Practice what you preach
June 17th 2011

Every manager and every cleaner needs to embrace greener cleaning practices if the industry as a whole is to deliver a more sustainable and environmentally friendly service to its customers, says Keith Baker of ISSA

Green cleaning has been one of the strongest trends in the cleaning industry in recent years. Customers are increasingly aware that some cleaning chemicals can have a harmful effect on the environment and they are seeking alternatives. We make the same choices as consumers and individuals ourselves, but increasingly it is big companies and organisations whose Corporate Social Responsibility agendas are driving greener choices. That can be a good thing, because corporates can be a powerful lever for positive change.

Green cleaning has become a marketing issue, with manufacturers competing on environmental credentials as well as more traditional values such as efficacy and valuefor -money. And as a result some have raised concerns about greenwashing – where unsubstantiated, false or misleading environmental claims are made. The ISSA seeks to promote green cleaning and prevent greenwashing by upholding meaningful environmental standards wherever it and its members can.

Ensuring products and resources are more sustainable is one thing, but are we doing enough to ensure the practice of cleaning couldn’t be greener? Every manager and every cleaner needs to embrace greener cleaning practices if the industry as a whole is to deliver a more sustainable and environmentally friendly service to its customers.

Making the switch

It should be easy to switch to greener cleaning products and in many cases legislative change has outlawed more harmful products forcing us to use more sustainable alternatives. It is harder, but all the more important, to ensure the sustainable cleaning practices are in place. Our workforce needs to be consistently trained on the role of green cleaning and how to ensure cleaning is as sustainable as possible. There is no point in switching from one product to another, simply because the chemical is understood to be greener, unless its use makes it fully sustainable to do so. Notionally less harmful chemicals may not always be the most appropriate for certain cleaning jobs. For instance, where an intractable stain requires effective treatment. The most sustainable product will be the one that gets the required cleaning job done with the least environmental impact and we should be mindful of this in the broadest sense.

Here is another example of where it is important to think and act green as much as to buy green products. Chemical concentrates can lessen environmental impact considerably by reducing packaging and the carbon emissions associated with the shipping diluted products over hundreds, sometimes thousands of miles. But the effectiveness of using concentrates relies on making sure they are diluted correctly. That includes diluting the required quantity, not twice the required amount so that half the product is wasted. Once again,correct training is essential to ensure effective use of concentrates.

The reduction of waste and recycling are also fundamental to sustainability and cleaning staff often have an important role in ensuring both their own and their customers’ waste is recycled effectively. Many large producers of waste, such as retailers, now go to enormous lengths to maximise recycling.

The cleaning industry plays its part by providing separate colourcoded bins. These schemes can be extremely successful at increasing recycling and cutting waste, but they are reliant on buy-in from the whole company or organisation. One key group not always included is the cleaning staff, possibly because they are contracted out to another employer. So cleaning staff need to know how to keep different material streams apart; which bins need emptying; where and what to do if they find a glass bottle in the plastic waste, etc.

Training is very important with all aspects of sustainable cleaning and, not just the choice of green products, but to ensure that every aspect of the job is done efficiently. It needn’t be difficult and, just like health and safety training, it should become an integral part of any company’s policy.

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