A clean slate for contract cleaning

IF THERE are any silver linings to the challenges of the last few years, it’s how the pandemic reinforced the importance of companies maintaining the highest possible hygiene levels for employees as much as clients across all touch points. And, with Covid-19 combining with growing sustainability awareness to impact customer expectations, there is increasing pressure on cleaning companies as end users demand more.

A modal shift toward sustainable cleaning 

We’ve certainly seen a 100% upsurge over the last year in companies evaluating how more sustainable technologies could help them and adopting cleaner solutions. And the organisations we work with are hungry for innovation – as much to sustain their service levels as to satisfy the growing demand for demonstrable sustainability credentials from their customers. 

This consumer-led move towards more ecological cleaning solutions stands to help organisations on several levels. 

With costs escalating on all fronts, from energy to chemicals, suppliers across the cleaning industry are currently facing huge pressures to keep pricing down for customers whilst fulfilling their promised KPIs - all without compromising service delivery. Throw into the mix ongoing supply chain challenges, and we’re also seeing a growing interest in on-site cleaning solutions that remove the headache of logistical difficulties and enable companies to be more self-sufficient.

At the same time, it’s encouraging to see sustainability criteria and corporate social responsibility programmes forming an increasingly important part of the RFP process. Given the key role green options and product innovation play for cleaning businesses when it comes to promoting their environmental credentials, there are positive signs that these will continue to influence commercial decisions at a senior level.

Change is always a complex process, but we’re starting to see significant interest from key accounts about the business need for switching to more natural options. Tellingly, one of our providers told us that the last COP summit inspired a 400% increase in enquiries for more sustainable products from across their client base.

It’s this combination of changing demands, coupled with the success of green technology trials, that encouraged phs Group to introduce our COSHH-free ECOFLOW washroom system to its UK client base in summer 2022. 

An eight-month trial at phs’s Hayes operations centre demonstrated how effective ozonated water is at destroying rather than masking lingering washroom odours in high footfall areas, while eliminating the build-up of organic debris. Having seen first-hand how the 100% natural solution worked faster and more effectively than harmful chemicals, the leading hygiene provider signed an exclusive five-year contract to help more UK companies reduce their chemical reliance and improve their sustainability credentials.

As high-profile cleaning providers take the lead in adopting green technologies, it’s clear there’s a genuine commercial need plus a strong business case driving this hygiene revolution.  

Reimagining the future and inspiring industry change

However, there’s still an educational hurdle to overcome before the industry fully embraces alternative cleaning technologies. In particular, there’s a big opportunity to help key players in the contract cleaning arena fully understand the advantages of reviewing some of their more traditional approaches and break away from what may have been the norm for many years.

Since we launched five years ago, our team has worked hard to debunk a lot of the myths about green cleaning technology and help instil confidence about the role innovation stands to play in the future of our industry. 

Conversations across the country suggest an ongoing perception that there’s a hidden cost implication or catch somewhere down the line. Others assume the claims made by this new-wave of cleaning solutions – products whose credentials boast being kind on the environment yet powerful enough to fight germs – must be too good to be true. 

The simple truth is that 100% natural cleaning solutions can, in fact, have the potential to eliminate the need for a range of chemical-based products, delivering a sustainability-focused competitive edge for businesses at the same time as cost-saving benefits.  

This is exactly what the Crieff Hydro Family of Hotels discovered earlier this year when it became the first hotel group to roll out our AquaTeck SC100 cleaning system across its portfolio. During a four-month trial, Crieff Hydro Hotel swapped its usual cleaning products for our on-site production system, which harnesses the cleaning properties of electrolysed water (HOCl) – the most powerful natural disinfectant available – to destroy 99.99% of all bacteria, pathogens, and viruses. 

Using ordinary tap water to produce four litres of non-toxic solution every minute, this multipurpose sanitiser was used to refill cleaning bottles on-site as needed, applied directly to surfaces, mops, buckets and industrial-floor cleaners, and safely tipped away after use.

The switch to a more environmentally-friendly system helped the hotel save the equivalent of 2,430 single-use plastic bottles, while reducing its spend on chemical cleaning products by around £450 per month. 

This financial incentive was mirrored by Creative Care in Nottingham, whose cost-analysis from the first four weeks of using our technologies to improve the living environment and prevent infection for vulnerable residents demonstrated a 65% cost saving.

What’s more, the non-allergenic properties had a positive knock-on effect on the hotel’s cleaning staff. One employee, Bella – who has been a cleaner all her life – was sceptical about the change. Yet, having suffered from severe skin allergies – something she attributed to the chemicals she’d used every day – they cleared up once she started using an eco-friendlier option. 

It was precisely these COSHH-management benefits that compelled Gov Facility Services Limited (GFSL) to switch to using our safer and more sustainable product across their 50 prisons in South England in March 2021. 

With the British Cleaning Council reporting how the cleaning and hygiene industry employed approximately 5% of the UK workforce in 2021 (1.47 million people, including industries such as public services and hospitality), this further underlines the duty of care and employee welfare considerations cleaning companies need to factor into their decision-making.

“Our customers rely on us to offer them sustainable hygiene solutions that make being green part of their day-to-day operations. GreenTeck Global’s innovative chemical-free technology provides a very welcome addition to our suite of highly effective and cost-efficient cleaning solutions.” Amanda Haywood, head of product development at phs Group

How technology is revolutionising the way we approach commercial cleaning

We’re certainly seeing a number of ways organisations are using technological innovations and smart applications to not only clean up their environmental footprint but also increase efficiencies.

From greater emphasis on battery-powered floor scrubbers to trackers in hospital cleaning trolleys that help site managers identify priority areas, it’s encouraging to see the role technology can play in minimising human error, maximising productivity and securing the highest standards of cleaning. 

One advantage offered by the latest sustainable technologies is they’re no longer only the domain of the biggest players. With key providers such as phs Group and Alliance Scotland – who deliver solutions to hundreds of small contract cleaners - championing natural cleaning systems via long-term distribution deals, this will improve access and awareness across all sectors, from local authorities and public transport bodies to hospitality companies and entertainment venues.

Meanwhile, we’re also noticing a significant growing demand for fully-accredited on-site solutions that comply with stringent post-Covid regulations. 

“Our customers are increasingly looking for more sustainable ways to maintain the highest hygiene levels whilst minimising their environmental impact. GreenTeck Global’s range of energy-conscious products are set to revolutionise the way Scottish companies manage their sanitising needs and help us deliver a fresh approach to commercial cleaning.” Kieran Brennan, general manager of Alliance Scotland

Looking ahead

With escalating fuel and energy prices already complicating the budget process, reports from customers that chemical costs have increased as much as 30 times in the last year alone are having a significant financial impact. This uncertainty – combined with increasing regulations and restrictions around the use of toxic chemicals as new scientific research on their impact comes through - could spur more organisations to reconsider their cleaning approach.

At a time when the industry is contending with labour shortages, there’s little doubt that cleaning products that no longer require the constant pressure of COSHH training for new staff members will help make onboarding simpler.

And, with COP 27 taking place in November, cleaning companies should anticipate renewed demand for new ways of working from customers as press coverage raises awareness of the impact of chemicals usage and the need for clean technologies, if our industry is to achieve the UK government’s sustainability targets.

We’re living in a very different world than we were just a few years ago – an evolution driven as much by the pandemic as the global crises that have followed suit. 

It feels like the cleaning industry may have reached a critical tipping point. And with prominent companies already leading the charge, this could be the beginning of a green revolution for our industry that better reflects society’s shifting attitudes.

Ultimately, we hope the trends and developments in recent years will encourage more companies to rethink their position and embrace new environmentally-friendly technologies that will improve efficiencies as well as safety levels - all while positively influencing that crucial bottom line.    

David Thurston is CEO, GreenTeck Global

For more information visit www.greenteckglobal.com/

Tel: 0208 150 6222