Speaking exclusively to FM Director, Manu Sareen, Founder of Green Facilities Management Ltd, discusses the company’s successful B Corp certification journey and their commitment to environmental and social responsibility.
For eco-friendly cleaning company Green Facilities Management Ltd, achieving B Corp certification represented the culmination of a thorough journey of self-examination, improvement, and formalisation of the company’s longstanding commitment to environmental and social responsibility.
“We wanted to ensure that the path we are going on is the right path and that we’re doing all the things that a company like us should be doing,” explains Manu. “We also wanted to see what else we can do to be more responsible towards our planet, community and employees.”
The journey to certification involved a comprehensive review of all processes and systems. This included examining everything from employee welfare to supplier relationships, and documenting practices that were already in place but not formally recorded.
“B Corp certification gave us this opportunity to look at all our systems and processes,” Manu says. “There were many things that we were already doing, but we hadn’t formally documented them. So we put everything down on paper and wrote all the necessary policies.”
Working with a B Corp consultant provided valuable guidance, helping the company establish and enhance best practices. One key insight was the importance of looking deeply into suppliers’ sourcing practices beyond their certifications.
“We enhanced our supplier assessment process through the B Corp journey,” he explains. “This ensured we examined how suppliers are sourcing their products, taking our due diligence to a higher level.”
Community and environmental focus
The certification process further strengthened Green Facilities’ awareness of its responsibilities towards the wider community and the environment. As a result, the company has recently partnered with Rewilding Britain, an organisation dedicated to preserving and expanding the UK’s green spaces.
The company has taken concrete steps to encourage employee engagement with environmental and community initiatives. “We’ve enhanced our employee policy to support voluntary work,” Manu says. “Staff can select a charity, do the voluntary work, give us a presentation, and then we will provide an additional paid day off.”
Green Facilities has extended various benefits to all employees, including access to a 24-hour online GP service and retail discounts.
“These discounts, from retail to grocery at places like Asda and Tesco, are very useful for our staff,” Manu notes.
These enhanced benefits demonstrate the company’s commitment to its workforce. “I think these benefits have really helped us in showing that the company cares about its employees,” Manu says. “We’re not only talking about it; we’re putting an action plan where our market is. In our industry, we’re proud to be setting high standards for employee benefits.”
Continuous improvement
The B Corp certification process provided valuable learning opportunities for Green Facilities. The company embraced the rigorous assessment as a chance to further refine their operations and environmental impact tracking.
“We’re continuously working to improve our systems for monitoring our environmental impact,” Manu explains. “We’re particularly focused on accurately assessing our carbon footprint despite the complexities of our operational setup.”
Green Facilities remains committed to using eco-friendly cleaning products and is continually researching the most effective and environmentally responsible options available.
Future plans
Looking ahead, Green Facilities plans to continue its environmental and social journey. This includes exploring new cleaning technologies and evaluating suppliers based on their sustainability credentials.
“We’re actively researching innovative solutions,” Manu says. “I attended The Cleaning Show last week, and there were some promising new technologies.”
For Green Facilities Management Ltd, B Corp certification isn’t just an achievement to display – it’s a framework for ongoing improvement and a testament to the company’s genuine commitment to operating responsibly. As they continue to develop their partnership with Rewilding Britain and explore new eco-friendly technologies, they are demonstrating that facilities management companies can lead the way in balancing commercial success with environmental and social responsibility.
By formalising their commitments and extending benefits to their workforce, they are setting a benchmark for ethical employment practices in the sector – proving that caring for people goes hand in hand with caring for the planet.
