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Does cleaning procurement need a reset?

29 August 2025

James Law believes if the FM and cleaning industries are to meet the twin challenges of higher hygiene standards and stronger sustainability requirements, they must shift away from the outdated mindset of “more products, more choice. According to James, complexity is not thoroughness – it’s inefficiency.

THE FACILITIES management (FM) and cleaning industries stand at a crossroads. On one hand, customer expectations for cleanliness, hygiene, and safety have never been higher. On the other, the pressure to deliver sustainable, cost-efficient services continues to grow. Yet, if you look at how most organisations still specify and procure cleaning and hygiene products, you see a system stuck in outdated practices: long product lists, fragmented supply chains, and sustainability initiatives that too often scratch the surface rather than tackle the root problems.

So, are FMs and cleaning companies setting the right agendas? And if not, what needs to change?

The problem with today’s approach

For decades, the default approach to cleaning procurement has been product proliferation. Every soil type, surface, and hygiene challenge has had its own specialist solution: degreasers for kitchens, descalers for bathrooms, air fresheners for odours, detergents for carpets, specific glass and stainless steel cleaners, the list goes on. On paper, this looks like thoroughness. In practice, it creates complexity, waste, and inefficiency.

Over-stocking and waste are the obvious symptoms. Storerooms crammed with overlapping SKUs tie up cash and space, while unused products often expire and are thrown away. More subtly, frontline cleaning staff face confusion about which product to use where, leading to mistakes, misapplication, and wasted time. Training costs rise as each product requires a separate briefing.

Procurement decisions are also often driven by the wrong metrics. Cost-per-litre pricing remains the dominant measure, even though it says little about real efficiency or total cost-in-use. A cheaper concentrate that requires higher dilution, longer dwell times, or extra training can ultimately cost far more than a slightly more expensive but more versatile alternative. For example, we independently lab tested a competitor product against ours and OdorBac cleaned an identical surface 70% more efficiently. How does a saving like that fit a cost per litre metric? No labour or product quantity is involved.

Finally, and perhaps most worryingly, outcomes frequently get lost in the noise. The primary mission – clean, safe, odour-free environments that support staff wellbeing and customer satisfaction – risks being subordinated to catalogue breadth, rebates, or box-ticking exercises.

What this means for sustainability

In recent years, sustainability has rightly moved higher up the FM agenda. But here too, there’s a gap between intent and impact. Many sustainability decisions are still framed narrowly:

  • Is the product biodegradable?
  • Is the packaging recyclable?
  • Does it carry a green label?

These are important questions, but on their own, they miss the bigger picture. True sustainability is systemic. It considers the entire lifecycle of a cleaning solution - from raw materials to packaging, delivery, use, and disposal. It weighs not only the direct impact on the environment, but also indirect effects like wasted staff time, repeated application, duplicated training, and excess storage.

Too often, FMs and cleaning companies rely on marketing-led “green” productsthat sound good in tenders but don’t address deeper inefficiencies. For example, a fragranced odour masker may tick a “biodegradable” box, but it doesn’t solve the root hygiene issue, meaning re-cleaning, additional product use, and repeated customer complaints.

First impressions still count

The irony is that everyone in the industry knows that first impressions are critical. Customers, staff, and visitors make instant judgements about a facility based on how clean it looks and smells. Hygiene failures not only damage brand reputation but also increase risks of illness, absenteeism, and complaints.

Yet too many solutions still focus on masking problems rather than eradicating them. Strong fragrances, coloured cleaning products, and heavy-duty chemicals might provide a surface-level sense of “clean,” but they don’t necessarily deal with underlying odours, or ingrained soils. That means problems resurface — along with wasted time, wasted product, and wasted labour.

This is where outcome-driven procurement matters. The specification should not be about how many different solutions a supplier can provide, but about which products deliver verifiable hygiene outcomes while minimising environmental and human health impacts.

The human side of sustainability

One dimension that is often overlooked in sustainability discussions is employee safety and wellbeing. The people most exposed to cleaning products are cleaning operatives themselves – often working long shifts in environments where ventilation may be limited.

Traditional hazardous chemicals can pose significant risks, from skin and eye irritation to long-term respiratory issues. Even enzyme-based products, while generally safe, carry a real risk of allergenicity if inhaled and probiotics pose a risk in immunocompromised individuals. These types of products also often include traditional chemicals to enhance their capabilities.

By contrast, non-hazardous formulations that carry no toxic labels — such as patented multipurpose solutions like OdorBac Tec4 — protect workers as well as building users. A sustainability agenda that ignores human health and safety is incomplete. Truly sustainable cleaning must mean sustainable for people as well as the planet.

Closed-loop thinking: The packaging imperative

Another area where current agendas can fall short is packaging. Many tenders require recyclable containers, which is a step forward – but recycling still consumes energy and often downcycles material into lower-value uses. The real shift comes from closed-loop systems that eliminate waste altogether.

LoopBox, for example, is a reusable container system that allows packaging to be collected, washed, and refilled in a continuous cycle. This doesn’t just reduce plastic waste; it also cuts carbon emissions associated with producing and transporting new containers. For FMs under pressure to meet corporate ESG targets, such models offer measurable, reportable impact that goes far beyond a recycling tick-box.

What needs to change

To move the industry forward, FM leaders and cleaning companies must reframe how they set agendas and measure success.

1. Procure outcomes, not catalogues
Tenders should be built around clear KPIs: cleanliness levels, odour elimination, sustainability metrics, staff safety, and customer satisfaction. The question should be: does this solution achieve the outcome? not how many different products can you provide?

2. Prioritise product consolidation
Multi-functional solutions reduce SKUs, simplify training, minimise storage, and cut supply chain carbon footprints. Less complexity = less waste.

3. Adopt closed-loop systems
Move beyond recycling into reuse, cutting packaging waste at source. Innovations like LoopBox show how circular economy principles can work in practice.

4. Focus on cost-in-use, not cost-per-litre
Real value comes from efficiency and reduced labour, not headline unit prices. A solution that delivers more outcomes per litre is inherently more sustainable and more cost-effective.

5. Protect the people who clean
Sustainability must include human health. Non-hazardous, toxic-label-free formulations protect cleaning operatives, improve compliance, and reduce the risk of accidents or compensation claims.

6. Demand data and transparency
Insist on measurable, auditable sustainability metrics from suppliers: carbon offsetting, packaging reuse rates, and independent biodegradability testing. Marketing claims alone are not enough.

The future agenda: Simpler, safer, smarter

If the FM and cleaning industries are to meet the twin challenges of higher hygiene standards and stronger sustainability requirements, they must shift away from the outdated mindset of “more products, more choice.” Complexity is not thoroughness –it’s inefficiency.

The future lies in simpler, safer, smarter solutions: fewer SKUs, outcome-driven specifications, closed-loop packaging, and non-hazardous chemistry. It lies in seeing sustainability not as a side requirement but as an integrated part of hygiene, efficiency, and safety.

This is not only a more environmentally responsible approach, it’s also a more commercially resilient one. Facilities that can demonstrate measurable improvements in sustainability and staff wellbeing will win more business, attract better talent, and satisfy increasingly demanding regulators and clients.

Today’s FM and cleaning procurement models are not yet setting the correct agendas. Too often, they prioritise catalogue breadth, superficial green claims, or unit costs over outcomes and true sustainability. But best practice is emerging. By consolidating products, embracing closed-loop systems like LoopBox, and prioritising safe, non-hazardous chemistry such as Tec4 formulations, forward-thinking companies can set a new benchmark: one where sustainability, efficiency, and hygiene work hand in hand.

That is the agenda the industry needs – and it’s the one that will define its future.

James Law is products director at 2Pure Products

For more information, visit 2pureproducts.co.uk

 TEL: 0191 217 1717

 
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