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Green Shield Certified
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| LABEL REPORT CARD |
| How meaningful is the label? |
Is the label verified? |
Is the meaning of the label consistent? |
Are the label standards publicly available? |
Is information about the organization publicly available? |
Is the organization free from conflict of interest? |
Was the label developed with broad public and industry input? |
| Meaningful1 |
Yes2 |
Yes3 |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes4 |
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1. The label would be considered "highly meaningful" if onsite inspections occurred annually rather than once every three years, if unannounced inspections were used, and if meeting standards could be verified more objectively.
2. However, on-site inspections only occur once every three years, and unannounced visits are rarely if ever used.
3. Many of the standards are qualitative; they depend on the judgment of the evaluator and on information provided by the company, both of which may vary.
4. Some “commercial” funding comes from certification fees, but the program is primarily funded by grants.
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LABEL CATEGORY:
Pest Management |
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WHAT THIS LABEL MEANS:
The Green Shield Certified program for Structural Pest Management Services was created to evaluate pest control companies that use integrated pest management (IPM), an approach to dealing with pest problems that reduces or in some cases, eliminates, the use of pesticides by correcting the conditions that can lead to an infestation. IPM focuses on non-chemical methods to prevent pests; pesticides are used only when considered necessary, and in those cases, least-toxic pesticides are selected and measures taken to minimize exposure.
Green Shield Certified is operated by the IPM Institute of North America, a nonprofit organization recognized by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for promoting integrated pest management. A number of health and environmental organizations support Green Shield Certified, including the Natural Resources Defense Council, the New York Public Interest Research Group, the Breast Cancer Fund, and the Collaborative on Health and the Environment.
An entire pest control company can receive the Green Shield Certification, or it may only be awarded for a particular service or services offered by the company. Every company that receives certification – even those who offer only a specific qualifying service or services to be certified – must meet all minimum legal requirements (e.g. for truth in advertising or pesticide applicator training), pesticide safety requirements, and business requirements (e.g., properly licensed) for the entire company. While this particular certification only applies to companies that offer structural pest management services (e.g. commercial, institutional, residential or a mix of client types), facilities can also be certified under separate Green Shield Certified standards that have not been reviewed. (Note: Certification standards for landscape professionals and programs are currently under development.)
A day-long on-site inspection of each company applying for certification is required, which involves a review of reports and records, including those pertaining to inspections, monitoring, pesticide applications, training, and licensing, and a visual inspection of the pesticides storage area and company vehicles. An evaluator also accompanies and observes a technician of the company as they visit the site of a pest problem as part of their routine work for a client. The standards require that inspection (e.g. a diagnosis of the problem and its extent), monitoring, sanitation, measures to exclude pests, and correction of conducive conditions are the primary pest management strategies.
Pesticides may only be used once the pest has been accurately identified. The standards prohibit a number of undesirable practices, including routine or regularly scheduled applications, fogging (i.e. space sprays), sprays of residual-active pesticides to exposed interior or exterior surfaces, and use of dust formulations unless the site is sealed or otherwise enclosed after the application (except for stinging insect hives on exterior surfaces).
The standards also require practices that minimize pesticide exposure, especially to children, when using insecticide baits and rodenticides. Least-toxic pesticides must be used, and certain types of pesticides with known undesirable health effects (e.g. cancer, developmental or reproductive effects, neurotoxicity, endocrine disruption), as well as pesticides that carry a “Danger” or “Warning” label (the Environmental Protection Agency’s designation for substances that are highly or moderately toxic) are prohibited with certain exceptions, which are agreed upon by the Technical Advisory Committee, an advisory body of IPM experts.
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CONSUMERS UNION EVALUATION:
How meaningful is the label?
The Green Shield Certified claim is meaningful. The standards are defined, transparent (publicly available), and are independently verified.
The label identifies companies and particular services offered by a company that follow integrated pest management, or IPM, practices which reduce, but do not eliminate the use of pesticides in all cases. Many companies offer only a specific service rather than using IPM overall.
Certification is to some extent subjective, based on the evaluator’s expertise and instincts. Verification of the standards is frequently dependent on information provided by the company; and/or frequently requires a subjective judgment by the evaluator. Onsite inspections only occur once in a three year period, and are scheduled; unannounced inspections are rarely used.
The label appears to be free of any conflict of interest (there is a written conflict-of-interest policy), and the program is primarily funded by grants. Some "commercial” funding comes from the certification fees (initial evaluation is $1,000 plus travel; yearly fee is between $500 and $2,500, depending on how much service company provides).
The label is available only in certain areas, which are mostly in the Northeast and on the West Coast.
Does an organization verify that the label standards are met?
Yes. An evaluator who meets specific qualifications established by the IPM Institute on education and non-chemical pest management expertise conducts an on-site inspection to determine if the label standards are met. The evaluator observes a technician from the service provider that is seeking certification while the person works, and obtains documentation and/or visually inspects some items, but must also rely extensively on data and information provided by the company for much documentation and backup. Inspections are scheduled and generally occur once in a three-year period, although the right to make unannounced inspections is reserved.
Is the meaning of the label consistent?
Yes, although most of the standards are qualitative, and many require observational judgments by the evaluator and/or are based on information provided by the company, which means that evaluations might vary. For example, the evaluator asks about how the company responds to typical pest problems and accompanies a technician on a site visit to verify that the service provider and staff can identify key pests and key pest symptoms, life cycles, and IPM strategies for management, but there is no standard test used to make this judgment.
Are the label standards publicly available?
Yes, they are publicly available on the Green Shield Certified website.
Is information about the standard organization publicly available?
Yes, it is publicly available on the Green Shield Certified website.
Is the organization behind the label free from conflict of public interest?
Yes, it appears to be. The Program Manager, who conducts many of the evaluations and typically makes the final certification decision, also conducts trainings and develops IPM programs for companies, but to-date has not had a relationship with any company seeking certification, according to our phone interview with him. In the event that there was a relationship, the Program Manager said that another evaluator would be used to evaluate the company, and the Board would make the final certification decision.
Was the label developed with broad public and industry input?
Yes. The label was funded in part from a grant by the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), a non-profit national environmental advocacy organization. Input was sought from a range of groups while the program was under development, and it was field tested. It is currently supported by a range of organizations, including the Green Restaurant Association and several health and environmental organizations. See testimonials. A range of public and industry interests are represented on the Technical Advisory Committee.
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PROGRAM NAME:
Green Shield Certified, Inc. |
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ORGANIZATION NAME AND CONTACT INFO:
IPM Institute of North America
4510 Regent Street
Madison, Wisconsin
53705
Phone: 608-232-1426
Fax: 608-232-1440
URL: www.greenshieldcertified.org
Email Contact: info@greenshieldcertified.org
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ORGANIZATION SUMMARY:
HISTORY
The IPM Institute of North America was developed as an independent organization to promote integrated pest management, or IPM, an approach that relies on strategies to prevent pest problems and does not routinely use pesticides, and was incorporated in 1998.
The Green Shield Certified program is based on “IPM STAR”, an IPM certification program established in 2003 by the IPM Institute of North America and partially funded by the U.S. EPA to work on 10 school systems. Currently, more than 40 school systems nationwide have been certified under IPM STAR. Subsequently, the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), a non-profit national environmental advocacy group, and the Clarence E. Heller Charitable Foundation, which supports environmentally beneficial programs, provided a grant to the IPM Institute of North America to reduce urban pesticide use. The Green Shield Certified program began development in 2005, and was then launched in 2007.
FUNDING
The IPM Institute of North America is funded by grants, mostly from government, but also from private foundations and industry, and from contracts for its services, including for research, training, etc. The Green Shield program is funded by grants, such as from the Natural Resources Defense Council, and evaluation and certification fees.
STRUCTURE
The non-profit IPM Institute of America operates the program. The Institute’s Board of Directors includes experts in IPM from universities, government, and business. The program manager typically makes the final decisions regarding Green Shield Certified standards, although the Board of Directors has the final say if a conflict arises. The program is advised by a Technical Advisory Committee, comprised of experts from universities, non-profits, and industry.
ACCREDITOR
(not an accreditor)
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LABEL STANDARDS AND CRITERIA DETAIL:
click here for label standard - criteria test and analysis
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BOARD OF DIRECTORS:
James M. Cubie, former chief counsel for the U.S. Senate Agriculture Committee, and founder and former director of the Agricultural Conservation Innovation Center, Inc., now a project of American Farmland Trust
Thomas A. Green, President of IPM Works, Madison, WI, Founder of the IPM Institute of America, Director of the National Foundation for IPM Education
Barry Jacobsen, Professor of Plant Pathology, Montana State University, Bozeman, MT, and former National IPM Coordinator, USDA
Mr. Robert S. Kallen, President of RSK Strategies, LLC, Chicago, IL, providing expertise and capital to small growing companies in the food industry, and adjunct professor of economics at Roosevelt University, Chicago
Curtis H. Petzoldt, Assistant Director of the New York State IPM Program and Vegetable IPM Coordinator at Cornell University
James P. Tette, Former Director, New York State IPM Program, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY
TECHNICAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE:
Luis Agurto, Sr., Founder and CEO of Pestec (certified by Green Shield Certified)
Thomas A. Green, PhD, President, IPM Institute of North America
Dawn H. Gouge, PhD, Associate professor and Associate Specialist, Department of Urban Entomology, University of Arizona
Jonathan Kaplan, Senior Policy Specialist at Natural Resources Defense Council
Jack Marlowe, President and Owner of Eden Advanced Pest Technologies (certified by Green Shield Certified)
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