5 Reasons Why London Offices Should Switch To Environmentally Friendly Cleaning

It’s no secret that we need to make changes in lifestyle and be kinder to the planet. Businesses are the biggest culprit for detrimental effects on the environment and many are making changes in the workplace to make a positive impact. Walking to work schemes, paperless offices and renewable energy options are a great place to start, but there is one element that is often overlooked.

Cleaning is a big element of any business. Office cleaning London is an industry that is worth millions and the majority of organisations in the city make use of these professionals to ensure a professional and safe working environment.

However, by not making the right choice with these service providers, all those efforts to be as environmentally friendly as possible can be dramatically reduced.

Business owners don’t always witness cleaning happening in their offices as this is commonly completed out of hours. This leads to little thought being placed into how the premises were cleaned.

Conventional cleaning products can be incredibly harmful to the environment. We take a look into why every business should be taking the steps to invest in quality green cleaning, for more than one benefit.

1. Down The Drain

Few ever consider what happens to cleaning chemicals once that have served their purpose. Almost all of these chemicals end up being poured down a drain. These toxins then end up in water waste plants.

These plants do make every attempt to remove all harmful components, however, this is an incredibly tricky task and one that is not 100% effective.

These chemicals are then released into water systems, rivers, streams and oceans are quickly filling up with these products.

Marine life can be affected in many ways, from growth issues, deformities, breeding trouble and death.

Not only is this abhorrent for nature, but we can also be impacted by this. Seafood that has been contaminated will not be flagged in production lines and can be unknowingly consumed by diners.

2. Climate Change

When reducing a businesses impact on climate change, the first thing that comes to so many individuals’ minds is carbon emissions from vehicles, electricity usage or not serving red meats within canteens.

However, there is one simple thing to avoid to make a huge difference, aerosols.

Since the discovery of the hole in our ozone layer, aerosols have been proven to be a direct link into this disaster. 

Compressed gases and hydrocarbons are contained within these products and very few manufacturers will openly state the destructive effects of these elements on their packaging.

The damage to the ozone layer is one of the reasons the planet is experiencing climate change and doing our part to reverse this damage is crucial to the survival of the planet.

3. Not Recyclable

There has been plenty of attention over recent years regarding the negative effects of single-use plastics.

Most chemical cleaning products are contained within plastic bottles. While offices may make every effort to separate these into recycling bins, they are actually destined for landfill.

Due to the harsh nature of the content inside, most cleaning packaging for conventional products is made of tougher, thicker plastic to prevent corroding and contamination during transit and storage.

Most recycling centres are unable to process this and these bottles crowd landfills, taking numerous decades to degrade.

Green cleaning products will commonly come in not just reduced plastic packaging, but also recyclable ones.

4. Causing Harm to Employees

If used correctly, most cleaning products won’t do any immediate harm to the general public or employees.

However, if someone within the building suffers from asthma or any other breathing-related condition, they could be at risk.

Monoethanolamines are common in many conventional chemical cleaners, which can lead to inflammation of the lungs and bring on attacks and in the worst-case scenario, death.

Manufacturers do not have to declare this on their packaging and this leads to may being negatively affected and not knowing the cause.

Hospitals, schools and nurseries have banned these products in many countries but there are currently no regulations for other workplaces. By switching to green cleaning, everyone can feel safe knowing that monoethanolamine is not used.

5. Leading By Example

The best thing any business can do is lead by example with green cleaning. Not only does this encourage other businesses to do the same but can also change attitudes within employees and help them to make changes at home.

The best part for businesses is that this is a simple way to gain some really positive PR. Being green is the latest trend and hopefully, one that is here to stay.

If a business is actively trying to change their procedures and help the planet, openly stating so on social media and within marketing emails can score great points with current and potential clients and customers.

Businesses are quickly being favoured over others when they are showing an active interest in being green.

It also promotes a modern, conscious working environment which can help to attract the very best candidates for future roles.

Overall, there is little reason for businesses not to make the switch to green cleaning, especially as methods and products used can be just as effective as conventional cleaning. 

In the long-run, green cleaning can even save on budget as most products are reusable and not single-use. By making this change, the environment can benefit, employees will not suffer the effects of toxic chemicals and brands can stay on-trend with the lastest eco-movements.