CHTMAG.COM ENVIRONMENTAL CLEANING FEATURE So-called ‘green cleaning’ may be the right thing to do, but hard-pressed facilities managers need to square that virtuous circle with tight cleaning budgets and the expectations of their client and customers. Carl Robinson, marketing manager of cleaning and FM services specialist Nviro, provides some pointers on how to do it MAY 2016 11 CLEANING HYGIENE TODAY Clients and cleaning teams who take the road from traditional to environmentally responsible cleaning may be driven by good intentions, but it can be a bumpy ride. Which is why many contract cleaners give up or have to be pushed. Yet the transition can be relatively smooth with the right forethought and planning. START WITH WHY? Any business decision should be carefully weighed and justified, and making a fundamental change in the cleaning service is no different. Yes, there is a moral dimension but marshall all your arguments. The environmental case is strong. Our industry relies on chemicals that exact a toll on the environment during their manufacture, at the point of use and on disposal. Many are toxic to aquatic life, and others have ingredients that are known or suspected to have harmful effects on humans too. A relatively recent concern is the impact of indoor air quality on health and wellbeing. The risk from allergens is real in environments from offices to colleges. Research by the United States Environmental Protection Agency estimated that children miss more than 14 million school days each year due to asthma exacerbated by poor indoor air quality. Employers and other clients are increasingly concerned about the wellbeing of people using their buildings. THE BUSINESS CASE For more enlightened clients, the wellbeing argument becomes part of the business case for reducing reliance on chemicals in cleaning. Healthier, happier employees, or students, are better motivated, more productive and less likely to be absent due to sickness. There is also a financial case to be made for chemical-free cleaning. Facilities managers and others controlling the purse strings may be concerned by the up-front costs. Microfibre cloths and mops, hightemperature washing machines to sterilise these after usage, and staff training all require investment. But Nviro has shown that this can be offset by efficiencies in cleaning. In Brighton & Hove, for example, where we replaced most chemical cleaning agents with microfibre, we found that many cleaning rotas were carried out more quickly. Staff had to spend less time preparing cleaning solutions and checking dilution levels. Armed with microfibre cloth and a bottle of water they could get on with the job. They also had more time to concentrate on the detail and the quality of the work. These are just some aspects of a cleaning service’s cost-effectiveness, so other factors need to be carefully weighed when calculating costs and benefits. THE CLIENT/CONTRACTOR FIT Having said that cleaning can be greener and meaner (in cost terms), many client and contractors still balk at what is a fundamental change in cleaning regime, and the potential disruption this might cause, for an uncertain financial gain. So it’s important that client and contractor share common goals. Accredited to the ISO 14001 standard for environmental management, Nviro was an early adopter of environmental responsibility, and our company name reflects this. As we’ve grown, so has clients’ appetite for sustainable cleaning. This has helped us roll out environmental initiatives, and to differentiate our company in a highly competitive market. That buy-in prepares the ground for greener cleaning and related initiatives. In Brighton, where we have an open-book contract with the council, we had already agreed to invest efficiency savings achieved using traditional cleaning methods into a city-wide Research by the United States Environmental Protection Agency estimated that children miss more than 14 million school days each year due to asthma exacerbated by poor indoor air quality.” study of waste in council buildings, before moving to chemical-free cleaning. This study showed the value of Nviro collecting recyclables daily in the four main municipal office buildings. Similarly, in Chichester College we introduced a ‘bin-less policy’, as part of a wider waste management and sustainability drive. Nviro collaborated with the college by re-evaluating the cleaning specification and helped it obviate the need for bins in its offices and support areas. Such collaboration by like-minded parties makes for a more coherent approach to environmental responsibility as well as efficiency savings in cleaning and waste management.
Cleaning Hygiene Today May 2016
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