Sustainability and Social Value

SM Cleaning Services are implementing a sustainability and carbon reduction policy as part of our journey towards becoming carbon neutral. We are looking at the equipment and cleaning products we use, as well as working with carbon reduction experts Positive Planet to put this into practice.

What is a carbon reduction policy?

A carbon reduction policy is a set of practices which will help us gradually reduce our company’s carbon dioxide and greenhouse gas emissions. It is made up of various strategies and measures across all of the different areas of our business. The ultimate goal is to become a carbon neutral business and to contribute positively to the environment and the climate, which we must all approach sustainably in order to protect.

Who are Positive Planet?

Positive Planet is a team of carbon reduction experts who are working with us to reduce our company’s carbon footprint. They have studied every aspect of our business to map out a carbon reduction policy that is realistic and achievable. Positive Planet will also provide a recognised certification when our business becomes carbon neutral.

Positive planet logo

Why is carbon reduction important to SM Cleaning?

The directors of SM Cleaning Services have set the ambitious goal of becoming the most sustainable commercial cleaning company in the industry. We firmly believe it is possible to provide an outstanding commercial cleaning service that meets the needs of our clients and does not negatively impact the environment. We believe we have a responsibility to do this for the future of the business, our staff and our clients.

Over the past few years we have been working hard behind the scenes to focus on sustainability and reduce our carbon footprint. We started by looking for ways to improve the materials and supplies we use and the ways we obtain them. Bringing Positive Planet on board will help us amplify these practices throughout the business.

Carbon reduction plan

1. Measure our Carbon Emissions

First, Positive Planet will calculate our carbon emissions by audit. This will help us understand our current carbon footprint and target key areas for improvement.

2. Reduce our Emissions

Together we create an ambitious carbon reduction plan, which identifies opportunities, sets goals & timelines and helps us action our reductions.

3. Offset our emissions

We identify where the remaining sources of carbon emission are and purchase carbon credits to offset remaining carbon emission. This ensures that the business captures and removes at least as much carbon from the atmosphere as it creates.

4. Certify

This will be the point of reaching carbon carbon neutral status. Positive Planet will certify our business as a carbon neutral company, recognising that the business does not contribute any additional carbon to the atmosphere.

5. Engagement

The journey doesn’t end there. SM Cleaning will then work with Positive Planet to engage our clients, suppliers and staff so that we can continue to be a positive force on our planet. We’ll promote carbon neutrality to everyone we work with, and look for additional areas to implement positive practices as our business grows.

6. Continue

This plan will guide our sustainability journey in the coming months and years as we work towards becoming carbon neutral.

If you would like to find out more about Positive Planet, please do so here. To speak to us about our work or to arrange a meeting please contact us.

Environmentally friendly equipment

Finding ways to minimise the impact of our cleaning equipment on the environment is a key part of becoming a more sustainable company. Running equipment that operates efficiently and maintains a low energy usage saves electricity, reduces water consumption and helps our teams in their operation.

All our equipment is PAT tested regularly and the selection of the equipment we use is based on their ecological benefits, ease of use and consumption of resources. SM Cleaning prioritises the use of energy rated, water saving and lightweight equipment across all sites. We actively encourage customers and operatives to request reviews of products and listen to proposed alternatives for our management to ensure we continue to provide the highest quality equipment in all of our operations.

Sustainable cleaning products

SM Cleaning uses renewable, sustainable and environmentally friendly cleaning products. The products we use are verified by the Vegan Society, use recyclable packaging which is itself recyclable and are made in the UK using carbon neutral production methods. The bottles used for our products are made from 100% PCR (Post Consumer Recycled Plastic), which means they have 85% lower CO2 emissions than new plastic containers. The products are also 100% biodegradable.

Please visit this link to view the wide range of products we will use in your building.

Paperless

In a further move to reduce our carbon footprint, we’re proud to announce that SM Cleaning is one of the few, if not one of the only organisations that is completely paperless on all sites.

Thanks to the integrated management system we have developed in-house, we’ve gone paperless across our entire portfolio. Not only does this help with our environmental impact, it makes SM Cleaning quicker and more agile as a company. Relying on digital documents increases our access to real-time information and the latest updates across the business. It is a more cost effective and efficient way to view and manage work than using traditional folders.