NEWS

WIRES

OTHER

New ARAMARK "Blue Cleaning" Program Goes Beyond Traditional Green Cleaning

"We are committed to finding sustainable solutions that provide optimal safety for our employees and customers, while reducing the overall impact on the environment," said Chris Hackem, President & Chief Operating Officer for ARAMARK's Higher Education, K-12 Education and Correctional Services businesses. '"By leveraging the power of electrically activated water, our 'Blue Cleaning' program can help our custodial clients minimize their environmental footprint and increase safety, productivity and convenience."

ARAMARK's "Blue Cleaning" program employs multiple technologies, which apply a low-level electrical charge to tap water, transforming it into an electrically activated water (EAW) cleaning solution that breaks apart and lifts dirt from surfaces like a magnet. Hard surfaces can then be wiped clean quickly, without leaving a surface residue like chemical-based agents.

In partnership with Orbio Technologies, a Tennant Company Group, and Activeion Cleaning Solutions, ARAMARK tested the "Blue Cleaning" program at several of its client locations across the country.

"Our testing found that the ARAMARK process was highly effective in a variety of routine cleaning applications, including spray-and-wipe cleaning, hard floor scrubbing, and carpet cleaning," said Matt Judge, ARAMARK's Senior Director of Facilities Innovation. "Even in large venues, such as universities, schools and convention centers, the 'Blue Cleaning' program proved to be comparable, if not better, than conventional chemical cleaners."

ARAMARK tested the hand-held Activeion Ionator EXP with Orbio Electroporation technology which uses a low-level, externally applied electrical field to permanently disrupt and destroy bacteria. The Company also collaborated with Orbio Technologies on the development and testing of the Orbio 5000-Sc, the first product to utilize Orbio Split Stream technology, which electrically restructures water and salt to create, store and dispense an environmentally friendly general purpose cleaning solution right on the customer's site.

The custodial operators who participated in the testing across all of the different venues reported positive findings, including that there was no odor compared to chemical cleaning; carpets were softer; and there was no streaking on glass surfaces or degradation on wood or terrazzo flooring. In addition, operator safety increased because there was no need to mix general purpose chemicals. (See Editor's Note for more background and test results.)

ARAMARK provides comprehensive operator training and customer support as part of the "Blue Cleaning" program to ensure the ongoing safety and effectiveness of the program across all custodial applications. For more information about ARAMARK's "Blue Cleaning" program, please visit www.aramarkhighered.com.

About ARAMARK

ARAMARK is a leader in professional services, providing award-winning food services, facilities management, and uniform and career apparel to health care institutions, universities and school districts, stadiums and arenas, and businesses around the world. The company is recognized as the industry leader in FORTUNE magazine's "World's Most Admired Companies," and as one of America's Largest Private Companies by both FORTUNE and Forbes magazines. ARAMARK seeks to responsibly address issues that matter to its clients, customers, employees and communities by focusing on employee advocacy, environmental stewardship, health and wellness, and community involvement. Headquartered in Philadelphia, ARAMARK has approximately 255,000 employees serving clients in 22 countries. Learn more at the company's Web site, www.aramark.com, or www.twitter.com/aramarknews.

About Tennant Company

Minneapolis-based Tennant Company (NYSE: TNC) is a world leader in designing, manufacturing and marketing solutions that help create a cleaner, safer, healthier world. Its products include equipment for maintaining surfaces in industrial, commercial and outdoor environments; chemical-free and other sustainable cleaning technologies; and specialty surface coatings for protecting, repairing and upgrading floors. Tennant's global field service network is the most extensive in the industry. Tennant has manufacturing operations in Minneapolis, Minn.; Holland, Mich.; Louisville, Ky.; Uden, The Netherlands; the United Kingdom; São Paulo, Brazil; and Shanghai, China; and sells products directly in 15 countries and through distributors in more than 80 countries. For more information, visit www.tennantco.com.

About Activeion Cleaning Solutions Activeion Cleaning Solutions, LLC, is a privately held clean technology company. It strives to protect the health and safety of all people, and foster a more sustainable world, by creating revolutionary, chemical-free cleaning and anti-microbial technologies for everyday use. Addressing the ever-growing need for sustainable cleaning, Activeion's ionized water technology solutions are ideal for restaurants, hotels, hospitals, schools and private residences. For more information, visit www.activeion.com, and follow Activeion on Facebook/activeion, or Twitter @activeion.

Editor's Note: Background/Test Results

ARAMARK measured the cleaning performance of the EAW solutions on hard wood and terrazzo floors, carpets and hard surfaces, such as door entrances, railings and desks.

Baseline measurements of adenosine triphosphate (ATP) were taken before and after the test by a third-party consulting company. ATP is the universal protein molecule found in all animal, plant, bacteria, yeast and mold cells. By measuring the amount of ATP on a surface, a quantifiable standard of hygiene can be established that defines when a surface is really clean.

Over the course of six weeks, the hard surface areas were ATP swabbed, cleaned and then swabbed again. Results concluded a 90-92 percent average ATP reduction through ARAMARK's "Blue Cleaning" program compared to a 75-79 percent reduction with conventional cleaning chemicals.

The gloss and traction of the hard wood and terrazzo floors were maintained, with a modest improvement, using the EAW solution. The carpets were found to be slightly cleaner and drier following the implementation of the "Blue Cleaning" program.

ARAMARK Corporation
Karen Cutler, 215-238-4063
cutler-karen@aramark.com
or
Dave Gargione, 215-238-3559
gargione-david@aramark.com