ECJ EUROPEAN Cleaning Journal

Every cleaning company has its own sustainability agenda focused on issues such as reducing waste, saving energy and cutting down on chemical usage. But how far do these policies line up with what clients actually want? Ann Laffeaty uncovers the customer’s own green ‘must-haves’ – and finds out whether companies are actually delivering them.

Sustainability is subject to trends, just like everything else. Movements such as Extinction Rebellion and Just Stop Oil have driven the agenda over recent years and polarised opinion on topics such as climate change and the need for greener energy options.

At other times water has become the chief concern, with companies focusing on its scarcity in certain parts of the world and its general cleanliness – or lack thereof. And there are times at which we find ourselves particularly worried about plastic pollution, vehicle emissions or air quality, depending on the zeitgeist.

So, what are the green ‘must-haves’ of the customer today? And are cleaning companies actually delivering them?

Most customers want to see a holistic reduction in the environmental footprint of cleaning, according to Kärcher’s sustainability manager Saskia Schneider. “They want to see evidence of sustainability across the entire lifecycle of a product including ethical sourcing and waste management,” she said. “There is also a demand for more resource-efficient equipment that guarantees high cleaning performance while minimising the consumption of energy, water and chemicals.”

Demand for waste reduction solutions in the current climate is significant, Schneider added. “Clients require robust, long-lasting products that can be easily repaired to extend their service life and minimise replacement waste. This also extends to machines, consumables and packaging where the use of recycled materials and a reduction in single-use components are both primary requirements.”

Customers are also actively seeking solutions that minimise or eliminate the use of cleaning chemicals - and this is driven by safety standards, cost efficiency and environmental concerns regarding water discharge, according to Schneider.

“A focus on the broader protection of the natural environment is also evident, particularly concerning the demand for natural-based chemicals and the prevention of pollutants such as microplastics,” she said.

“Furthermore, customers are showing a keen interest in topics such as climate protection and social responsibility. Transparency regarding CO2 emissions and reductions of these even at product-level is a key metric, particularly for large fleet operators that require operational efficiencies or for big resellers who demand transparency regarding their own carbon emissions alongside a commitment to limiting global warming.”

Social commitments

Social sustainability that encompasses ethical supply chains, occupational safety and a commitment to social projects is also increasingly considered to be a non-negotiable part of the overall sustainability ethos, according to Schneider.

“An additional key expectation is data transparency and documentation,” she said. “Customers require clear, verifiable data to measure and report on the sustainability contributions of the cleaning process that support their own environmental, social and governance reporting.”

Kärcher’s equipment incorporates various functions designed to reduce energy, water and chemical use such as an eco!Mode setting along with highly efficient motors. The company maintains a continuous dialogue with customers through surveys, market analyses and direct stakeholder consultations and their views are integrated into Kärcher’s sustainability agenda. “This ensures our strategic focus addresses the customer’s ‘must-haves’,” explained Schneider.

Holistic approach

Essity’s sustainability communications director Reneé Remijnse agrees that customers are increasingly expecting their suppliers to demonstrate a holistic approach to sustainability. “This needs to cover both people and the planet,” she said. “Customers want transparency, measurable impact and solutions that make sustainability easier to achieve without compromising on hygiene.”

Waste disposal is expensive for businesses which means reducing waste is vital, adds Remijnse. “Customers also expect safe, effective systems that maintain high standards of hygiene while also reducing chemical impact and protecting natural ecosystems,” she said.

“And they increasingly expect education and support to help them achieve their sustainability goals. This means they are seeking partners who make their sustainability journey easier and more actionable.”

Essity offers Tork PaperCircle, a recycling service for paper hand towels said to reduce waste by up to 20 per cent. The company’s Tork Clarity Foam Soap is formulated with 99 per cent ingredients from natural origin, while its Tork Focus4 Sustainability platform is designed to deliver holistic information, tools and training to make sustainability easier to navigate.

Today’s customers require sustainable solutions that may be delivered in a commercially viable way, says services provider SBFM account director Charlotte Coles-Morris. “If they have ambitious environmental goals they often rely on specialist FM providers to deliver operational requirements for them across large, complex estates while also managing cost-effectiveness. There is a growing expectation for service providers to manage end-to-end solutions and to guide customers through processes such as waste management.”

Demand for waste reduction is often driven by end users, according to Coles-Morris. “Ever-changing legislation puts pressure on clients to identify best practice and come up with cost-effective solutions,” she said. SBFM keeps waste collection records for companies and analyses sustainability, cost and operational efficiencies. It then uses this data to perform functions such as create additional waste streams, change collection frequency and address contamination issues.

Less chemical use

Today’s customers demand a reduction in chemical usage alongside waste reduction, says SBFM’s head of quality, health, safety and environment Paul Marsh. “However, certain sectors are reluctant to move away from established products and are slower to adopt alternative, safer, more sustainable products,” he explained. “To tackle this challenge we are moving away from traditional liquid solutions and promoting the uses of sachet systems that deliver the same cleaning power while dramatically reducing single-use plastic and water transport. These products then serve as a pathway towards ESG improvements and safer operations.”

Education is becoming a critical customer expectation, he adds. “Too many people are ambivalent about recycling because they don’t understand the significance of proper waste segregation,” said Marsh. “Cross-contamination in waste streams leads to additional costs and undermines recycling efforts. So educating stakeholders and providing clear data is essential, because it shows where improvements are being made and where costs are being wasted.”

Ecolab’s senior marketing manager Philippe Meunier believes the industry has reached a turning point at far as customers’ expectations are concerned. “They now expect sustainability to be embedded into a company’s core strategy rather than being treated as a voluntary or reputational add-on,” he said. “They want to see tangible results with regard to factors such as water conservation, greenhouse gas reduction and waste or operational efficiency. It has become a time for proof rather than promises.”

Customer demand for reduced waste in general and packaging waste in particular is gathering momentum, he said. “Moving towards more concentrated products and lower weight packaging can help to achieve this goal,” said Meunier. “Reducing the use of virgin plastic by integrating recycled plastic also participates in waste reduction.”

He believes customers expect to see science-based, high-performance solutions that deliver operational efficiency and measurable sustainability impact. “Rather than simply seeking a reduction in the use of chemicals for its own sake the focus is on using the right blend of concentrated, material-friendly formulations that reduce emissions, packaging and waste while ensuring safety and product quality,” he said.

“Ultimately customers are looking for solutions that minimise negative environmental impact through responsible chemical use and broader resource efficiency.”

Ecolab’s MAXX Synbiotic range combines probiotics, prebiotics and surfactants to maximise cleanliness while also minimising environmental impact. With proper use these are said to reduce plastic waste, CO2 emission and water consumption compared with typical floor cleaning products.
Carbon reduction is also still high on customers’ agendas, says Meunier.

“This is a top priority not only because most companies are now disclosing their results but also because they understand that it is vital for their business continuity to limit temperature increase,” he said. “This topic has featured in every customer meeting I had last year with discussions being centred on how we can support their emission reduction efforts and share what we are doing internally to achieve our own carbon reduction goals.”

Circular strategies

He says customers are also becoming increasingly interested in circular strategies such as closing the loop on water use. “This involves redesigning processes to capture, treat and reuse resources thereby reducing costs and regulatory risks while enhancing resilience,” he said. “Water is the number one physical risk that companies will face in the changing climate, with a projected global freshwater deficit of 56 per cent by 2030. By the end of 2024 we had supported our customers to conserve 855 million cubic meters of water.”

Ecolab employs a number of initiatives to uncover its customer’s sustainability expectations. “For example, our annual Ecolab Listens customer experience survey enables sales and marketing teams to hear directly from customers,” he said. “We also regularly run Voice of Customer programmes in Europe to identify emerging needs and understand expectations. And we conduct ad hoc surveys to track and measure sustainability trends, while our sales and service team helps us to spot potential future needs through their daily interactions with customers. All the insights we gain through three measures are then actively integrated into our innovation process.”