No sector is untouched by the ecological transition, and cleaning is no exception. More and more businesses expect their cleaning contractors to use environmentally friendly practices. Beyond any passing trend, this shift responds to real issues: reducing carbon footprints, protecting the health of occupants and operatives, regulatory compliance and corporate social responsibility. Here is an overview of the trends and practical solutions.
Ecolabelled products: a fast-growing market
The market for eco-friendly cleaning products is growing fast. This growth is driven by two main labels, recognised at European level and offering users solid guarantees.
The EU Ecolabel (the EU flower) is the European Union's official environmental label. For cleaning products, it imposes strict criteria: biodegradability of surfactants, limits on substances that are hazardous to aquatic organisms, less packaging, and cleaning performance proven by standardised tests. Its criteria are revised regularly to keep pace with scientific knowledge.
The Ecocert label certifies cleaning products formulated from raw materials of natural origin, without petrochemical substances (apart from limited, regulated exceptions). Plant-based raw materials must come from organic farming in a minimum proportion set by the standard.
These labels do not just assess the finished product: they cover the whole life cycle, from sourcing raw materials to disposing of packaging waste. An ecolabelled product is not a marketing gimmick: it is a product whose environmental impact has been objectively reduced compared with conventional alternatives.
In practical terms, an ecolabelled cleaning product:
- Contains fewer substances that irritate the skin and airways
- Produces fewer toxic residues in waste water
- Uses recyclable or recycled packaging
- Cleans as effectively as conventional products (a mandatory criterion for obtaining the label)
An ecolabelled product is no less effective than a conventional one. To obtain the EU Ecolabel, a product must be shown to be at least as effective, tested according to standardised protocols. Performance is not sacrificed for the sake of the environment.
Using less water and fewer chemicals
The environmental impact of cleaning is not limited to the products used. Water consumption and the quantity of chemicals discharged into waste water are significant items that cleaning professionals are seeking to optimise.
Several technological innovations make it possible to cut this consumption drastically:
Automatic dosing systems eliminate overdosing, one of the main sources of waste in cleaning. A calibrated dispenser delivers exactly the amount of concentrated product needed, avoiding rough-and-ready dilutions and excess detergent that ends up in waste water with no benefit for cleaning.
Microfibre has revolutionised cleaning techniques. Thanks to its mechanical properties -- fibres much finer than a human hair, which trap particles -- microfibre greatly reduces the amount of chemical product used compared with traditional cleaning. Some protocols even work with plain water, without any detergent.
Steam cleaning uses water heated to a high temperature (150 to 180 degrees Celsius) to loosen ingrained dirt and eliminate a large proportion of micro-organisms, without using chemicals. This technique is particularly well suited to commercial kitchens, toilets and sensitive surfaces.
Latest-generation low-water scrubber-dryers recycle washing water and use high-performance suction systems that significantly reduce water consumption compared with traditional models.
Ozonated water is a promising avenue. Ozone dissolved in water has natural disinfecting and degreasing properties which, for some applications, make it possible to replace chemical detergents entirely.
The levers of a CSR approach in cleaning
For a cleaning company, environmental commitment means practical actions built into day-to-day operations.
Product selection. This means favouring products that carry the EU Ecolabel or a label such as Ecocert, and keeping conventional products for the uses that require them. At Atlantis, we favour ecolabelled products.
Operative training. How the operative works is decisive. A good product that is wrongly dosed or wrongly applied loses its environmental and economic benefits. Operative training should therefore include good environmental practice: precise dosing, sensible use of water, sorting packaging waste, and looking after equipment to extend its life.
Optimising travel. Logistics make a significant contribution to a cleaning company's carbon footprint. Optimising rounds, grouping product deliveries and choosing local suppliers all help to reduce the distance travelled.
Waste management. Product packaging should be sorted and sent to the appropriate recycling channels. Consumables (mop heads, cloths) can be washed and reused as many times as possible before being replaced. Machines at the end of their life go to the collection schemes for waste electrical and electronic equipment (DEEE, the French equivalent of WEEE).
An environmental approach cannot simply be decreed: it is built day by day, one action and one choice at a time. It depends on the training and commitment of every operative, on every job.
The regulatory framework and certifications
Environmental regulations applicable to the cleaning sector have been considerably tightened in recent years. Client businesses and contractors alike must comply with an increasingly demanding framework.
The REACH Regulation (Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals) governs the use of chemical substances in the European Union. Several substances commonly used in cleaning products have been restricted or banned in recent years, forcing manufacturers to reformulate their products.
The CLP Regulation (Classification, Labelling and Packaging) requires harmonised labelling of chemical products, with standardised hazard pictograms. It makes it easier for cleaning operatives to identify risks and helps to prevent accidents.
The 2020 AGEC Act (French anti-waste and circular economy law, loi Anti-Gaspillage et Économie Circulaire) sets ambitious targets for reducing plastic packaging, reuse and recycling. Cleaning companies are directly concerned: product containers, bin bags and plastic consumables represent a considerable volume of waste.
The greenhouse gas emissions report (bilan des émissions de gaz à effet de serre, BEGES) is mandatory for companies with more than 500 employees in mainland France, and the European CSRD directive is gradually extending sustainability reporting to large companies. While small and medium-sized cleaning companies are not directly subject to these obligations, their clients often are, and ask their contractors to account for their practices.
On the building side, several environmental certifications include requirements on cleaning products and practices:
- HQE certification (Haute Qualité Environnementale, "high environmental quality") -- For buildings, it sets requirements for cleaning products and practices
- BREEAM -- International sustainable building certification, increasingly sought for new office buildings
The practical benefits for businesses
Adopting eco-friendly cleaning is about more than doing something for the planet. It brings tangible benefits for the business that commits to it.
Indoor air quality improves when the use of volatile chemicals is reduced. The VOCs (volatile organic compounds) given off by conventional detergents contribute to indoor air pollution; indoor air is often more polluted than outdoor air, as the French Indoor Air Quality Observatory (Observatoire de la qualité de l'air intérieur, OQAI) points out. Reducing VOCs can help to limit headaches, respiratory irritation and allergies among occupants.
The employer brand benefits from a visible, credible environmental commitment. Employees, particularly younger ones, are attentive to their employer's practical CSR initiatives. A workplace cleaned with eco-friendly products contributes to this positive image.
Getting ahead of compliance protects against the foreseeable tightening of regulations. Businesses that adopt good practices today will not be caught unprepared by new obligations to come.
Eco-friendly cleaning is no longer a fringe option reserved for activist companies: it is a structural change in the market, driven by regulation, occupants' expectations and the growing maturity of the solutions available. Atlantis is fully committed to this movement, convinced that cleaning performance and respect for the environment are not conflicting objectives, but complementary ones.