Commitment to sustainability given the green light

Premises can be managed more sustainably, explains George Parish, Health, Safety, Environment and Quality Director at Grosvenor Services

The notion of the circular economy, where nothing is wasted, is central to efforts to increase resource efficiency. Many companies are keen to minimise their carbon footprint – and are seeing worthwhile environmental gains and monetary savings – from taking steps such as use of chemical free cleaning, reducing energy consumption and adoption of greener technologies.

Start with a clear framework

The path to sustainability is not always clear or straightforward. To encourage green thinking, we have used international standards as a framework for our commitment to reduce environmental impact and to support the sustainability goals of our clients.

The international energy management standard, ISO 50001, outlines energy management practices that help organisations reduce energy consumption, cut costs and meet environmental requirements. The accolade is a natural addition to ISO 14001, linked to reducing resource usage, waste and costs. Holding these type of certifications will give organisations the confidence that they have chosen a service provider which has achieved third party verification and the assurance that it has proven sustainability credentials.

Time to get your house in order

A good starting point for any business is to identify the greatest impacts that it has on the environment such as vehicle emissions and electricity and gas usage. Record how much is consumed and then look at practical ways to reduce the amount used and set out an action plan to improve carbon footprint.

Organisations looking to introduce sustainable measures should appoint ‘green champions’ to ensure that initiatives are communicated throughout the business and to encourage environmental thinking that can be applied both internally and externally. In our business, office based personnel and staff on client sites are rewarded for innovative ideas that reduce their carbon footprint and we share best practice in a monthly green newsletter. Simple steps that can be taken include closing windows and doors and switching off lights and electrical items when not in use.

In just three months, we’ve reduced our own energy usage in our London office by approximately one third through energy saving schemes and improvements to the lighting systems. We’re working on similar projects for our clients. For example, a project to install LED lighting on a client site, has a projected energy saving of 58%.

Cut chemical use

For some considerable time, we have been evaluating both the environmental impact and cost-effectiveness of a wide range of cleaning substances and materials. We’ve discovered there are significant gains to be made for our clients and for the environment from more sustainable Ecolabel super-concentrated cleaning products.

There are clear benefits from this standardisation. These products provide excellent performance and cover all our clients’ cleaning needs. As water is added to the super-concentrates at the point of use, the amount of product to be shipped and handled is greatly reduced.

The environmental benefits are considerable, in terms of reduced packaging, carbon emissions and road miles. Our experience shows that the amount used for the same cleaning tasks reduces by more than a third. The projected annual reductions in plastic and cardboard waste are 57% and 45% respectively. So the switchover is more cost-effective and allows us to use resources more efficiently.

There are other ways to cut down on chemical use while maintaining cleaning standards, for example by adopting microfibre cleaning cloths and mops. When polishing tiled floors, we are also testing diamond pads in washrooms and other areas for several large retail clients. While the upfront cost of these pads is higher, they last longer and are proving more efficient than chemicals, and more cost-effective too.

Our teams continue to test new innovations. For example, at the moment, we’re evaluating pads made from recycled plastic bottles, which could help us ‘close the loop’ as they’re recycled again after use. We’re also testing machines with significantly less water usage, as well as window cleaning equipment that uses almost 40% less chemicals.

Sustainability steps up a gear

Using low CO₂ and fuel efficient cars and vans is another way that companies can improve their environmental footprint. Data from our vehicle monitoring system indicates a reduction in carbon emissions per driver per month in 2015 compared to 2014. Checking oil, water usage and tyre pressures regularly, keeping to the speed limits and not braking suddenly will result in less fuel being consumed. Plan your routes in advance so that the most optimum route can be identified. Other options include car sharing and cycling to work.

Naturally clients will have their own environmental targets and we work with them to support their goals as well as our own. Maynooth University provides an example of our partnership approach. For the past 13 years, Grosvenor Services has been working with the Irish university, which hosts 10,000 students and staff on a 100-acre site. A couple of years ago, we invested in an all-electric van to collect cardboard from buildings for baling on site and move cleaning supplies around the site – quietly but visibly supporting the university’s commitment to ‘Green Campus’ status.

Waste reduction

In addition to reducing the waste we as a company produce, for example by reducing the amount of product packaging we use, we also work with our clients to support their individual waste reduction targets. We have introduced a variety of initiatives on client sites from waste education days for clients’ staff, to better waste segregation practices.

Insights from technology

Many companies are already starting to use dedicated systems to monitor and better manage their energy usage.  The growth in all forms of technology-based systems provides organisations with yet another way of optimising environmentally friendly practices. Our technology services team is helping organisations to use their systems’ data more intelligently to help reduce costs, optimise operations and improve efficiency. For instance, technology enabled service delivery can make use of the information generated by surveillance and environmental systems to manage other facility services, like cleaning provision, more effectively; if a room isn’t used as much as others, it may not require the same regularity or intensity of cleaning.

Testing and monitoring

By following a pragmatic course – based on research, training and testing; communication with clients; and close monitoring of performance (our auditing system is, of course, electronic and therefore paperless) – we can keep advancing, inspiring everyone to think and act more sustainably.

www.grosvenorservices.com

Published in Cleaning & Maintenance – July 2016