An effective cleaning regime can have a surprising impact on your sustainability efforts, says Alastair Scott, sales director at Robert Scott.
Examining ESG
91% of business leaders believe their company has a responsibility to act on ESG issues1. While big ticket sustainability practices such as recycling, reducing travel or implementing Cycle to Work schemes may feel like more obvious options for reducing your footprint, in fact, the secret to meeting ambitious targets lies in making many small, but collectively significant, changes across the entirety of your business. This includes unexpected areas such as cleaning regimes.
Swap single-use and synthetic chemicals
Gone are the days where bleach or other harsh chemicals were considered the only solution for killing viruses and bacteria. There are systems on the market today which can kill up to 99.999% of germs by using just water, salt and electricity to make an eco-friendly, antibacterial cleaner. In fact, these systems can reduce the need for around 80% of chemical use.
This type of technology typically uses electrolysis to create a hypochlorous acid, which is naturally occurring in humans and powerful in its ability to control the spread of germs. It’s a simple switch from toxic chemicals that pollute our water systems, causing damage both to the environment and the aquatic life living in it.
In addition, these systems don’t rely on single-use plastic bottles – the cleaning solution created is poured into reusable containers, enabling cleaning operatives to make their own endless supply that’s virtually free. Between 8 and 12 million metric tons of plastic ends up in our oceans each year, with over 80% of it coming from land-based sources2. So, swapping single-use bottles for a more sustainable refillable option can help a business significantly reduce its plastic waste.
As an example of the potential of these systems, The Restaurant Group implemented the Toucan Eco cleaning system in 2021 and was able to reduce plastic packaging by 2.7 tonnes and chemical usage by 35,000 tonnes in just one year, replacing the need for 11 different chemicals.
Get clear on recycled content
Eliminating single-use plastic is low hanging fruit when it comes to making more sustainable product choices, but the truth is, plastic is all around us. As well as considering where single-use can be removed, it’s also important for businesses to look at lower-plastic content and recycled plastic options in the products they purchase, to reduce the use of virgin plastic.
In cleaning regimes, buckets, mop heads and packaging are just some of the areas where many manufacturers are beginning to offer options that require less virgin plastic.
That can be through products that need to be replaced less often. Manufacturers now offer mops made with fabrics that can be washed many times over, for example. Several are also replacing disposable sockets with reusable options that don’t need to be thrown away with every mophead change. These may seem like small differences, but they soon add up in the typical commercial cleaning environment. In the case of reusable sockets, the average mop socket contains 25g of plastic, so the environmental benefit of switching can be significant.
In addition, certain leading manufacturers have introduced a range of 100% recycled material products. At Robert Scott, for example, that includes recycled cleaning cloths, reusable spray bottles made from 100% recyclable plastic bottles, and recycled professional buckets.
To give an example of the collective benefit of these changes, we’ve reduced our virgin plastic use by over 2,000 tonnes in one year. Our recycled-content buckets alone save over 100 tonnes of virgin plastic per year.
The journey to carbon reduction
Many cleaning manufacturers are also looking at broader ways to reduce the footprint of their operations too, in turn supporting their customers’ Scope 3 emissions. For example, heavy goods vehicles (HGVs) contribute roughly 25% of all CO2 emissions from road transportation, so minimising the distance travelled by fleets is a win both up and down the supply chain.
A critical component that can support this is the adoption of ‘backhauling’, something we are exploring. This method involves a delivery vehicle completing its initial distribution, then, during its return trip, collecting goods from the delivery point or making stops to collect items for return on its way home. This ensures the vehicle does not travel empty.
Implementing backhauling reduces the total amount of trips required, enhancing efficiency and lowering carbon emissions.
Additionally, some cleaning manufacturers are moving their sourcing strategies from low-cost international suppliers to those closer to home. This shift, accelerated by recent global supply chain disruptions, has placed onshoring and nearshoring at the forefront for numerous companies.
By decreasing dependency on high-carbon transport modes such as air freight and by sourcing more materials locally, manufacturers who embrace nearshoring are significantly reducing the environmental impact their products make, while also better supporting local economies.
Conclusion
The ways that businesses keep their workplaces clean or select cleaning products and suppliers may not previously have been considered an ESG consideration. However, as businesses look to further scrutinise and improve their sustainability and challenge themselves across every element of their operations, it’s clear that analysing cleaning regimes and the products used can, in fact, deliver significant gains.
