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Going Green – Choosing Sustainable Cleaning Supplies 

Going Green – Choosing Sustainable Cleaning Supplies 
16 February 2021
 

Distributor Janitorial Express is urging the industry to consider the environmental impact of its choice in cleaning supplies. 

The cleaning industry contributes to a significant amount of environmental damage from greenhouse gasses to toxic chemicals and plastic entering our oceans. Many chemicals may pollute rivers and streams and take a long time to degrade. If they persist, they can enter the food chain through aquatic creatures. Cleaning products also present a significant health risk for those using them regularly. Studies show links between women employed in domestic cleaning roles at increased risk of developing asthma and chronic bronchitis.

London-based Janitorial Express is aiming to change and influence improvements both internally and across the industry when it comes to procurement of cleaning supplies. Having been distributing cleaning supplies for almost 30 years, the company has strived to improve its impact on the environment, pledging to reduce its carbon footprint year on year. 

 

Transporting Waste Across London’s Canals

 

One of the ways in which they are achieving real change is by using an iRecycle canal barge to transport plastic bottles for recycling. Commercial waste and recycling is transported via London’s Canal network, reducing air pollution and decreasing the city’s carbon footprint.

 

Janitorial services

Picture: a photograph of an iRecycle canal barge. Image credit: iRecycle

 

Janitorial Express’ mission statement is to pioneer the use of affordable, safe and environmentally-beneficial products to improve workplaces, safeguard health, and protect our planet. It is also Planet Mark accredited and a Real Living Wage employer. 

For 2021, Janitorial Express has embarked upon a rebrand to better reflect their core ethical values.

Gary Fage, Managing Director at Janitorial Express, explains the process:

“A couple of months ago I reached out to my contacts as I was looking for some input on which one of four logos we should adopt as the new definition of our brand.

“We have recently gone through a rebranding exercise in order to redefine the values of our business which is: pioneering the use of affordable, safe and environmentally beneficial products.

The response was amazing. The post got literally hundreds of comments and thousands of views. There was a clear winner: image number two ‘The Green Goose’ got more votes than the other three put together. I am really pleased with the results and would like to thank everyone that took part.”

 

Customer Demand for Sustainable Cleaning Solutions

 

Environmental pledges from multinational consumer producers such as Unilever focus mainly on domestic customer demand, but as Janitorial Express has shown, commercial clients demand similar ethics from their suppliers. 

Unilever, which owns brands such as Persil and Domestos pledged in 2020 that it would spend €1bn removing fossil fuels from its product range by 2030. The transition is part of the company’s overall plan to reduce its carbon footprint, 46 per cent of which is created by the chemicals used in its cleaning and laundry products.

Particularly in light of COVID-19, facilities managers are also concerned with wanting to ensure their building’s users are aware that they are using the safest products possible to keep that building clean and hygienic. Therefore the choice of cleaning supplies not only has an inevitable environmental and health impact, it also affects a company’s corporate social responsibility and consumers’ reaction to them. 

Picture: a photograph of a van featuring Janitorial Express’ new logo

Article written by Ella Tansley | Published 16 February 2021

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