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CIMS certification and green cleaning standards: what each one certifies
CIMS is ISSA’s management standard for cleaning organizations, and CIMS-GB is its green building add-on. Green Seal GS-42 certifies a cleaning service, GS-37 and EPA Safer Choice certify cleaning products, and LEED certifies the building itself. Knowing which one applies to whom tells you what a contractor’s claim really means and where to check it.
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Who or what each standard certifies
Green cleaning claims get confusing because the standards certify different things. CIMS and CIMS-GB certify the cleaning organization, whether a contractor or an in-house department. GS-42 certifies a cleaning service. GS-37 and Safer Choice certify products. LEED certifies the building. A contractor can hold one, a product can carry another and the building can earn a third, so a single logo never answers every question.
This guide sets out what each program covers as of November 2026, from the issuing bodies’ own pages, and how a facility manager can confirm a claim.
What CIMS is
The Cleaning Industry Management Standard (CIMS) is ISSA’s management-system standard and certification program for cleaning organizations. It lays out the management principles and practices of a quality, customer-focused cleaning organization and helps it build a documented system of written policies and procedures. It applies to organizations of any size, building service contractors and in-house cleaning departments alike.
ISSA describes five sections of management practice: Quality Systems; Service Delivery; Human Resources; Health, Safety and Environmental Stewardship; and Management Commitment. ISSA’s download page says a Sustainability section has since been added. CIMS is non-prescriptive: it does not recommend particular products, equipment or procedures. It certifies the organization, not a building or a product.
People can train as a CIMS Certified Expert (CCE), which lets them train and consult with organizations working toward certification. A CCE credential belongs to the person; it is not certification of the company they work for.
How a cleaning organization is assessed
ISSA describes the path to certification in a few steps:
- The organization applies and runs an internal review of its own practices against CIMS.
- It schedules an assessment with an independent, accredited assessor who has practical industry experience.
- The assessor reviews its documentation and completes the assessment.
- The assessor sends approval to ISSA, which issues the certification.
To pass, an organization must meet every mandatory provision and at least 60% of the recommended provisions in each section. Certification means it has shown compliance to that independent assessor. Organizations must apply for re-certification every two years.
CIMS-GB and CIMS Sustainability
CIMS-GB (Green Building) is an optional add-on to CIMS certification, and it too certifies the cleaning organization. ISSA says it is aligned with LEED for Existing Buildings: Operations and Maintenance and is meant to show the organization is prepared to help building owners earn LEED O+M points. ISSA’s CIMS Sustainability page draws the line this way: CIMS-GB validates the use of environmentally preferable cleaning products and equipment, while CIMS Sustainability looks at how the organization itself operates sustainably, through its policies, sourcing, training and environmental impact. ISSA groups CIMS Sustainability into four LEED-related areas (green cleaning policy, cleaning practices and materials, high-performance equipment, and indoor environmental quality) and says a CIMS-GB certified organization is eligible to pursue it.
Green Seal GS-42 for cleaning services
GS-42 is Green Seal’s Standard for Commercial and Institutional Cleaning Services. The current edition is Edition 2.3, issued July 7, 2015, with corrections last made July 26, 2024. It sets environmental and health requirements for in-house and contracted services that clean indoor areas of commercial, public and industrial buildings, plus the areas just outside entryways. Residential buildings, exterior grounds such as parking lots, and single-task specialty services such as window washing or mold remediation are outside it. GS-42 certification comes only from Green Seal, or from a third-party program that conducts on-site audits with Green Seal’s written permission. Where its criteria conflict with local code, local rules win.
A few Edition 2.3 requirements show how detailed it gets:
- A written cleaning plan for each building, with schedules reviewed at least twice a year, the plan reviewed yearly, and the plan available to staff and the client.
- A list from building management of areas with vulnerable populations, such as children, the elderly or people with asthma or chemical sensitivities, with cleaning adapted to protect them.
- Only EPA-registered disinfectants, used at the label’s dilution and method.
- Environmentally preferable cleaners, floor finishes and strippers, hand soaps and paper products, meaning certified by a third-party (Type 1, ISO 14024) label or designated by a national program with no financial stake in sales.
- Vacuums in the Carpet and Rug Institute Seal of Approval/Green Label program running below 70 dBA, and powered floor equipment that captures particles and runs below 70 dBA.
- A product list and a statement that labels and safety data sheets are kept and available on request.
- New hires get at least 12 hours of instruction at the start and another 12 before the end of their first year, then 24 hours each year after, with records kept.
- Entry matting of 6 to 10 feet of scraper/wiper mat followed by 6 to 10 feet of wiper mat, with exceptions for small entries.
Green Seal GS-37 for cleaning products
GS-37 covers cleaning products for industrial and institutional use: general-purpose, restroom, glass and carpet cleaners for routine cleaning of offices, institutions, warehouses and industrial buildings. The current edition is Edition 7.8, issued June 23, 2022 and re-published with corrections on April 3, 2026. Household cleaners, air fresheners and FIFRA-registered products such as disinfectants and sanitizers are outside its scope.
Under Edition 7.8, the undiluted product may contain no carcinogens, mutagens or reproductive toxins; fragrances follow the IFRA Code of Practice and are disclosed on the label and safety data sheet; VOC content as used stays within CARB’s limit for the category, and glass cleaners within the lower of 1% by weight or that limit; concentrates may not be sold in spray bottles or other ready-to-use packages; aerosols are prohibited; and each product must pass a cleaning performance test at its most dilute recommended dilution.
EPA Safer Choice, the DfE logo and federal purchasing
Safer Choice is a voluntary EPA label for cleaning and other products made with safer chemical ingredients that still perform. EPA reviews every ingredient, whatever its percentage, against criteria such as carcinogenicity, reproductive and developmental toxicity, aquatic toxicity and persistence, and checks performance, pH, VOCs and packaging. Labeled products are audited every year. An optional version of the label marks products designed for businesses, office buildings and schools.
Disinfectants are pesticides, so they cannot carry Safer Choice. EPA marks qualifying antimicrobial products with its separate Design for the Environment (DfE) logo, which adds human health, environmental and efficacy criteria on top of FIFRA registration.
For federal buildings, EPA’s custodial model contract language names labels by product type. For carpet, glass and multipurpose cleaners it pairs USDA BioPreferred with one of Ecologo/UL 2759, Ecologo/UL 2795, Green Seal GS-37 or Safer Choice; for floor care, BioPreferred with Ecologo/UL 2777, Green Seal GS-40 or Safer Choice. Its optional PFAS language encourages avoiding cleaners and floor products that contain PFAS.
LEED O+M green cleaning credits
LEED certifies the building, and a certified cleaning contractor is one route to the green cleaning points. Per LEED v4.1 O+M (November 2018 document), green cleaning shows up twice:
- Green Cleaning Policy prerequisite. Option 1 is an in-house policy covering product and equipment targets, floor and carpet procedures, protection of vulnerable occupants, disinfectant guidelines, chemical handling and spills, resource conservation, hand hygiene, staffing contingencies and training. Option 2 is to use a cleaning service certified and in good standing under Green Seal GS-42 or ISSA’s CIMS-GB, with shared goals for saving energy, water and chemicals.
- Green Cleaning credit. One point for existing buildings, earned through a custodial effectiveness assessment against APPA’s staffing guidelines (a score of 2.5 or better), permanent entryway systems at least 10 feet long, powered equipment (at least 40% by cost meeting the criteria) or products (at least 75% by cost meeting listed standards such as GS-37, GS-40, UL Ecologo or Safer Choice).
USGBC has since published LEED v5 O+M. In its reference guide (November 2025 edition), Green Cleaning is credit EQc7, worth 1 to 2 points: one point for a cleaning service certified under GS-42 or ISSA’s CIMS, plus conservation goals in the building’s policy, and one for at least 75% of products by cost meeting listed standards over at least three months of the reporting year. Disinfectants count there when formulated only with active ingredients identified by EPA’s DfE logo.
California rules that touch green cleaning
State purchasing. California’s Department of General Services sets minimum criteria for a purchase to count as environmentally preferable for the state. Under DGS 81162200 (Janitorial Services, April 21, 2021), a service qualifies by meeting at least one of: a provider certified to GS-42; recycled-content paper, plastic or metal products; or chemicals and janitorial paper certified to a standard listed in DGS 47131800. Under both standards, disinfectants and sanitizers must be registered for their use and appear on EPA’s Selected EPA-Registered Disinfectants lists.
VOC limits. CARB’s consumer products regulation covers institutional products, so janitorial products sold for commercial buildings fall under it. The limits bind anyone who makes, sells or supplies the products for use in California. Per CARB’s unofficial text dated November 30, 2022:
| Product category | VOC limit (% by weight) | Effective |
|---|---|---|
| General-purpose cleaner, nonaerosol | 0.5 | December 31, 2012 |
| General-purpose degreaser, nonaerosol | 0.5 | December 31, 2012 |
| Glass cleaner, nonaerosol | 3 | December 31, 2012 |
| Bathroom and tile cleaner, nonaerosol | 1 | December 31, 2008 |
| Disinfectant, nonaerosol | 1 | December 31, 2008 |
| Floor maintenance product | 1 | December 31, 2010 |
The official text is in title 17 of the California Code of Regulations. CARB keeps no product directory, so a product’s VOC status comes from the manufacturer’s label or SDS.
Schools and child care. The Healthy Schools Act is a pesticide law, and it reaches cleaning only because disinfectants and sanitizers are antimicrobial pesticides. Anyone applying them at a public K-12 school or licensed child care center needs the training the Department of Pesticide Regulation offers free, and DPR says to use only EPA-registered disinfectants according to the label.
How to verify a contractor’s or product’s claim
Every program here has a public directory or label check. Ask for the certificate or product name, then look it up yourself:
| Standard | Who issues it | What it covers | How to verify |
|---|---|---|---|
| CIMS, CIMS-GB, CIMS Sustainability | ISSA, after an independent assessor’s review | A cleaning organization’s management system; GB adds green products and equipment | ISSA’s CIMS Directory, which tags GB and Sustainability; no expiration dates are shown, and certification renews every two years |
| CIMS Certified Expert (CCE) | ISSA | A person who trains and consults | ISSA’s certified verification page |
| Green Seal GS-42 | Green Seal | A cleaning service | Green Seal’s certified directory, searched by standard |
| Green Seal GS-37 | Green Seal | Industrial and institutional cleaning products | Green Seal’s certified directory |
| Safer Choice | U.S. EPA | Cleaning and other products | EPA’s Safer Choice product search, filterable for business use |
| DfE logo | U.S. EPA | Antimicrobial products such as disinfectants | EPA’s list of DfE certified disinfectants |
| UL Ecologo | UL | Products by category | The UL Product iQ database |
| LEED O+M | USGBC | The building | Ask for the building’s LEED certificate |
Our suggestion: confirm the certificate in the directory rather than relying on a logo in a proposal, check that it is in good standing and covers the right entity (a CCE badge is a person, not the company), and ask for the product list and safety data sheets. GS-42 itself requires a contractor to supply both. For disinfectants, the EPA registration number is on the label. Our SDS binder kit helps keep those sheets organized by building.
Putting green cleaning into a contract
If green standards matter to your building, write them into the bid. Name the products or labels you accept by product type, say whether you want a certified service or only certified products, and ask for the product list, SDSs and the matting and equipment plan. Our guides to the janitorial RFP and to facility services SLAs and KPIs show where those requirements sit and how to measure them. For the bodies behind these programs, see our overview of facility management associations.
Get help
Continental runs eco-friendly cleaning programs to the owner’s own green cleaning policy and product list, and the written scope names each product and method so you can report on it. Send us your policy or LEED requirements and we’ll build a quote around them.
A few useful answers
Common questions
Is CIMS a certification for a building or a cleaning company?
A cleaning company or in-house cleaning department. ISSA’s CIMS certifies the organization’s management system; it does not certify buildings or products.
What is the difference between CIMS and CIMS-GB?
CIMS covers how a cleaning organization is managed. CIMS-GB is an optional add-on that validates its use of environmentally preferable products and equipment and is aligned with LEED O+M.
How often does CIMS certification renew?
Every two years. ISSA’s directory does not show expiration dates, so ask the contractor for its current certificate as well.
Does LEED require a certified cleaning contractor?
No. In LEED v4.1 O+M a GS-42 or CIMS-GB service is one option for the green cleaning prerequisite, next to an in-house policy. In LEED v5 O+M it earns one point under credit EQc7.
Is green cleaning required by law in California?
Not as a contractor credential. State purchasing treats GS-42 as one of several ways a janitorial service counts as environmentally preferable, and CARB’s VOC limits apply to cleaning products sold for use in California.