As sustainability continues to top the priorities of businesses across the UK, Alasdair Sharp, UKI head of sales AFH at Satino by WEPA, highlights the things to look out for when it comes to planet-friendly hygiene.
Sustainability is increasingly influential in purchasing decisions due to the national target for UK businesses to minimise their carbon emissions by 2030. At present, 57.5% of mid-sized businesses have highlighted sustainability as a key driver of expenditure as they seek to purchase greener alternatives across every aspect of their operations. With sustainability continuing to take centre stage, facility managers are left having to detangle complex decision-making for which products offer the most impactful and tangible sustainability.
When it comes to hygiene, making purchases that will positively contribute to a business’s sustainability strategy plays a significant role. Yet, with so much noise around the topic and manufacturer marketing revolving heavily around why their product is the best choice for the planet, determining what to look out for when establishing a hygiene strategy can be confusing.
Hygiene paper for the future
As an industry, there is a collective understanding that we must no longer prioritise products made from virgin fibres – the world’s forests. Although virgin fibres will remain a big player in hygiene paper production, we are currently in the throng of transition and the number of alternatives coming to market is growing exponentially.
There are two schools of thought when it comes to virgin fibre-free solutions. The first uses fast-growing, easily maintained, and cultivated natural resources like bamboo and miscanthus to eradicate our reliance on rainforests. The latter is one of the most sustainable fresh fibres in the world. Rich in cellulose, the plants can be grown locally to mills and without fertilisation, irrigation, or the use of pesticides. Therefore, this option offers dual-edged sustainability credentials by cutting emissions during the farming, logistics and production processes.
The other school of thought focuses on the circular economy and the reuse of materials already in the resource streams. For hygiene papers, which include toilet rolls, hand towels and kitchen rolls, made from recycled materials such as office waste, newspapers, and OCC products like cardboard boxes for e-commerce, carbon emissions can be reduced by up to 60%. For businesses, it represents an easy but impactful swap.
For hygiene papers, another factor to consider is whether the papers have been bleached during production. By omitting this stage in the process, 80kg of chlorine and 50,000 gallons of water can be saved per tonne of pulp produced. Hygiene papers often undergo this bleaching process to bring them to their white purity, but bleach-free papers are much more sustainable and better for our skin.
Leaving plastics in the past
Plastic-free packaging is an obvious focus when making more sustainable buying decisions. 100% recyclable packaging adds even greater green credentials to a product and can help shrink a business’s environmental impact dramatically.
The UK is estimated to generate five million tonnes of plastic waste every year, nearly half of which is packaging. Businesses play a fair role in those figures, and facility managers should look for products shipped in recycled and recyclable packaging. Plastic-free packaging helps both enrich a business’s circular economy, as valuable materials are kept within resource streams and reduce the number of plastics accumulating in our oceans and landfill sites.
Awareness and consideration of the plastics that can be found in the actual substance of hygiene products are less obvious but of equal importance. Synthetic polymers, which are a liquid form of microplastics, are used in many liquid and foam soaps as a binding agent and film former. These harmful plastic particles pollute oceans and waters, entering the animal food chain and subsequently, our own bodies. However, it is possible to produce these products without these harmful ingredients. Being alert to these damaging substances helps facility managers make informed, environmentally focused decisions.
Dispensers that reduce waste
Touch-free dispensers offer greater infection prevention by minimising washroom touchpoints – which are common areas for bacteria to manifest. They also help prolong stock levels as the dispensers are designed to allow the optimum amount of product needed. Be it paper towels or soap, these types of dispensers help reduce user-amplified waste. Ultimately, reduced consumption of products means reduced planetary impact – which itself can be a cost-saver for businesses during a time of economic strife – and harnesses a more sustainable business.
Saving time & the planet
In 2023, businesses are having to navigate an ever-growing sea of problems. From the cost-of-living crisis to rising energy bills and import/export complications still pertaining as part of the Brexit hangover, facility managers may find assessing the nuances of hygiene products too time-consuming. That’s where hygiene consultancy can function as green-tinted guardians about a business’s journey towards net zero hygiene solutions.
Hygiene consultants possess an in-depth knowledge of the industry. It allows them to easily identify sustainability-emboldened products and solutions to suit a range of budgets and facilities. Once it is clear what to look out for when searching for sustainable solutions, the journey towards a more sustainable future can become far less daunting for already-busy businesses. Simple steps can be taken regarding hygiene options which will drive sustainability efforts and benefit the planet as well as employees. For more comprehensive change-making, hygiene consultants can help make a viable difference.
www.satino-by-wepa.co.uk