February 22, 2023
The Benefits of Green Cleaning Practices in the Workplace
Unsustainable and outdated cleaning processes are still being practised in some facilities. These are inefficient, causing unnecessary waste and costing businesses money.
Fortunately, there are now greener, sustainable methods that are more efficient and even produce better cleaning results. Green cleaning has many benefits for all industries. It can promote health and safety, reduce absenteeism, cut down on waste and save on cost.
This blog post will outline the advantages of green cleaning, and what it can do for your facility.
What is Green Cleaning?
What is green cleaning? It means implementing cleaning products and processes that cause no harm to animals or the environment.
There are 4 core elements of green cleaning these are:
- Reducing cleaning chemicals – and investing in products that don’t contain any harmful chemicals and are made with natural ingredients.
- Eliminating single use plastics – by utilising refillable products, or products that are made with recycled materials, or have a recycling service.
- Minimising water usage – by embracing new innovation (to improve efficiency and cut down on waste)
- Monitoring indoor air quality – detecting and removing harmful particles from the air
So what are the benefits to embracing green cleaning for facilities?
1.Staff Health & Safety
Implementing green cleaning in your facility can help to promote health and safety in the workplace.
If there is poor indoor air quality, harmful particles may be present, such as PM 2.5, VOCs, and CO², which can cause problems like skin and respiratory irritation, headaches, dizziness, and nausea.
There are indoor air monitors which detect any harmful bacteria or particles, and filtration units that remove them from the atmosphere. This produces cleaner air and a safer working environment. Good indoor air quality prevents staff from suffering those uncomfortable symptoms, reduces the spread of bacteria and viruses, and combats absenteeism. Providing a clean and safe environment for your team will improve staff morale and boost productivity.
Using sustainable, eco-friendly cleaning products that contain natural ingredients promotes health and safety in contrast with products that contain harsh chemicals, as it reduces the risk of injury for operatives. Additionally, as there is no COSHH information with sustainable cleaning products, it doesn’t require as much training either.
Cleaning products that contain probiotics are a good example of this. They work by leaving behind a layer of ‘friendly bacteria’ which produce enzymes that break down dust and dirt left on a surface. Probiotics are not harmful and don’t pose any risk to people, and when they re-enter the environment, they actually help to purify the water by maintaining a natural microbial balance.
Another example is Stabilised Aqueous Ozone (SAO) – a highly effective 100% natural cleaner, sanitizer, and deodorizer that doesn’t require any chemicals. It needs only three elements: electricity, water and oxygen. This all-natural solution is stronger than tough cleaning agents like chlorine or bleach and can kill 99.999% of harmful bacteria, without any of the dangers. SAO poses no risk to people or the environment. There are no harsh chemicals, so if the solution comes into contact with the skin, or even if it is ingested, it causes absolutely no harm.?
2.Reduce Waste & Save on Cost
Embracing green cleaning can also help reduce waste in your facility and, as a result, save on cost.
Cutting out chemicals
Investing in eco-friendly products can help to save on cost and cut down on waste that using chemicals creates.
Innovation such as Stabilised Aqueous Ozone (SAO), microfibre technology, probiotics, and concentrate products are all ways that you can cut down the amount of wasted that come from traditional chemical systems and focus on cost savings across the board, reducing the need for regular deliveries from suppliers, and taking out a requirement for masses amounts of chemical products in the cleaning processes.
Minismising water usage
Often, when cleaning, a considerable amount of water is wasted through mopping or cleaning surfaces. Introducing innovative cleaning methods can help limit water usage, cut operational costs and decrease impact on the environment.
A large amount of water is required when carrying out mopping. A bucket must be filled with litres of water and often needs refilling when cleaning large areas of flooring. A lot of water is wasted through this method. However, there are now cleaning machines on the market that have replaced the traditional mop and bucket.
Investing in this new technology like this can cut back water consumption in cleaning processes, saving on cost and reduce impact on the environment.
Cutting out single use plastics
Cutting out single use plastics decreases waste, saves on cost and reduces CO² emissions.
There are sustainable products that don’t come with plastic packaging, that utilise recycled materials, and even have a recycling program.
Implementing reusable trigger bottles and dosing systems to fill them, cuts out the need to constantly purchase ready-to-use products in disposable plastic bottles. This is more cost effective as product does not need to be ordered in bulk which also brings down the cost of transportation and reduces CO² emissions.
3.Meeting Consumer Expectations
Due to the fast pace of climate change and quickly depleting resources, sustainability is a critical issue right now for facilities.
Consumers consider sustainability an important factor and are more likely to seek services, or buy from, a company that is showing efforts towards being more sustainable.
More businesses are turning to green cleaning to reduce their environmental impact and gain consumers trust.
Green cleaning can also produce even better cleaning results. Innovative technology that saves on water and removes more dirt than traditional methods; all-natural Stabilised Aqueous Ozone (SAO) solutions that are stronger than bleach, and probiotics that continue cleaning for days afterwards, are all increasing levels of clean for facilities.
These improved results are also helping facilities to keep up with the public’s expectations on hygiene standards following the pandemic.
4.Protection of The Environment
Products and processes we are currently using are harming our planet. They are outdated and need modifying if we want to reverse the damage already done and provide a safe and healthy environment for everyone.
Green Cleaning is introducing updated methods that are more efficient and less harmful to the environment.
Harmful chemicals found in cleaning products pollute the air and cause damage to ecosystems when they are released into the environment. By adopting products that use natural ingredients, we can reduce the amount of chemicals being released into surrounding groundwater, rivers, streams and dams.
A shocking 50% of all plastic produced out of 380 million tonnes per year, are made for single-use purposes. Tonnes of it ends up in landfill sites every year. Eliminating single use plastics from our processes can put a stop to this terrible pollution.
Water is also a big concern right now. Our resources are running low and so, it is vital that we use only what is strictly necessary. Often, when cleaning, a considerable amount of water is wasted through current cleaning methods. Investing in innovative water-saving cleaning machines can help limit water usage, cut operational costs, and decrease negative impact on the environment.
According to the United Nations Environment Programme, indoor and outdoor air pollution is the most urgent environmental health crisis in the world. By implementing monitors and air filters, we can create a cleaner, safer environment for our visitors and staff.
All of these adjustments can help contribute to protecting our planet from harm and help reverse any damage already done.
In Conclusion
Green cleaning is quickly becoming the preferred method among many businesses and organisations due to the number of benefits it presents.
Sustainable cleaning practices promote health and safety and are providing employees with a clean and safe workplace environment through improved indoor air quality and chemical-free cleaning detergents.
By adopting green cleaning methods, facilities are also seeing a decrease in waste and an increase in savings.
Embracing chemical-free products and investing in plastic free packaging, or reusable trigger bottles, along with chemical dosing systems, eliminates the need to order large quantities of cleaning chemicals. This is reducing the cost of purchase and transportation, and also waste and pollution caused by single use plastics and CO² emissions.
Green cleaning methods also help to reduce water consumption, with microfibre technology and water-saving cleaning machines, saving on resources and cost.
Sustainability is important to consumers. Utilising green cleaning shows that you are making efforts towards sustainability, helping to gain more trust customers. Improved cleaning results achieved through green cleaning also helps to keep up with high expectations of cleanliness following the pandemic.
Finally, green cleaning has many benefits for facilities, but more importantly, it is benefitting the planet and mankind by reducing harm to the environment and procuring a safer future for us all.
Want to try green cleaning methods in
your facility to achieve better results?
Read More From Our Knowledge Base
What is stabilised aqueous ozone and how does it work?
How do probiotic cleaning detergents work?
