The Sirius Effect:  

We discuss consumer behavior a lot in these blogs, because most of our customers make products designed for those markets. However, the commercial cleaning industry is a huge one, where one business making the switch will have a much bigger impact on the environment than one consumer. Going green also happens to be good business, too. Building your brand these days requires satisfying increasingly conscious end users more than merely cutting costs.

Commercial cleaning traditionally prioritizes cost and other factors over the environment. After all, this is an industry where the profit margins can be slim and the costs are relatively high – meaning no money for the eco-friendly stuff if priority is low.  In some industries, such as hospitals, the biocidal abilities of the cleaner are simply too important to compromise. The invisible nature of industrial cleaning work – done after office hours, in empty hospital or hotel rooms, when the machines of industry have paused– keeps it in the shadows of public awareness.

But then COVID happened, and like so many other industries, commercial cleaning got turned upside down. With offices going remote, there was no need for cleaners. International tourism ground to a complete halt, cutting off yet another revenue source for cleaners. At the same time, some places, such as hospitals, became busier than ever. Things have almost gone back to normal in the EU for now, but many of us feel cautious about it: the delta variant is still around, and who knows what will happen in the winter, when flu season comes up?

So it might seem like the worst time to go green, but it could actually be more cost-effective over time.  Firstly, it can lessen the cleaners’ exposure to toxic chemicals, meaning less personnel turnover and – COVID notwithstanding – better health for them. Secondly, it is known that cleaning agents are a significant contributor to “sick building syndrome” a constellation of vague health complaints that plague people who work in office buildings.  Thirdly, it might provide a commercial advantage.  Hotel guests with eczema, for example, might be sensitive to traces of a harsher detergent left on their sheets.  However, if a hotel purports to wash their sheets in a gentle, eco-friendly detergent, it could be seen  as “taking extra care” of their guests.

Probiotics and enzymes are also changing cleaning as we know it.  These mixes do not rely on chemicals, but on bacteria or their enzymes to seek out dirt and contaminants hidden deep in microscopic cracks. In some applications (food industry, hospitals, shopping malls, etc) this can help prevent contamination.

Green cleaning is not going to reverse global warming or clean up the Pacific Ocean’s garbage patch. But it shows that companies are willing to take positive actions for the planet. And yes, it could benefit their bottom line as well. 

Sirius has a wide range of biodegradable, sustainably-produced, eco-friendly cleaning agents that fit this bill. Want to learn more about industrial needs and applications? 

Call us today to start brainstorming.  

© Copyright Sirius International Detergents BV | Sirius International Water Treatment BV

Share