How Did Sustainability Policies Affect Office Cleaning Industry?

Like with most other industries, the green trend greatly impacted how providers perform office cleaning. If you take a look at supermarket isles, you’ll notice that most products are now altered to contain more environmentally-friendly substances. Despite their effectiveness, strong cleaning chemicals are almost a thing of the past.

Besides the commercial products, our newly-found environmental consciousness also affected the other aspects of the cleaning business. For example, brands are now paying a lot of attention to how they consume water when cleaning offices, warehouses, and other industrial facilities.

Following this trend is every bit as important for clients as it is for service providers. Commercial entities are unwilling to cooperate with office cleaners who aren’t environmentally conscious and jeopardize their employees by using strong chemicals. Furthermore, by forcing cleaners to cut down on products and water, clients can even save money on cleaning services.

The need for change

Environmental trends can almost be characterized as a natural progression. Back in the day, these businesses created 40,000 truckloads of waste per year, which made it evident that a switch to a cleaner solution was necessary. Savvy cleaning companies slowly started shifting toward sustainable options some 20 years ago, and today, we see the culmination of that evolution.

“Green cleaning is, by far, the biggest trend in the commercial cleaning industry,” claims office cleaning by Compass Cleaning Solutions. Even though some companies were reluctant to switch to a socially-responsible model, they were eventually forced to do so by the clients and other stakeholders.

The most significant change came in the form of chemicals cleaning brands use. The trend wasn’t necessarily spearheaded by the cleaning businesses; it was something that was forced upon them by the market. Still, cleaning brands can be satisfied with this change as it helps protect 3 million employees working in this industry.

Another massive change came in the way service providers utilize water. Some providers managed to cut down on their consumption by introducing new technology, while others simply started using less water for everyday tasks. 

Reducing and removing strong chemicals

One of the bigger issues in the past was that companies didn’t know much about the chemicals they were using. Many brands used ingredient designations that didn’t make sense or that the general public was unfamiliar with. So, they could easily slip substances that were dangerous for consumers.

The first big change came with better regulation and, specifically, labeling. Still, that doesn’t mean that cleaning companies don’t have their fair share of challenges when choosing a product for their daily operations. As most of these cleaning mixtures have at least some dangerous substances, the providers are often forced to choose between two evils.

Environmentally-friendly brands start their selection by comparing the product’s ingredients against a list of officially harmful substances. As most of the products are made from petroleum, which is classified as volatile organic compounds or VOC, this is usually the thing cleaning companies focus on.

Some companies have a simple solution to this issue. They use OSG systems (on-site generation), which use a combination of water and salt. The two substances are completely harmless to users, yet office cleaners can get similar results when using volatile chemicals.

Going with environmentally-friendly consumables

Besides trying to eliminate strong chemicals, cleaning brands are also now focusing on environmentally-friendly items. For example, there’s a trend of eliminating single-plastic use in the industry. Given that a single piece of plastic takes more than 450 to dissolve, it becomes obvious how this slight shift can make a major long-term change.

The companies are switching in droves to multiuse products such as microfiber cloths or refillable spray bottles. The difference can also be seen in the type of paper they use; office cleaning businesses now use recycled products that are much better for the environment. 

Introducing green equipment

Nowadays, you have a lot of commercial and private cleaning equipment that use environmentally-responsible technology. For example, you can buy machines that use water as the single cleaning ingredient. Many devices now have HEPA filters that remove harmful particles that companies leave after cleaning premises.

It’s also common for cleaning companies to use automated machines with minimal carbon footprint. According to scientists, some of these robotic products can reduce air pollution by more than 90% while also reducing energy consumption by 97% and water pollution by 77%.

Aside from this equipment, cleaning companies can also consider dispensers that dilute chemical products to limit waste.