In 2010, GreenZone Cleaning & Support Services set out to revolutionise the commercial cleaning industry by delivering a truly social, environmental and economically sustainable service. Social Value is part of the fabric of GreenZone’s day to day life, including their people, community and volunteering, donations, sustainable procurement, and environmental impacts.
GreenZone monitor, measure and externally validate business activities to ensure independent accountability of operations.
• Since 2012, GreenZone’s Carbon Footprint has been measured annually through Planet Mark’s independent sustainability certification programme.
• In 2018, social value measurement was added into their certification through Planet Mark.
• Early in 2021, we started working with GreenZone, helping them to demonstrate accountability of their social impact directly to clients.
GreenZone commit to reinvesting a minimum of 1% of the Company profit into Social Value initiatives. And they far exceed this target. Their Social and Local Economic Value contribution year ending 2021 was 13% of turnover, and since 2018 they’ve reported over £6.5 million.
Staff
With a 700+ strong workforce, GreenZone recognise that within the cleaning industry, there is a high turnover of staff, a lack of career planning and support all leading to a transient workforce. GreenZone recognize their important asset is their people. All staff receive comprehensive training, supportive management, career development opportunities and crucially, feel valued.
Their benefits include:
- ‘Above and Beyond’ employee reward scheme, including gift vouchers.
- Health Assured, an employee assistance programme.
- Dolly Parton Imagination Library partnership; employees with children under 5 receive free monthly reading books.
- ‘Investors in People’ accreditation
- Documented and measured recognition, career advancement, financial and pastoral support
- Founding member as a Living Wage Foundation Service Provider;
- Recruitment of employees living locally.
- Educational trips, such as to the Eden Project who we support as part of our carbon footprint certification
- Training opportunities for Head Office staff
- Language training open to all for whom English is a second language
- First aid training.
- Mental health awareness training.
- IOSH Managing Safely
- Provision of weekly fruit baskets by Fruitful Office, a Social Enterprise that plant a fruit tree for every basket ordered. During lockdown, baskets not required were donated to the NHS
- An annual ‘Me Time’ day for employees to have a restorative day away from the workplace.
An annual staff survey takes place to ensure the business is informed about employee’s current views and any areas of weakness are identified and can be addressed. 87% of Site-based staff, and 92% of Head Office staff, would recommend GreenZone as a good employer.
Community & Volunteering
GreenZone are also concerned with how their work can improve their local community, and take a number of steps to ensure they make a positive impact:
- They provide long-term work placements for Future First, a charity which help people in care get into employment.
- They offer career advice and mock interviews given to students at local schools by Directors.
- Their Action on Disability placements allow interns to spend time on site and gain work experience
- They’re a Social Enterprise UK Supporter Member and integrate Social Enterprises such as Hey Girls and Goodwash Soap into our supply chain.
- They provide litter picking in local recreational spaces
- They offer tree planting activities in partnership with Trees for Cities.
- They fund raise by participating in activities such as the Coast-to-Coast cycle and LandAid Sleep Out. Of 91,747 Just Giving fundraisers, GreenZone were in the top 1% fundraisers for LandAid.
- They join their client’s food collection campaign ‘Let’s Can Hunger’, collecting and delivering donated food from London offices to local food banks.
Donations
GreenZone has an extensive donation programme consisting of long-standing corporate partnerships and one-offs. This program is managed through a Charity Committee consisting of a range of GreenZone employees with representation at all levels. The Committee identify charities that are meaningful or benefit our stakeholders including employees, local community, and wider society. An example is GreenZone’s partnership with Trees for Cities since 2012, making annual donations towards tree planting projects or actively taking part.
Since 2018, they have supported more than 50 different charities with cash donations or in-kind contributions
