Environmental commitment · Vigil Cleaning Services
Our environmental commitment — responsible commercial cleaning across London
Vigil is an SME commercial cleaning company making practical, honest environmental commitments. We are not claiming net zero — we are making specific, measurable changes to reduce the environmental footprint of our operations and the products we use in your building.
Our commitment
Honest environmental commitments from an SME cleaning company
We are not a large corporation with sustainability departments and net-zero pledges. We are a London SME making specific, practical changes we can measure and account for.
Commercial cleaning has a real environmental footprint. The products we use contain chemical compounds that enter water systems. The disposable materials we use create plastic waste. The equipment we carry consumes energy to manufacture and maintain. We are not willing to pretend these things do not happen.
What we are committed to doing is making every practical change available to an SME operating in a regulated industry. That means choosing biodegradable, phosphate-free, and eco-certified cleaning products wherever the cleaning specification allows — and being honest that some regulated environments (particularly healthcare settings subject to CQC infection control requirements) occasionally require products with a specific chemical profile that no eco-certified alternative currently meets.
It means training every operative on correct product dilution rates — not only because this reduces chemical waste and product cost, but because over-concentration is one of the most common sources of unnecessary chemical load in commercial cleaning.
It means systematically replacing single-use disposable wipes and plastic packaging with reusable microfibre systems and bulk-fill product formats. And it means reviewing these commitments formally every year — not as a marketing exercise, but as a genuine operational audit — and publishing the results.
We review our environmental product choices, waste management procedures, and operative training on an annual cycle. This page will be updated each year with our current position.
What we do differently
Four specific changes in how we operate
Not pledges — operational decisions already implemented across our contracts and training programmes.
Eco-certified products
We use biodegradable, phosphate-free cleaning products wherever the cleaning specification allows. In commercial offices, managed buildings, and co-working spaces — the majority of our contracts — there is no clinical reason to use conventional chemical products, so we do not. Eco-certified products are our default, not an upgrade.
Correct dilution training
Every Vigil operative is trained on correct product dilution rates before deployment. Over-concentrated cleaning products are more damaging to surfaces, more hazardous to operatives, and more environmentally harmful — and they are more expensive. Correct dilution is both our COSHH obligation and our most direct method of reducing chemical consumption across every contract.
Single-use plastic elimination
Disposable cleaning wipes are one of the highest-volume plastic waste items in commercial cleaning operations. We are systematically replacing them with reusable colour-coded microfibre cloth systems across all contracts. Microfibre cloths are laundered and reused hundreds of times — eliminating the single-use plastic waste stream from each visit.
Responsible waste handling
Chemical waste from cleaning operations is a regulated matter under COSHH. We do not pour concentrated products down drains. We do not dispose of chemical containers in general waste. Our COSHH training covers correct disposal procedures for every product category we use, and our risk assessments document these requirements for every site we operate on.
Why this matters to your business
Your cleaning contractor is part of your ESG supply chain
Property companies, healthcare providers, and construction contractors all face environmental reporting obligations that extend to their supply chains — including cleaning.
Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) reporting has moved from voluntary to near-mandatory for commercial property companies, large healthcare providers, and main contractors on significant construction projects. The cleaning contractor responsible for your building is part of your supply chain — and increasingly, your ESG and sustainability frameworks require you to account for supplier environmental performance.
For property management companies, investment frameworks such as GRESB (Global Real Estate Sustainability Benchmark) assess the sustainability of managed assets — including the environmental credentials of cleaning and facilities management suppliers.
For CQC-registered healthcare providers, infection control requirements intersect with environmental responsibilities: colour-coded equipment systems that prevent cross-contamination also reduce product waste; COSHH-compliant disposal protects the local environment as well as staff.
For construction contractors, CDM 2015 and wider environmental duties extend to site welfare operations — including welfare facility cleaning. Vigil provides COSHH documentation and product specifications that can be incorporated directly into your Construction Phase Plan environmental section and handover documentation.
We provide the documentation — product SDS sheets, COSHH assessments, and training records — that supports your own environmental reporting, without requiring you to audit us separately.
Our products
What we use on your premises — and why
Every product in our kit is chosen against three criteria: efficacy for the surface and task, safety for operatives and building users, and minimum environmental impact.
Eco-certified range
- pH-neutral formulations compatible with most commercial surfaces
- Biodegradable active ingredients — broken down naturally after use
- Phosphate-free — prevents nutrient pollution in waterways
- Used across general-purpose commercial and office cleaning
COSHH compliant
- Full SDS/MSDS documentation available for every product on site
- COSHH risk assessments available for client ESG reporting
- Correct dilution rates trained and enforced — reducing chemical use
- Safe storage and disposal procedures documented and followed
Colour-coded systems
- Zone-specific mops, cloths, and buckets — never cross-used between areas
- Prevents product cross-contamination that wastes chemicals and risks surfaces
- Reusable microfibre cloths replace single-use wipes across standard contracts
- Standard colour scheme followed: blue general, red sanitary, yellow clinical
Regulatory and standards references
HSE COSHH Regulations 2002
Control of Substances Hazardous to Health — the regulatory framework governing how cleaning chemicals must be managed, stored, used, and disposed of.
Read the guidance →BSI ISO 14001:2015
The international standard for environmental management systems — the framework Vigil is working toward for formal environmental management assessment in 2027.
Read the guidance →Carbon Trust — SME Environmental Guide
Practical guidance for small and medium businesses on reducing environmental impact — the framework Vigil uses for our annual environmental review process.
Read the guidance →Commitments going forward
What we are committing to — and by when
Specific, dated commitments — not aspirations. This list will be updated annually as targets are met or revised.
Active
Single-use plastic elimination
Complete transition from disposable wipes and single-use cleaning materials to reusable microfibre systems across all active Vigil contracts.
Active
Annual environmental review published
First annual environmental review document covering product standards, waste metrics, operative training completion, and commitments for the following year.
Planned
ISO 14001 assessment
Environmental management system assessment against ISO 14001:2015 standards — the international standard for environmental management systems in organisations.
Planned
Full supplier environmental audit
Formal environmental audit of our product and equipment supply chain, assessing the environmental credentials of our key suppliers against defined criteria.
Common questions
Environmental commitment — frequently asked questions
Honest answers to the questions facilities managers and sustainability leads most commonly ask us.
Yes — where the cleaning specification and surface type allow it, Vigil uses biodegradable, phosphate-free, and pH-neutral cleaning products from ranges certified to environmental standards. In regulated environments such as healthcare facilities, the priority is clinical efficacy and CQC compliance, which occasionally requires products with a specific chemical profile. In those cases, we select the least environmentally impactful product that meets the required efficacy standard, and we minimise waste through correct dilution training. We do not claim to use eco-certified products exclusively — we are honest that some environments require conventional products — but we use them only where no compliant alternative exists.
All Vigil operatives are COSHH trained before deployment, which includes correct product disposal procedures. We do not pour chemical cleaning products down drains or into general waste. Concentrated products are diluted only to the required strength for the task — reducing both the volume of chemical used and the volume requiring disposal. Empty product containers are rinsed and disposed of through appropriate recycling or chemical waste channels. Our COSHH risk assessments for every product used on site are available to clients on request, and include disposal guidance that can be incorporated into your own site waste management plan.
Yes. Vigil can provide the following documentation relevant to your ESG or sustainability reporting: COSHH risk assessments for all products used on your premises, including their environmental classification; safety data sheets (SDS/MSDS) for every cleaning product used on site; confirmation of our colour-coded equipment system (which reduces product cross-contamination and waste); and a summary of the environmental product standards met by our cleaning range. We are working toward an annual environmental review document — expected for publication in 2026 — which will provide a more comprehensive account of our environmental performance for supply chain and ESG reporting purposes.
Product safety and clinical efficacy always take priority in healthcare settings. Not all eco-certified products meet the EN (European Norm) efficacy standards required for healthcare disinfection — particularly for bacterial, viral, and fungal kill claims. Where an eco-certified product does meet the required efficacy standard for a specific healthcare zone (such as general-purpose cleaning in waiting areas or staff kitchens), we use it. In clinical and treatment areas where a specific EN standard is required, we select a product that meets that standard and apply it at the correct dilution rate to minimise environmental impact. We do not use eco-certification as a marketing claim in healthcare settings — we use compliant products and minimise their impact through correct dilution and waste management.
Single-use disposable wipes and throwaway cleaning materials are a significant source of plastic waste in commercial cleaning. Vigil is committed to eliminating single-use plastics from our cleaning kits across all contracts. We have transitioned to reusable microfibre systems — colour-coded cloths that are laundered and reused rather than disposed of after each use — across the majority of our contracts. Our target is full elimination of single-use plastic wipes and disposable cloths across all active Vigil contracts by the end of 2026. Where a client specification or regulatory requirement currently mandates single-use materials (for example, specific infection control protocols in clinical environments), we work with them to identify acceptable alternatives.
Discuss your sustainability requirements with Vigil
We can provide COSHH documentation, product SDS sheets, and environmental product summaries to support your ESG reporting. Free site assessment — no obligation.
Sustainable commercial cleaning London
Vigil Cleaning Services provides sustainable commercial cleaning across all 32 Greater London boroughs. We use eco-certified, biodegradable, and phosphate-free cleaning products across standard commercial contracts, with COSHH-compliant disposal procedures and operative dilution training on every programme.
Our environmental documentation — product SDS sheets, COSHH assessments, and training records — is available to clients for incorporation into ESG reports, CDM Construction Phase Plans, and CQC infection control evidence files.
Environmental management in commercial cleaning
Vigil is committed to ISO 14001 environmental management assessment by 2027 and annual environmental review publication from 2026. We are working toward full single-use plastic elimination across all contracts, with reusable microfibre systems replacing disposable wipes as the standard.
Eco-friendly cleaning services London
Eco-certified cleaning products, correct dilution training, single-use plastic elimination, and COSHH-compliant waste handling across office cleaning, healthcare facility cleaning, property management cleaning, and construction site cleaning contracts across Greater London.