Dear Families,
We believe part of caring for your children is caring for the world they are growing up in,
so we are excited to announce that our program is going green. While going green is a
new effort for us, protecting the well-being of your children and the environment is not—
that has been a priority since our program’s beginning.
We are using the Go Green Rating Scale for Early Childhood Settings to help us measure
and improve the environmental health of our program. The rating scale includes sixtyfour items that define and allow us to determine our current level of greenness. This tool
will help us become as environmentally healthy as possible in the following areas:
• Administration—establishing a green team, record keeping, inspections, and trainings
• Green living and stewardship—recycling, energy use, and involving children and
families
• Cleaners and disinfectants—cleaning and disinfecting with products and processes
that are healthiest for children
• Body-care and hygiene products—protecting children from harsh chemicals in soaps,
lotions, and other products
• Air-quality management—reducing asthma triggers and cleaning the air for everyone
in our building
• Lead—ensuring that children are not exposed to toxic lead while in our care
• Plastics—avoiding plastics made with chemicals that can be harmful to children’s
bodies
• Pesticides—managing how we control occasional pest problems indoors and outdoors
in ways that protect children from both the pests and the pesticides
• Other contaminants—monitoring our facilities for fertilizer use, playground surfaces,
fire retardants, art supplies, toys, treated lumber, and mercury
As we go green in each of these areas, expect further communication. We look forward to
sharing our process and progress with you and welcome your feedback at anytime. We
encourage you to consider supporting our green efforts through at-home participation.
Thank you for the privilege of caring for your children!
Sincerely,
Dear Families,
Our recent news about going green has been well received. Thank you. We are thrilled to
have you as partners in promoting the health of the children and the environment.
We think it’s time to share some specifics about our green efforts thus far, so let us
explain how we’re going green when it comes to administration. We have appointed
_____________________________, a devoted staff member who is truly passionate
about caring for your children, to the role of green coordinator. The green coordinator
will oversee our green makeover and lead our green team, which we are currently in the
process of forming. To prepare for the role, _____________________________ will be
attending a local green conference.
Program staff and community volunteers and professionals have been invited to join our
green team, and with this letter, we are inviting you as well. We’re looking for people
excited about going green who are available for monthly meetings at which decisions and
monthly inspection reports will be discussed and practices reviewed.
If you are interested in learning more about serving as a green team member, please
contact us. We want to say again how much we appreciate your support and enjoy your
children!
Sincerely,
Dear Families,
Let us begin with a thank you to those parents who have volunteered to serve as members
of our green team. I am impressed by the response, and I’m eager to work with the team.
I learned a lot at the local green conference I recently attended and would love to share
what I learned with everyone interested.
We are focusing right now on green living and stewardship. Adopting a lifestyle that is
beneficial to, neutral to, or minimally impactful on the environment is what we are
working toward. To achieve this, we are concentrating on the following:
• improving our efforts to reduce, reuse, and recycle
• minimizing our food waste
• eating organic foods whenever possible
• conserving resources, especially water and energy
• finding ways to reduce our carbon footprint
Specifically, this means we are recycling newspaper, cardboard, office paper, mixed
paper, bottles, cans, aluminum foil, and plastics. We are also taking batteries, household
paints, fluorescent lightbulbs, concentrated household cleaners, pesticides, and
electronics to hazardous-waste collection facilities. To minimize packaging, we are
purchasing food and recycled, refillable products in bulk. And to save paper, we are
going to be communicating electronically whenever possible.
Feeding your children organic meals is our new practice, and we will be trying our hands
at composting too. Know that lights are only being used when natural sunlight is not
bright enough and that unused electrical items are not staying plugged into outlets. We
are also being sensitive about running water that doesn’t get used.
Consider focusing with us on stewardship by doing similar things at home. Reduce your
carbon footprint and make a positive imprint on your children.
Thanks for your enthusiasm about our going green!
Sincerely,
Green Coordinator
Dear Families,
Our green efforts are continuing to move forward. Currently, we’re placing our attention
on green cleaning. Protecting your children from exposure to the hazardous chemicals
found in many cleaners and disinfectants is very important to us.
To clean green, we have made the switch to cleaners recognized by Green Seal (a
nonprofit organization that certifies products meeting its environmental standards) and
disinfectants registered by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). We are
following all product label directions and have even developed and posted a cleaning
checklist to remind our staff about how to clean green. It’s worth noting that our policy is
to keep your children out of any room being cleaned, disinfected, or ventilated.
We ask that you consider joining our green cleaning effort at your own home. For listings
of green cleaners and disinfectants, check out www.greenseal.org and
www.thegreenguide.com.
Sincerely,
Green Coordinator
Dear Families,
We’ve already made green changes when it comes to our choice and use of cleaners and
disinfectants. Now similar changes are being made for the body-care and hygiene
products we use on your children. We’re screening and swapping our body-care and
hygiene products to make sure your children are protected from the hazardous chemicals.
To find green body-care and hygiene products, we have used the Environmental Working
Group’s Skin Deep Cosmetic Safety Database (www.cosmeticsdatabase.com) and
Parent’s Buying Guide: Safety Guide to Children’s Personal Care Products
(www.cosmeticsdatabase.com/special/parentsguide). It is our policy to choose only
products screened annually for health impacts.
In addition to choosing green body-care and hygiene products, we have written and
posted a new hand-washing policy that will be strictly followed. Hand sanitizers and
products with antimicrobial chemicals will no longer be used on your children. Your
children deserve to have only the best products on their bodies.
If you’re interested in checking the greenness of the body-care and hygiene products you
use at home, look to the Environmental Working Group’s Web resources mentioned
above. Thank you, again, for your continued support. The feedback our green team has
received has been very helpful!
Sincerely,
Green Coordinator
Dear Families,
Our current green focus is on air quality, both indoor and outdoor. We want to promote
healthy air for your children, especially because a number of children in our care have
special allergies and sensitivities.
Ventilating rooms with fresh air is our preference because outdoor air quality tends to be
better than indoor air quality. While windows and doors are left open at times for this
purpose, be assured that we take the proper precautions to ensure there are no safety
hazards. We use gates, and staff members monitor open areas at all times.
To help support healthy air quality, we limit interaction between your children and
animals, check seasonal pollen levels when scheduling outdoor activities, have a carbon
monoxide alarm in every room, use a HEPA-filtered vacuum cleaner daily, and have a
strict no-smoking policy. Staff who smoke must do so away from program rooms and
vehicles, must always wash their hands after smoke breaks, and must bring an extra outfit
in case their clothes smell too smoky.
You might consider doing some of these things to improve your at-home air quality. You
can breathe easier knowing we are working to achieve the best possible air quality.
Thanks for continuing to stand by our green efforts!
Sincerely,
Green Coordinator
(for facilities constructed after 1978)
Dear Families,
We wonder if the following statistic will shock you as much as it did us. “Approximately
one in twenty-two children in America have high levels of lead in their blood” (U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency, “Lead Poisoning and Your Children” [Washington,
DC: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 2000],
www.epa.gov/lead/pubs/lpandyce.pdf). Our green effort right now is to make sure this
statistic doesn’t refer to children in our care.
Because our program operates out of a building constructed well after 1978, lead in our
paint and plumbing is fortunately not a concern. Potential sources of lead poisoning for
us are toys and canned tuna.
We want you to know that we will only be purchasing toys confirmed to be lead free. We
are choosing to only serve canned tuna once a month. Please consider joining us in these
actions at home.
We feel so lucky to have the supportive families that we do!
Sincerely,
Green Coordinator
(for facilities constructed before 1978)
Dear Families,
We wonder if the following statistic will shock you as much as it did us. “Approximately
one in twenty-two children in America have high levels of lead in their blood” (U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency, “Lead Poisoning and Your Children” [Washington,
DC: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 2000],
www.epa.gov/lead/pubs/lpandyce.pdf). Our green effort right now is to make sure this
statistic doesn’t refer to children in our care.
Because our program operates out of a building constructed before 1978, we have tested
our paint and water to check for the presence of lead. All paint containing lead has been
removed or covered, and filters that remove lead have been attached to faucets where the
water is used for drinking and cooking.
Other potential sources of lead poisoning for us are toys and canned tuna. We want you
to know that we will only be purchasing toys confirmed to be lead free. We are choosing
to only serve canned tuna once a month. Please consider joining us in these actions at
home.
We feel so lucky to have the supportive families that we do!
Sincerely,
Green Coordinator
Dear Families,
Our latest green focus is on plastics. We are making sure we protect children from
exposure to the hazardous chemicals found in plastics, especially phthalates and
bisphenol A (BPA).
Phthalates and BPA are in plastics that have recycling codes of 3, 6, and Polycarbonate
(PC) 7. They can cause serious health problems, so we are avoiding plastics with the 3, 6,
and Polycarbonate (PC) 7 recycling codes as much as possible. We are also avoiding
plastic in food preparation. Plastic containers, packages, and wrap will not be used to
microwave, cook, boil, or heat food, formula, or beverages consumed by children.
Try to avoid plastics labeled 3, 6, and Polycarbonate (PC) 7 as much as possible at home,
and consider preparing all your meals in nonplastic containers, packages, and wrap.
Thank you!
Sincerely,
Green Coordinator
Dear Families,
A while back, we shared with you our decision to switch to green cleaners and
disinfectants. Now we want to tell you about our new green policy for pest management
and pesticide use. Becoming as pest-free and pesticide-free as possible is our goal.
Currently, our green team is drafting our pest policy; the draft will be made available to
any interested families willing to provide feedback. It’s worth mentioning that as green
coordinator, I have contacted our regional pesticide regulation office to determine the
requirements for necessary pesticide applications.
If we encounter a pest issue demanding pesticide application, a notification letter will be
given to all families, the outside party doing the application must follow our green
standards, and applications will occur when children are not present and at least fortyeight hours before they return.
Let’s all strive to find green ways to manage pests and avoid pesticides as best we can.
Sincerely,
Green Coordinator
Dear Families,
We are writing to share with you our final green focus area—other contaminants. This is
the catchall phrase for everything from playground surfaces to lawn and landscape
fertilizers to children’s art supplies to lightbulbs. Going green in these areas demonstrates
that our green efforts apply comprehensively to our environmental health.
At our facility, we minimize the use of lawn and landscape fertilizers and have removed
all treated lumber from our playground. All of our art supplies and toys have been
certified to not contain potentially dangerous chemicals or materials. Our toys comply
with the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA) standards, and our art
supplies are certified nontoxic by the Art and Creative Materials Institute (ACMI).
As part of our energy conservation efforts, we use compact fluorescent lightbulbs (CFLs).
Yet, we are keenly aware that CFLs contain mercury and that the danger of mercury
contamination occurs when a bulb breaks. Because of this, we have established a mercury
cleanup plan, and staff has been trained on proper cleanup techniques. We dispose of our
CFLs only at the local hazardous-waste collection site.
Yet again, accept my sincere thanks for being partners of our go green effort! We
couldn’t be successful without your support.
Sincerely,
Green Coordinator