Informed Green Solutions

Carol Westinghouse

President and Programs Manager 
Carol Westinghouse has broad experience in environmentally preferable purchasing (EPP) based on her knowledge of the effects of toxic chemicals on human health.

Her interest in the subject of indoor air quality (IAQ) was sparked when her son entered a new school building as a kindergarten student and suffered health effects from the chemicals emitted by the products used such as carpeting, draperies, furniture, flooring etc. As a result Ms. Westinghouse joined a Vermont legislative sub-committee to investigate indoor air quality in schools whose work resulted in the establishment of the Envision program, Vermont’s healthy schools initiative. Ms. Westinghouse’s efforts since that time to improve indoor air quality in our buildings have resulted in a reduction of toxic chemicals used in cleaning and pest management in schools, early care and education programs, state buildings, hotels, restaurants, universities/colleges, heathcare, and other businesses.

During the 1990s, Carol worked as a health and safety consultant to industrial facilities, administering OSHA programs, coordinating health and safety committees and assisting them in reducing toxic chemicals in their manufacturing processes. She developed an environmentally preferable purchasing guide for sensitive populations and consulted on building healthy homes. From 2004 to 2009 she developed and managed the Cleaning for Health program for INFORM, Inc. a national non-profit organization dedicated to environmental education. When INFORM phased out its green cleaning program, Ms. Westinghouse saw the need to continue its work by expanding avenues to educate institutions and the general public about cleaning products and practices and their effects on indoor air quality and health. She established Informed Green Solutions in 2009 and continues its work today.

Ms. Westinghouse’s achievements include:
  • Development of the Cleaning for Health program designed to assist facilities in their transition to green cleaning
  • Development of Cleaning for Healthier Schools (CfHS), a New England-wide program to assist schools in implementing a green cleaning program
  • Co-development of the National Collaborative on Green Cleaning and Chemical Policy Reform in Schools’ Cleaning for Healthy Schools Toolkit
  • Co-authorship of the Children’s Environmental Health: The School Environment published in the Journal Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities
  • Co-authorship of Cleaning for Healthier Schools – Infection Control Handbook as well as a suite of fact sheets
  • Compiler of the Green Sweep Custodial Technician Training Manual for the River Valley Technical Center
  • Co-authorship of Green Cleaning, Sanitizing and Disinfecting: A Toolkit for Early Care and Education.
  • She has served as Co-chair of the Northeast School Integrated Pest Management (IPM) Working Group and the coordinator for the Collaborative to Improve Indoor Air Quality in Early Care and Education.
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