Don’t believe the hype
June 1st 2010

Notions of ‘green cleaning’ are being replaced by sustainability. Andrew Large of the CSSA breaks the concept down into manageable pieces

There has been a lot of hype about green cleaning in recent years. It seems that not a day goes by when there isn’t a new cleaning product or service on the market that purports to be green in some way. It’s no surprise that cleaning businesses can feel confused about what they need to do to reduce their environmental impacts. I hope that I can clarify a little.

Sustainability is king

Environmentalism is no longer enough for businesses. The green agenda continues to have its devotees, but it is clear that sustainability is the key driver for business. In short sustainability is about people, planet and profit. A sustainable business will harm the environment as little as possible, assist those people affected by it as much as possible, and make sufficient profit to keep doing this as long as possible. It’s not just a bit of business school jargon. Sustainability is a useful lens through which to view all manner of business ideas.

Sustainable products

There are sustainable cleaning products out there; it’s just that they are not all labelled as such. Many so called ‘green’ products don’t actually clean effectively and using them can be a false economy. Far better to understand what is really required to clean the surface in question and then make sure it’s used appropriately.

Sustainable machines

Finding sustainable machines is a little easier. The Water Technology List (see www.eca.gov.uk for more details) enables 100% capital allowances for water efficient scrubber dryers and steam cleaning equipment, and all manufacturers should be able to tell you about both water and energy usage of their machines, so that you can make an informed choice.

Sustainable services

While products and machines are important, labour and the way in which cleaning services are provided counts for far more in terms of sustainability.

The most sustainable way to clean is in the day, which avoids night time energy usage, enables workers to have a more family friendly lifestyle and also provides opportunities to provide other services such as meeting room management, basic maintenance and portering. Day time cleaning has been around for a long time, but as the answer to many sustainability questions, it comes into its own.

Cleaning also has the opportunity to improve the sustainability of its clients’ own business as well. For example, one of the lessons from the recent Swine Flu controls is that cleaning for the health of building occupants outside the healthcare environment can be very important. Some clients depend on key staff being present, like bank dealing rooms or shops. Others have large number of people going in and out of them every day – like schools and offices. In all these cases, and many more, the sustainability of the client’s business is improved by a cleaning regime that targets bacteria and reduces the risks to human health in the building. If you can go to a client and show them a cleaning regime that will cut sickness absence, then that is a very strong case to be making.

One final thought on sustainability. Going back and re-cleaning an area for a second time, because it wasn’t right first time is one of the least sustainable things that you can do. Not only do people need the right products and equipment to do to the job, but they also need the correct training to do the job right first time. Prove it!

It is all very well for cleaning companies to say that they are sustainable, quite another thing to go to the client and be able to prove it.

Fortunately, help is at hand for cleaning businesses. The ISO 14001 management standard is explicitly designed to enable environmental management systems to be certified. Presenting this to a client will give both them and you confidence that you are managing the business exactly as you set out to. However, ISO 14001 can be daunting, and for that reason, the CSSA has teamed up with a number of European associations to create a sustainable cleaning standard. This standard, which looks at people, planet and profit issues has been put together under the auspices of the EU Life+ programme and provide entry level support to cleaning contractors wanting to improve the sustainability of their business.

If you want to know more about this or any of the other issues

then contact me on alarge@cleaningassoc.org

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