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What is Environmental Hygiene and why you must go green

Today, when it comes to Environmental Hygiene, there is a tendency for many companies to devote more and more space to a green culture. However, is the “greening” process actually useful for companies, or is it just a nice frill to boast about? 

What is the purpose of Environmental Hygiene? 

The environmental aspect has a certain relevance for companies that really have the credentials, from habits to certifications. And appearing on the market with certain characteristics can influence customer choice: a concept that applies in B2B as well as B2C. 

Going beyond legal compliance, making considerable efforts to pursue the “green” market, therefore seems to be an added value, for which one goes so far as to invest significant resources: one thus initiates real marketing and communication campaigns and invests considerable sums to certify one’s own Environmental Hygiene management systems.

For this reason, the corporate sustainability concept grows hand in hand with the growth and success of a company, and not just because of legal, ethical or moral considerations. Today it is precisely companies that are demonstrating the awareness that there is a growing link between green practices and success: it is, in every respect, a true business model. 

What is corporate greening and how it involves Environmental Hygiene  

Corporate “greening” is a process that does not only involve Environmental Hygiene and those companies involved in sanitation and cleaning, although this is a topic included within it, but also includes a broader range of content related to an environmental management system, which is called an Environmental Management System (EMS). 

EMS and Environmental Hygiene

The EMS is the tool with which companies take charge of how their internal organisation related to “green” practices acts on the external context: in essence, the sum of processes, tools, good practices, programmes, efforts and policies that are applied. They certainly differ from company to company and can be both formal and informal, but also more or less accredited and subject to specific standards, defined inside and outside the company.

For a company to claim to be truly green, it must – in some form – have adopted an EMS internally. Over the past decade, society has produced a strong green demand, due to the equally strong resonance that the issue has acquired, whether it is related to environmentally friendly, sustainable, healthier products or services that respect the environment, and that give nothing away in terms of price-quality compensation. 

And so, for various reasons, customers have, over time, become increasingly interested in green policies, thus recognising the importance they possess. 

The risks of Environmental Hygiene

The advantages of being a green company do not, however, eliminate some risks. As with digital transformation, green transformation also hides some pitfalls, for example in the fact that all parts of the company are able to accept the new practices. 

While green change creates a certain motivation, it can also create a certain frustration with new actions or working methods: a change of management in the care of company hygiene is an example of this. 

Employees and Environmental Hygiene

In the process of greening, failure to manage processes within the company can thus create conflicts. The key to minimising these and involving employees is to provide them with accurate information about the task at hand, while also giving them the opportunity to drive change. In this way, staff can perceive greater participation. As Gil Friend explains in his book “The Truth about green business”, Paperback 2009: “A true green transition means finding a shared mental model”.

Managing greening therefore does not mean dealing with a linear and one-dimensional process, but rather an irregular one that requires the involvement, and a certain willingness, of management as well, to change the strategic approach within the company. 

Environmental Hygiene, a process requiring high standards

In the context just described, many companies operate, making Environmental Hygiene a real business model. For these companies, achieving and maintaining a high standard of cleanliness and hygiene is much more than an internal mission: it becomes the goal to strive for.

It is certainly a complex offer, aimed at ensuring high levels of cleanliness that impact on the customer’s health, as well as on the functional maintenance of their premises, helping to prevent their deterioration.

The goal of optimal green environmental management is to ensure that all health, environmental and civil standards and regulations are met. And to do this in the best possible way, there are companies that specialise in a customised, tailor-made offer for each individual customer. An integrated and comprehensive offer that guarantees Environmental Hygiene. 

The best results are achieved by those companies that have grasped the importance of green change and operate with clear and verifiable certifications and documentation, so that the products used are always traceable to high quality.