Through partnerships with local authorities, charity organisations, apprenticeship programmes, and employment fairs, we’re committed to breaking down barriers and providing opportunities for individuals to grow and build lasting careers. These efforts are vital in shaping a future where apprenticeships in the cleaning industry create skilled professionals who are ready to make a difference.

Meet Our Apprentices

Abigail Koo-Lap-Hing – HR Support Level 3

Abby completed her HR Support Level 3 Apprenticeship, which focused on building key people management and organisational support skills. Through the apprenticeship, she has developed a deeper understanding of how HR influences company culture and contributes to business success.

“The apprenticeship helped me to build a strong foundation of skills and experience and led me to finding a specialist area, within People Relations (HR) that I enjoy, and has led to my professional development, growth, and career progression within this specialist area. My confidence in myself and my knowledge and skills has massively improved through completing this apprenticeship and I have found it an extremely rewarding and positive experience.”

Cristian Salinas – Facilities Management Supervisor Level 3

Cristian is one of our fantastic Contract Managers, and has completed the Facilities Management Supervisor Level 3 Apprenticeship, gaining valuable leadership skills to manage teams and oversee operations. This qualification equips professionals to thrive in complex environments and ensure the smooth delivery of services.

Josh Cain – Business Administration Level 3

Josh, who began his journey with us as a Sustainability Apprentice, recently completed the Business Administration Level 3 Apprenticeship. This versatile programme has equipped him with essential administrative skills that support smooth operations across the business and offer a strong foundation for future career growth.

“I learnt how it is to work in a team and how that changed my perspective on what a team is and how they operate. I would recommend an apprenticeship; I think it helps to develop and learn more about aspects of the working environment that I think you would usually not interact with through the day-to-day task but learnt through the course work.”

Jodie Ramirez – Business Administration Level 3

Jodie’s journey began as a People Onboarding Apprentice and completed a Business Administration Level 3. Since completing her qualification, she has now taken on a new role as People Relations Apprentice and will continue to develop further within HR.

Why Apprenticeships Matter

Apprenticeships matter because they provide real, tangible opportunities for personal and professional growth. For our four colleagues, completing their apprenticeships has not only equipped them with valuable skills but also given them the confidence to pursue new challenges and career milestones. These programmes allow our colleagues to gain hands-on experience, learn from mentors, and ultimately advance in their careers, all while making a meaningful impact within the company.

For us, supporting apprenticeships means investing in the growth of our people, building a stronger team, and ensuring that everyone has the chance to progress. When our colleagues succeed, we all succeed—creating a culture of opportunity and progression that benefits both individuals and the wider cleaning industry.

The post Apprenticeships in the Cleaning Industry: Success Stories appeared first on Regular Cleaning.

At Regular Cleaning, we are so proud to be a Real Living Wage employer.

With sustainability at the core of our values, we recognise the importance of paying a sustainable wage to all colleagues. This in turn supports the very best service for our valued clients.

In September 2024, the Living Wage Foundation announced the new wage rates for 2024-2025, with a deadline of 1st May 2025 to implement these. Following the news of these new rates, we’re celebrating last year’s wins.

Let’s Talk about Fair Pay

The real living wage is the hourly rate working people need to afford a minimum ‘decent’ standard of living. We strive for this as we value our front line workers and believe they deserve fair pay. For some, this might mean that they can afford to have just one job instead of multiple, or earn a wage that they can live on and enjoy.

Last year, we set a target for 80% of cleaning colleagues to be enjoying the higher rate of £13.15 by the end of the 2024 financial year. We’re delighted to be able to say that we have achieved a total of 85% of colleagues being paid the Real Living Wage, and 88% paid the London Living Wage by June 2024.

We’ve worked hard to move our colleagues to these higher rates and are proud of our progress and achievements. We know the positive effect this has for both our colleagues and clients, meaning more than just an increase in pay. It also means better quality of life and an improved sense of wellbeing. We welcome this as we’ve heard from our colleagues just how impactful this can be for them during a time of an increasingly higher cost of living.

Stepping Up to Pay a Fair Wage

Naturally the focus is on the welfare of our colleagues, however, it’s important to acknowledge the benefits for clients. There are innumerable benefits to paying the Real Living Wage and employees often share how much it means to them. These include an improvement in motivation, attendance, productivity, and reliability. We look to proactively collaborate with clients to solve any issues surrounding this, and offer support and solutions to those that aren’t confident to move to the higher rates.

“Not having to worry if [I’m] able to pay my bills had a very positive impact on my mental health and increased my motivation.”

Geovani at Lion Plaza

Not only does this better the quality of life for colleagues, but also increases the value of service for our clients, through hugely improved retention and recruitment. Our average length of service for our employees is five years. This means that our colleagues are experts at what they do and can provide the best service possible. We want the very best for our clients and know that this comes from providing the best for our colleagues.

As a Living Wage Recognised Service Provider, we strive for a real living wage for all employees as part of our Better Places strategy. Caring is part of our identity and we’re committed to always putting people first. This means caring for colleagues, communities and clients and know that paying a Real Living Wage is part of that.

The post Celebrating Living Wage Week 2024 appeared first on Regular Cleaning.

We’re thrilled to win in the Sustainability Reporting category at the Planet Mark Awards.

Since joining forces with Planet Mark in 2021, sustainability has been at the core of our business. Our recent win at the 2024 Planet Mark Awards shows us that our hard work to secure a better future is being recognised.

We took home the award in the Sustainability Reporting category at this year’s ceremony, with fantastic feedback from the judges. We were told that our impressive submission showed our reporting to be “robust, honest, and to a great level of detail”, which aligns with our goals around transparency. For Planet Mark to recognise us for our commitment to creating a better future means a lot to us, and this prestigious award reflects the positive progress we’ve made so far.

As the award criteria stated, this recognition is for the ‘most transparent and effective communication of an organisation’s sustainability progress’. This is a testament to our dedication to openness and honesty as we pursue our ‘Better Places‘ strategy. We aim to set the standard in sustainability reporting, sharing both our achievements and the challenges we face with stakeholders and wider audiences.

As a business, we strive to communicate the impact of our organisation, and sustainability progress to stakeholders and wider audiences. While we want to celebrate our wins, we also want to be open about our journey.

A Commitment to Transparency

Our approach is simple: if we can’t verify our achievements, we don’t claim them. The reporting framework we use lets us accurately measure our impact, showing us what to focus on to improve this. This reporting framework has guided our sustainability initiatives, and enabled transparent communication with our clients, service partners, and colleagues. We do this through diverse touchpoints like sustainability showcase events, our 2024 Sustainability Report, and regular Town Halls. Our commitment to transparency and continuous improvement are what ensure that we will keep pushing the boundaries of what it means to be a sustainable, and socially responsible business, now and for the future.

As part of our engagement efforts, it was an honour to receive a nomination in the Employee Engagement category this year, Following our, following our Supplier Engagement award win in 2023. This award recognises organisations that engage their their workforce in their sustainability programme through implementing initiatives. We’re building a sustainable and engaged workplace where our team feel empowered, and this grows stronger every day. 

This recognition reflects the hard work of our incredible team, who’ve made sustainability a core part of what we do. These achievements mark a significant milestone in our journey, encouraging deeper collaboration across our business and with our partners.

It’s brilliant to see our hard work around environmental business paying off. Thank you to everyone involved, across all areas of the business for helping us to achieve this prestigious award. We were up against some stiff competition, and will continue to champion sustainability in every aspect of our business.

The post Our Sustainability Reporting Wins at 2024 Planet Mark Awards appeared first on Regular Cleaning.

The results of the Regular Cleaning Champions League tournament are in. We’re thrilled to announce that the tournament raised an incredible £2,104 for our charity partners at St Mungo’s, a charity doing amazing work to help those experiencing homelessness.

Twelve teams took part, made up of Regular Cleaning colleagues, as well as teams from our service partners and clients, including Landsec, BACB, Mayflower, One Stratford Place. Following the success of last year’s football fundraiser, the event was a brilliant way to get so many different organisations together, and provided the perfect opportunity for collaboration and strengthening partnerships for a brilliant cause.

Our 12 teams were: BACB, Mayflower, Regular Cleaning FC, RC Rovers, Royal Borough Greenwich FC, Landsec All-stars, Aspire FC, One Stratford Place, Team Carlos 1, Team Carlos 2, Team Christian 1, Team Christian 2.

So, let’s have a look at how the tournament played out:

Plate Final Results: Regular Cleaning FC

Well done to Regular Cleaning FC for winning against RGB FC in the Plate Final. Both teams gave it their all, but Regular Cleaning FC came out on top with a 2-1 victory.

Final Score: Regular Cleaning FC 2-1 RGB FC

Semi-Finalist Results: Aspire FC Wins

Congratulations to Team Carlos 1 and Aspire FC for reaching the semi-finals. After a close match, Aspire FC came out on top with a 2-1 victory, securing the semi-finalist prize.

Final Score: Aspire FC 2-1 Team Carlos 1

Cup Final Results: BACB Wins

The final match saw a showdown between BACB and Mayflower FC. Both teams played a remarkable game, but in the end, BACB claimed victory in a 4-3 match, and was crowned the Regular Cleaning Champions League Cup winners for 2024.

Final Score: BACB 4-3 Mayflower FC

What’s Next?

A massive thank you goes out to everyone who attended, donated, and contributed to the success of this event. It wouldn’t have been possible without the hard work of our organisers, or those that participated, supported, and cheered. Everyone socialised, played some great football and the support was fantastic. The amazing support has helped us raise vital funds for St Mungo’s, and we look forward to making next year’s event even bigger and better.

If you’d like to continue supporting this great cause, our donation page is still open here. Congratulations to the official RC champions league cup winners BACB, until next year!

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In this blog we’ll look at some of the ways that commercial cleaning companies can support the sustainability of the spaces they operate in. From reducing energy use and waste streams, to measuring carbon and introducing chemical-free cleaning, the environmental initiatives of cleaning companies can affect how successfully sustainability targets are met. This article will detail just how significant service providers can be in supporting their clients to reach Net Zero targets.

Environmental sustainability should be at the forefront of most business priorities today. Many companies are increasingly making efforts to reduce their carbon footprint and reach Net Zero to combat climate change, knowing that there are progressively more legal obligations related to this. Thinking long-term, means knowing that it’s more responsible to be a sustainable business, and therefore to work with sustainable service providers.

Commercial cleaning companies can support the environmental initiatives of the businesses they work with in several ways. In order to contribute to sustainability targets and Net Zero ambitions, service providers should be aligned to their client’s sustainability commitments, and able to support these. We’re going to look at how the right cleaning company can help your business to reach Net Zero and what we’re currently doing to support our own clients.

How does a cleaning company’s operations impact carbon emissions? 

As an industry that relies on using energy, water, labour, and often chemicals to perform cleaning tasks, a cleaning company’s operations can impact carbon emissions on many levels. While cleaning doesn’t create waste, there is an implied responsibility for cleaners and cleaning companies to deal with the waste of the spaces they clean in an efficient and responsible way. The traditionally high labour and colleague turnover in the cleaning industry, sometimes as a result of low colleague care, also presents a problem to the clients striving to lead a sustainable and socially responsible business.

There is still a lot of uncertainty around sustainability, and even big businesses can struggle with when to set a realistic net zero target. Many companies are now facing the very real and specific challenge of how to limit carbon emissions and when it’s the right time to act. We’re looking at how a sustainable cleaning company can help to tackle some of these challenges, by gathering data, having an existing path to net zero of their own, and a realistic strategy of how to meet this.

The reality is that no business can reach net zero alone. Companies rely on the behaviour of employees, environment, service partners, and external factors, but the right service providers can help. Businesses will need to work together to achieve net zero targets, and working with a cleaning company that acts responsibly, and can provide data on the sustainability of your business, is a valuable partnership to have.

What sort of approach would help a client with their Net Zero journey? 

Commercial cleaning companies should be demonstrating leadership in sustainability. The cleaning industry on the whole is doing a lot to affect climate change, and companies should therefore be doing everything they can to support the environmental initiatives of the businesses they work with. It’s important to look for service providers that champion sustainability and can align with the sustainable initiatives of your business to collaboratively reduce carbon footprint together.

Products and Equipment

A simple way a cleaning company can contribute towards the sustainability of your business is through the products they use. Things to look out for are products that chemical-free, reduce water and energy use, minimise operator fatigue and eliminate single-use plastic. By considering this level of detail in their delivery and proactively using products which reduce harm or emissions, your cleaning company help to protect the sustainability of your business in the long-term.

Chemical-Free Cleaning Products – A common assumption is that we need chemicals to effectively clean. Often harmful to people and the planet, these types of cleaning products can also rely on one-use plastic and lack environmentally-friendly options for disposal. Sustainable cleaning companies are busting this myth by using innovative products that kill germs without the nasty chemicals. These are better for the environment and reduce the risk of harm to cleaners and those interacting with your spaces.

Reducing Water Usage – A good first step in lowering your business’s carbon footprint is reducing water and energy use. Your cleaning company can help with this by utilising equipment that conserves resources and only uses the energy amount needed. This means considering the finer details during an equipment selection process. Careful selection of environmentally friendly tools that deliver excellent results without waste supports your environmental goals while maintaining high standards.

Minimising Energy Usage – When choosing equipment, your cleaning company should prioritise operator fatigue, colleague wellbeing, and cleaning efficiency. By selecting intelligent, automated, and lightweight tools, they can enhance productivity, improve wellbeing, and reduce health and safety risks. This approach saves time, money, and labor while supporting sustainability. Not only does this contribute to your environmental targets, but it provides peace of mind for your business. This highlights the importance of a structured equipment selection process.

Recycling Equipment – Selecting the right equipment isn’t all that your cleaning company can do. It’s crucial to think long-term, and more businesses are taking responsibility for their impact by considering equipment from ‘cradle to grave’. When a service provider considers the whole lifecycle of equipment they use, it is more likely that your service will be tackled in an ethical and thoughtful way.

Processes to Reduce Emissions

Introducing sustainable initiatives, like waste streams, recycling, and ways to reduce energy and water use, can support the sustainability of your spaces. By reducing the emissions of your business through proactive processes, your cleaning company can support your business’s net zero ambitions.

Responsible Attitudes to Waste – Responsible attitudes and training around waste management are essential. A cleaning company with existing initiatives to target waste can help a business to implement its own waste schemes. A cleaning service should also utilise products that reduce single-use plastics and prevent excessive waste to landfill. By using less wasteful products, a company can reduce the number of deliveries required to transport them, and therefore reduce carbon emissions. This minimises the fuel, energy and manpower needed to move cleaning products around, plus the space needed to store them.

Partnerships, Reporting and Knowledge-Sharing

Education and Training – A training strategy that underscores a commitment to sustainability is essential. This means offering comprehensive modules on Net Zero and investing in courses that raise awareness about business-related environmental issues. When your cleaning company invests in upskilling its workers, you can trust that their services will align with your environmental goals and objectives.

Effective Emissions Reporting

Sustainable Certification Providers: Working with cleaning companies that are certified by recognised sustainability bodies demonstrates a commitment to environmental practices. This collaboration significantly supports your Net Zero goals by providing validated emissions data from credible sources. When your cleaning company are on their own sustainability journey, they are better equipped to support your business’s environmental objectives.

Certification providers offer detailed carbon emissions information, enabling businesses to effectively measure their Net Zero progress. By analysing the sustainability of operations and their environmental impact, companies can track and improve their efforts. Investing in certification from a reputable sustainability body ensures that your cleaning company is dedicated to your environmental goals and will prioritise sustainability in their work.

Planet Mark – Sustainability certification providers help businesses to track their Net Zero journeys and implement strategies to reduce carbon emissions. Understanding your environmental impact is the first step in any Net Zero journey. This highlights the types of changes a company needs to make to become more sustainable. By working with environmental accreditations, Net Zero targets become a reality and the journey towards Net Zero begins.

Planet Mark helps to ‘eliminate green washing’ by implementing a realistic and effective carbon reduction strategy. They do this by using data to identify carbon emissions and input meaningful steps to reduce these. This reporting ensures transparency around a business’s carbon footprint and translates this into clear and comprehensible data. By also looking at social value, Planet Mark provides a certification that shows social value contribution as a measurement.

So what are we doing to support our clients?

At Regular Cleaning, we’re supporting our clients’ long-term sustainable aspirations by working with them to help make their businesses more sustainable for the future. We do this by introducing innovative environmental practices that enhance the sustainability of their buildings or portfolios.

Our environmental initiatives and ongoing efforts to enhance our clients’ sustainability are what makes us market-leaders in our industry. We know that many of our clients work with us for this very reason. Here are some of the things we’re doing:

We use chemical-free products, like the Toucan Centrago Kettle and Tersano Lotus Dispenser which kill up to 99.999% of germs. These eco-friendly products are safer for our teams and for those that interact with our client’s spaces. Technologies like iMop help reduce water and energy use while improving cleaning efficiency. The iMop also supports global water projects through the Made Blue Foundation. Through using this model, we have donated 500,000 litres of clean water to developing areas globally. Our equipment choices increase efficiency and reduce operator fatigue, despite achieving superior results in all professional deep cleaning. These include cleaning Cobotics and lightweight machines like the Orbot SLiM which save time, money, and labour for our clients.

Our ‘zero to landfill’ approach ensures a responsible attitude to recycling and waste. We limit single-use plastics across our operations and use planet-kind products in our service. Using innovative products like Solupak in our service prevents thousands of plastic bottles from ending up in landfills. We also participate in recycling and waste management schemes for equipment, uniforms, and consumables. All redundant equipment is recycled through a circular economy scheme to reduce waste to landfill and ensure responsible disposal. We also promote plastic free initiatives, use biodegradable gloves, recycled micro fibre cloths, and favor products that have recyclable packaging.

Since our 2021 Planet Mark Certification, we’ve monitored, measured and reported on the environmental and ecological impacts of our operations. Our enhanced ESG reporting makes us stand out as a company that engages our supply chain and advances sustainability standards. We’re also investing in the future to affect change, including our office refurbishment and our growing electric fleet. These projects aimed to enhance the sustainability of our operations so that we lead a planet focused business long-term. We’re also investing in partnerships and reporting. In July 2024 we sent our very first Sustainability Report to our clients. This showcased our many efforts, achievements, and future commitments to create a more sustainable future. Detailing our journey, the report highlights how we can support our client’s own sustainability goals. 

We provide education and training on sustainability to colleagues, clients, and partners, including our in-house IOSH training. This improves understanding around how businesses affect the environment, and how the environment can also affect businesses, emphasising the importance of minimising environmental risks and maximising opportunities. This ensures alignment on environmental initiatives that directly translate into having a positive impact. Employee engagement is also important to us, and we look after our employees as a sustainable resource. We know that by empowering them with knowledge, they become active participants of our Better Places initiative. Through events, education, and a comprehensive communication plan, we engage our colleagues to be aware, committed and passionate about sustainability.

We’re serious about taking climate action and have a robust plan in place to achieve our Net Zero targets. Our commitment to Protecting Our World pushes us to remain open and transparent about our Net Zero journey. Get in touch to hear more about our market-leading sustainable business or work together to create a brighter future.

The post How the Right Cleaning Company Can Help Your Business to Reach Net Zero appeared first on Regular Cleaning.

Throughout June and July, we’ve been offering a series of wellbeing workshops to our colleagues in collaboration with LIFT, Coney, and City of London. These workshops are part of a larger LIFT programme (London International Festival of Theatre), partnering with Coney to bring innovative and engaging sessions to workplaces.

About the Workshops

Colleague wellbeing is a business priority, and it’s important to us that we support and nourish this through meaningful initiatives. These workshops provided a unique opportunity to boost morale in a fun and engaging environment, and potentially in ways our colleagues haven’t experienced before.

Coney, known for delivering high-quality, innovative, and engaging workshops, led the sessions. Their approach focuses on three core elements:

• Fun: Breaking the routine with enjoyable activities that refresh and rejuvenate the spirit.
• Wellbeing: Prioritising the mental and physical health of participants.
• Relationship Building: Strengthening team dynamics and interpersonal connections.

Tailored to our Colleagues

Coney’s workshops were entirely bespoke and tailored to our colleagues’ needs. Our Development and Wellbeing Team started by discussing the business priorities before the sessions, deciding on communication and relationship building.

The workshops were then designed around the unique challenges our colleagues face, ensuring that the most pressing wellbeing issues were addressed. This personalised approach meant that every session was relevant, impactful, and enjoyable. This was so that everyone in attendance could take something positive away.

Workshop Format:

• Creative Games: Interactive activities that engage and entertain.
• Missions: Task-based challenges that promote teamwork.
• Reflection: Moments to consider personal and team growth.

These on-site sessions were designed to fit seamlessly into our team’s schedules so that everyone is able to take part. Offered in 1-hour sessions, the workshops were inclusive, without being disruptive to the workday.

Highlights from Sessions

We had huge success and engagement with the workshops across all locations, with 49 people taking part. One fantastic session saw the building teams getting involved at 125 Old Broad Street, and our final session featured especially enthusiastic participation from our colleagues at New Street Square.

Our colleagues had the chance to open up, get to know their teams, and break down some initial barriers. The structure of the workshops meant that everyone got involved in a comfortable environment, with tasks and challenges completed in small groups. This led to wider group discussions, and our colleagues left the sessions with smiles on their faces having had the opportunity to talk to new people within their teams.

LIFT also filmed part of the workshops in collaboration with Fully Focused. They are the UK’s leading youth-driven production company who supports the next generation of filmmakers and underrepresented talent. They created three short films on their LIFT THE CITY PROGRAMME aimed at broadening access to world class culture and creative opportunities for those often underrepresented in audiences and as participants.

Exclusive Perks

As a thank you to our colleagues that attended the workshops, we offered discounted or free theatre tickets as a token of appreciation from the partnering charities, LIFT and Coney. Our goal was that these workshops would present a fantastic opportunity to enhance morale and foster a positive work environment. Following the success, we’re keen to hold more sessions in the future across our business portfolio. We hope that these workshops were enriching and fun, and would like to thank everyone that made them happen.

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Plastic Free July is more than just a month-long event; it’s a global movement aimed at reducing plastic usage, and promoting a cleaner and healthier environment. As a sustainable cleaning company, we continually look for ways to make our service more environmentally friendly. This includes using chemical free cleaning solutions, reducing the amount of energy we use and cutting out plastics.

This month, we’ve taken significant steps to engage with our clients and occupiers. We’ve been showcasing innovative solutions that help reduce plastic waste and promote sustainability across our JLL Royal London Portfolio. Throughout July, our teams have been out on-site at various locations, carrying out engagement days. These days are crucial as they allow us to directly interact with occupiers, demonstrating the tangible benefits of sustainable practices.

Here’s a look at some of the key activities:

Distributing Made Blue Bottles to Occupiers:

We handed out nearly 1000 water bottles made from recycled plastic. These bottles from Made Blue Foundation not only reduce single-use plastic. They also donate 500 litres of clean drinking water for each bottle handed out. This initiative has resulted in almost half a million litres of water being donated, addressing the critical issue of water scarcity faced by 771 million people worldwide. Through these six events, we donated a total of 795,500 litres of water through gifting the Made Blue bottles.

Smoothie Bikes for an interactive Event:

For our collaborative event, JLL hired Smoothie Bikes to raise money for the Princess Alice Hospice. This engaged occupiers and energised the events, getting everyone involved by generating electricity on the bikes to blend up smoothies. The smoothies were poured into our gifted Made Blue bottles to promote Plastic Free July while bringing some healthy competition to the day.

Demonstrating Chemical Free Cleaning:

• with Toucan Kettle: We showcased the Toucan kettle to occupiers, highlighting its powerful, eco-friendly cleaning capabilities. This chemical-free cleaning tool replaces many traditional cleaners and their single-use plastic bottles, making it a safer and more sustainable choice.
• with Solupak: In 2021, we rolled out Solupak products and have since demonstrated these innovations as part of Plastic Free July. These products have been instrumental in our efforts to eliminate harmful chemicals and reduce single-use plastics. They significantly lower our environmental footprint and promote healthier, more sustainable workplaces.

Making a Difference

This was a brilliant opportunity to showcase how we have removed plastic from our operations within various buildings and portfolios by using innovative products and equipment. After the success of last year’s event, we know the impact that initiatives like this can have. By sharing fact sheets on reducing plastic in the workplace and at home, we can spread the message even further.

Thank you to everyone that attended and all those that made the events such a success!

The post Celebrating Plastic Free July 2024 appeared first on Regular Cleaning.

As a sustainable cleaning company, we always put the environment first. We make sure our services consider environmental impacts, and our IOSH Environment for Business training is a big part of this. This course shows how important sustainable practices are and how to put them into action, helping businesses to understand and manage their environmental impact.

So what is IOSH and why does it matter?

Being sustainable isn’t just good for the planet—it’s great for business too. Our IOSH training helps businesses spot environmental risks and find ways to tackle them. The course covers:

• The importance of sustainable business practices
• How to identify and promote environmental initiatives at work
• Ways to create healthier and more efficient workplaces

We offer this training to our team, clients and Service Partners, because we believe in a unified approach to sustainability. Our goal is to create more sustainable work environments and boost understanding of eco-friendly practices. Investing in this training is key to our success and that of our clients.

IOSH Environment for Business Training shows the link between businesses and climate issues. Delivered by our very own sustainability experts through our approved in-house IOSH training Centre, the course focuses on the environmental impacts of businesses on the planet and how to minimise them.

Benefits of IOSH Training

We’ve had great engagement with the IOSH Environment for Business Training over the last two years. Some of the benefits to delivering the course include:

• Flexibility: We tailor the course to fit around workloads, so there’s minimal disruption.
• Career development: The training supports professional growth and raises awareness of health, safety, and environmental risks.
• Colleague achievement: Completing the course gives a sense of accomplishment and inspires positive change.
• Learning environment: In-house delivery ensures attendees feel comfortable, fostering better engagement and stronger partnerships.
• Business alignment: Offering courses for free as part of our collaboration delivers real cost savings, and boosts sustainability for us and our clients.
• Health & Safety and Environment: Understanding environmental issues collectively helps us meet health, safety, and environmental goals, creating safer workplaces.

Real Impact

Since May 2022, we have delivered 37 IOSH courses, totalling 2180 hours of training with 198 attendees. This has generated £373 in social value per person. Our in-house IOSH trainer ensures the training aligns with our Better Places and ZeroBy30 strategies, providing a nationally recognised qualification. We will keep offering this course because it boosts understanding of environmentalism at work and helps ensure a brighter future for the businesses we work with.

All businesses impact, and are impacted by the environment. Understanding this is the first step in identifying ways to protect against environmental risks, and having a future-proof plan in place. We provide education and training on sustainability practices which helps individuals to understand their role in driving real change. By offering IOSH Environment for Business training, attendees are empowered to make informed sustainable choices at work and at home.

Partner Collaboration

Our in-house IOSH trainer delivers on our HSE objectives, Better Places and ZeroBy30 strategies, while providing our colleagues, service partners and clients’ employees with a nationally recognised qualification. Delivering safer and more sustainable workplaces for everyone everyday is a key objective for us and aligns to our core values.

Chris Cain, Head of Sustainability at Regular Cleaning

Our goal is to create healthier working environments. By investing in the IOSH Environment for Business training, we support our social value and environmental targets while fostering safer and more sustainable workplaces. This training empowers attendees to understand and mitigate environmental risks, and maximise sustainability opportunities. Let’s work together to understand our impact and take action towards a brighter and more sustainable future.

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A focus on social value is not just a responsibility, but a testament to a company’s commitment to community welfare. Our clients are setting the bar high by actively engaging in our volunteering days, charity events, and social value initiatives. This case study will look at how we create client collaboration in our social value events in order to support our resource requirements as we grow. Client involvement supports local communities, but also contributes to their own social value ambitions and impact.

Background

We have always had a culture of creating social value since the business was started, and there has recently been a sharpening of focus in this activity and a drive to do more. We have therefore needed to find a greater number of volunteers in order to support the growing number of events. A recent emphasis has been on client collaboration. This provides opportunities for our clients to increase their social value contribution and build partnerships, while supporting our communities and creating better places for all.

In collaboration with St Mungo’s, we recently organised a pamper event for International Women’s Day in March 2024. This was an event for those that use the St Mungo’s service and required female volunteers. We received huge support from our client JLL at 240 Blackfriars with several volunteers coming along on the day. The success of the event showed us how impactful client involvement in social value can be. Collaboration across organisations forms a wider sense of community, and it makes events like this truly inspiring.

The Challenge

Initially, our biggest challenge was that we didn’t have established partnerships that provided us with the level of volunteering opportunities we desired. Since partnering with St Mungo’s, we have regular opportunities to make a real difference.

Since entering this partnership, the engagement from our own colleagues has been overwhelming and it quickly became clear that the desire to get involved was there. As our volunteering resource requirements grew, we saw an opportunity to engage across clients and service partners in order to meet the growing needs of our social impact programme.

We knew that our clients wanted to do something positive, and so we needed to find ways to achieve this collaboratively. Being a homelessness charity, the work of St Mungo’s can impact our clients who may witness homelessness in their areas and this seemed a wonderful opportunity to relate back to the local environment.

The types of events volunteers are needed for can vary meaning that a diverse range of talent and ability is often required. These can include gardening days, cooking events, teaching classes, pampering events, employment fairs, and painting and decorating.

Solution

The solution was to recruit volunteers from key clients and service partners to help. To begin, we needed to engage clients and let them know that by working with us, these social value opportunities were available to them. Our focus became communicating the opportunities in a way that raises awareness and inspires involvement, and translate this into tangible participation.

We have adapted how we approach social impact and now look to ensure we’re collaborating with our clients, their service partners alongside our service partners to bring the greatest impact.

Gemma Bowers, Chief People & Culture Officer

This meant not only in capturing and communicating opportunities, but also highlighting the key benefits a client gains from taking part. Some clients sought to understand the difference their people had on these events and how their involvement impacted social value, and we identified the need for comprehensive communication channels and engagement strategies to address this challenge. Leveraging our network and resources, we embarked on a journey to streamline our volunteering initiatives and make them more accessible to clients.

There has since been an active effort to highlight the types of initiatives we have to offer, and articulate the impact that these have on our communities. In doing this, we can provide clarity on how client participation contributes to this, and shed light on the benefits of client participation.

This includes:

• How a culture of active involvement and collaboration makes our social value initiatives more successful and helpful to our communities.
• That our initiatives can benefit our clients by contributing to their social value targets.
• The ways that client involvement in charity events improves collaboration and helps to create a stronger sense of partnership.
• Homelessness is something that we all witness frequently and that through collaboration, we can do something positive and really make a difference.
• That by gaining clients and service partners as volunteers, we are able to offer a wider range of skills and abilities to our charity partners.

A colleague from our client JLL told us that our social value events foster a sense of belonging and promote teamwork, and helps their team and occupiers to develop new skills and knowledge.

Results

We always strive to remember that the aim of all these events is not merely participation, but creating a lasting impact on our communities. With a more diverse range of skills, and an obvious collaborative spirit, this fosters and conveys a sense of community and support.

Through planning and execution, we have successfully engaged our clients in meaningful volunteering activities. This includes a St Mungo’s ‘Pamper Day’ collaborating with JLL colleagues at 240 Blackfriars, which

required multiple people to attend and provide spa treats at a St Mungo’s service.

Events like this increase awareness of the charities themselves and the issues that their work focuses on, and demonstrates we can be deliver more through working closely with clients and service partners. There is real joy and reward to be had while giving back and witnessing the tangible benefits to organisations like St Mungo’s and the communities they serve and seeing first-hand the impact of their contribution.

When asked why social value involvement is important to JLL at 240 Blackfriars, and what motivates the team to get involved, their Community Lead told us “Social value is important to us because we believe in building community within the organisation. Getting involved in a rewarding and fulfilling experience”.

By facilitating these volunteering opportunities and providing support every step along the way, we try and ensure that clients are not only aware, but are also enthusiastic participants of social value initiatives.

Looking Ahead

By addressing challenges, fostering understanding, and actively engaging clients, we have established a way to provide for meaningful collaboration and community impact.

We will continue to introduce opportunities that can inspire clients to get involved in volunteering. Through involvement in these social value opportunities, our clients can support their communities while contributing to their own social value ambitions.

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Thames21 is at the forefront of improving rivers for people and wildlife, and we’re proud to be part of their mission. Through volunteering efforts, the charity works in partnership to make improvements to rivers across Greater London. This includes adding woody material to rivers to create new habitats for wildlife, creating wetlands to tackle flooding, controlling non-native invasive species, and introducing reedbeds to filter pollutants. This ultimately enhances local environments and biodiversity.

During our cleanup event we took action to remove harmful rubbish from the river and foreshore. Guided by the expertise of Thames21 staff, we not only beautified our surroundings, but created a safer and healthier habitat for both people and wildlife.

Through this event, we learned about the various threats our rivers face. From single-use plastics polluting our waters, to sewage and water quality issues, there are several issues facing our rivers today. Importantly, we gained insight into what we can do to address these issues head-on.

As part of our Better Places strategy, we aim to protect our world for future generations. This event perfectly aligns with our commitment to creating cleaner, more sustainable environments.

A big thank you to Thames21, and all our clients and colleagues who participated! Together, we’re making strides towards a cleaner, greener, and healthier world. Let’s keep protecting our planet, one cleanup at a time.

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