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ServiceMaster Clean Believes in "Meeting" Green Standards

MEMPHIS, Tenn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Organizing national meetings that involve virtually everyone now can involve everyone virtually.

And those who participate say it actually creates a better environment.

The commercial cleaning division of ServiceMaster Clean held its annual convention via webcast for the first time in its history. That meant that at least 250 locations that would normally have sent associates from all over North America and abroad to a central meeting site, instead took the information highway and arrived via the Internet.

ServiceMaster Clean wanted to give technology a try to see if a virtual get-together would help meet the company's overall environmental stewardship goals--and save some money at the same time.

"We've made it a priority to 'green' our service offerings, and we've come up with new products and services that we offer our customers that are eco-friendly," said Gary Bauer, vice president of business services for ServiceMaster Clean. "To take it a step farther, we were wondering what the carbon impact would be from just the activities around our normal meeting.

"We were all surprised when we actually did the math."

How much did they cut down on their environmental impact? Assuming the 250 outlets had at least three unique log-ins during convention, Bauer gave these examples.

• Using a plane like a Boeing 737, which holds 147 passengers, it would take approximately 23,000 gallons of jet fuel to get 750 people to the meeting and back home again.
• If attendees rented a car for the three-day event, they would produce 17 metric tons of CO2 just driving around.
• Every day a person stays at a hotel, it burns enough fossil fuels to release more than 33 pounds of carbon dioxide. So, over the course of three days, that equals 37,000 pounds of carbon.
• Just eating out for nine meals over three days nets out to 7 tons of carbon.

"We know that virtual meetings have their limitations, but it was a great time-saver for our franchise owners," said Carrie Duda, senior marketing manager of business services. "It allowed them to get the information without leaving their businesses, and allowed more associates to participate."

"The one aspect that we really enjoyed was the ability to share the convention's benefits and atmosphere with everyone in our own office," says Rich Emery, owner of a ServiceMaster Clean franchise in Clive, Iowa. "The technology really came through."

About ServiceMaster Clean

With more than 4,500 franchise locations around the world, ServiceMaster Clean serves customers through a global network of franchises that provide janitorial services, commercial carpet cleaning, hard surface floor care, residential carpet cleaning and upholstery, and disaster restoration services. The company has more than 60 years of history as a market leader. Visit www.gogreenwithclean.com.

ServiceMaster Clean is part of the ServiceMaster family of brands, one of the world's largest and most versatile service networks. The company's brands include TruGreen, TruGreen LandCare, Terminix, American Home Shield, ServiceMaster Clean, Merry Maids, Furniture Medic, and AmeriSpec. ServiceMaster Clean is committed to its franchise owners. Our ability to offer qualified prospects up to 80 percent financing to start their cleaning business is only one of the benefits of our program.

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