s reliance on fossil fuels and other carbon-intensive processes. “Investing in energy efficiency and renewable energy saves cost, stimulates innovation, creates jobs, and builds energy independence and security,” he says.

New York Times (06/19/13) Barringer, Felicity

For commercial building owners, replacing furnaces or boilers or reconfiguring the building’s shell involves sinking millions of dollars into an asset that the owner may want to get rid of long before the investment has paid off. However, a program at the Bullitt Foundation’s new building in Seattle is aimed at attracting the notice of commercial building owners around the country who may be reluctant to make heavy investments in such technologies. Under the program, if they, or investors, put in the capital for major efficiency retrofits, new revenue, based on precise measurements of energy savings, will keep coming in for decades. Currently, building owners, utilities, and utility regulators who underwrite some efficiency measures remain somewhat skeptical of what are called “deep retrofits,” such as swapping out furnaces, boilers, or the building shell itself — particularly for older, smaller commercial buildings, which, according to a new report, account for 47 percent of all commercial real estate outside the world of malls. Seattle City Light has agreed to the long-term purchase of energy savings from the Bullitt Foundation, whose new building is known for being ultra-thrifty with water and power. The savings will be measured by a new software program from EnergyRM, using a new kind of meter that will, from one day to the next, track and verify how much savings have occurred. The plan intends to ensure that utilities lose none of the revenue that supports their fixed costs while allowing them access to a new power source. The energy not used by Bullitt or any other building is purchased by the utility in a 30-year contract, just as if they were purchasing hydropower or coal-fired electricity. The building has already paid market rates for the unused kilowatt-hours. Seattle City Light buys them back for resale, paying for what were christened “nega-watts” more than three decades ago. The working estimate is that Bullitt will use about one-third of the electricity a new building constructed to city codes would use — a saving of more than 500,000 kilowatt-hours annually. For that savings, Seattle City Light would pay about $44,000.