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Tennant UK opens new head office
Tennant UK Cleaning Solutions Ltd has opened its new UK head office building in Northampton. Tennant UK has incorporated many energy efficient features into the new building to minimise the environmental impact and lower its ongoing utility costs. These include movement activated lighting sensors, floor to ceiling insulation in all offices, numerous clear roof panels in the warehouse to completely remove the need for additional lighting during daylight hours, heat pump heating/cooling and heat reflecting tinted windows.
Malcolm Lawrence, projects manager for Tennant UK, said: “The opening of this modern building marks a new era for Tennant UK. Over the last few years we have acquired a number of other UK businesses and during the integration process have consolidated our manufacturing and administration functions. The new building more aptly fits the needs of the revamped UK operation and is somewhere we are proud to welcome staff and customers. I am very pleased with the environmental conscious aspects of the building, which ensures that our corporate vision is not only accomplished through the technology and innovation we put into our products and services, but is also replicated in the way we, as a company, work and do business.”
www.tennantco.com
‘Dirty hands’ in UK businesses
A European study into workplace hygiene by Initial shows that hygiene standards across the UK are severely lacking, with only one in three British workers washing their hands after a visit to the toilet.
63% of women and 73% of men in British businesses admit that they don't always wash their hands after going to the toilet; only one in three Britons always do. Put another way, if you shake hands with three people today, it is possible that two of those people didn’t wash their hands the last time they went to the loo.
The report also revealed that:
• One in five (22%) workers across the UK don’t have access to a soap dispenser in the toilets and kitchens at work - the equivalent of more than 5 million people across the country - in contrast to the 89% of German workers who do have access.
• 20% of UK workers believe the toilets where they work pose a potential health risk.
• Less than half of the UK workforce (39%) is provided with sanitizing gel, despite widespread concerns and government advertising around the need for cleanliness to stop the spread of disease.
• 21% of UK workers believe that hygiene standards at work have suffered as the economic conditions have worsened; the second highest in Europe.
• 37% of UK workers believe that the last time they were off sick from work was because of something picked up in the workplace.
• The majority of UK respondents generally believe their domestic kitchens and toilets to be considerably more hygienic than their working environments.
Initial carried out extensive research across Europe, interviewing more than 6000 people across seven countries, including 2100 in the UK. Peter Barratt, technical manager at Initial, said: “The fact that only a third of workers in the UK wash their hands after using the toilet is a cause for concern. Faecal micro-organisms are ejected from toilets and urinals into the air during flushing and settle on washroom surfaces. The spread of cross contamination in the workplace is a real health threat. We know from past academic research that the easier it is for men and women to wash their hands, the more likely they are to do so. This research shows that businesses can and should do more to ensure that workers are given proper access to the facilities they require to maintain hygiene standards.”
Other findings from the poll reinforce the importance of workplace hygiene on the health of individuals and a company’s reputation:
• Over two-thirds of people (73% in the UK) would think significantly less of an employer if it failed to show a serious and responsible approach to hygiene.
• At least three quarters (79% in the UK) believe that poor hygiene standards in the workplace demonstrate that an employer does not care about the health of its workers.
• Yet across Europe only half believe colleagues or those in charge take a very serious and responsible approach to hygiene at work (52% in the UK believe this of colleagues, 53% believe this of those in charge).
• Interestingly UK respondents felt that Germany has the highest standards of hygiene in the workplace (46%), and that France and the UK had the lowest (30%).
“The surprising results of this poll clearly show that there is a great deal more to be done to challenge hygiene behaviour to keep employees happy and healthy,” concluded Barratt. “Initial supports businesses by providing accessible products and services in all the places people need them to make hygiene easy, obvious and routine.”
BCC announces immigration debate speakers at Conference 2011
The British Cleaning Council has announced that Sir Andrew Green of Migrationwatch UK, and Gerry Sutcliffe MP, Shadow Minister for Immigration, will debate the social and economic impacts of immigration on the UK at the BCC Conference 2011.
The debate will take place on 11 October 2011 at Kings Place, where up to 400 delegates and 10 official exhibitors will form the audience at the award-winning conference hall and exhibition space in London’s Kings Cross.
Andrew Green is a former British diplomat and the founding chairman of Migrationwatch UK, an organisation which is a vocal critic of the number of migrants coming into Britain. After spending 35 years working as a diplomat, where he spent much of his career in the Middle East, Green set up Migrationwatch UK in 2001, and is often featured in the media speaking out against what his organisation deems to be unacceptably high levels of migration into the UK.
Gerry Sutcliffe has been the Labour Party MP for Bradford South since 1994, occupying a number of parliamentary roles in the administrations of both Tony Blair and Gordon Brown. He was the campaign manager of Andy Burnham’s unsuccessful bid for the Labour Leadership in 2010, and, as of January this year, has been the shadow immigration minister, becoming an outspoken critic of the work of Migrationwatch UK.
Mark Woodhead, chairman of the British Cleaning Council, said: "We are delighted to have secured such credible representation of both sides of the argument on this most contentious of issues. It is estimated that London alone has over 250,000 non-UK nationals working in the cleaning industry, and while it is clear our sector is heavily dependent on their hard work, what are the social and economic consequences of this level of migration for people already living here? This is the conundrum our panel will undoubtedly shed some light on, with the help and input of members from our industry, who are operating on the frontline of the immigration debate.”
The immigration panel joins previously confirmed speakers scheduled for the day, which include Daniel Finkelstein, executive editor of the Times, and Norman Baker MP, Secretary of State for Transport. Each speaker will be addressing issues of sustainability and social responsibly for modern businesses.
For full details of the line-up and sponsors exhibiting on the day or to purchase tickets please visit the conference website:
www.britishcleaningcouncil.org/cleaningconference.html
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‘Cleaners are paid too little’
A report by a leading think-tank has revealed that two-thirds of Britons would support government action to increase the wages of low- paid workers such as cleaners. The report, produced by the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR), concludes that government, business and trade unions should collude to make pay fairer for low-paid workers, and reveals strong public opposition for the growing gap in pay between the top and bottom rungs within organisations.
According to the 2337 members of the public who took part in the research, office cleaners - who on average earn £14,000 - should get a 19% pay rise. Additionally, a clear majority of 82% of those polled said the government should act to redress growing pay inequalities in both the public and private sectors.
Mark Woodhead, chairman of the British Cleaning Council, said: "These results chime with our own efforts to raise the status of cleaners, and show that in the public’s mind, cleaners are not being paid fairly. People clearly want to see cleaners who work hard and do a decent job receive more recognition and better rewards. Fair pay and the value we place on cleaning is one of the major challenges we face as an industry, and it will be a key component of the debate on corporate social responsibility that will take place at our October conference."
The British Cleaning Council will hold a session on fair pay and the living wage at their annual conference in October. Tickets are available from the British Cleaning Council’s website: www.britishcleaningcouncil.org/cleaningconference.html
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Sodexo achieves gold in corporate responsibility index
Sodexo has achieved a ‘gold’ band ranking in Business in the Community’s (BITC) 2011 Corporate Responsibility Index - the UK’s leading voluntary benchmark for responsible business practice. The Index, in its ninth year, includes organisations that achieved the 100 highest scores in BITC’s CR Index following an assessment of management practices and performance in four key areas of corporate responsibility: environment, community, marketplace and workplace.
Sodexo achieved a gold band ranking after demonstrating that it continues to integrate corporate responsibility throughout its operations by providing a systematic approach to managing, measuring and reporting on the economic, social and environmental impacts of its business. This is achieved through the ‘Better Tomorrow Plan’, the company’s worldwide sustainability strategy to 2020.
Sodexo has been listed on the index for six years - before achieving gold band ranking this year, it held silver for four years consecutively. The full results of the BITC 2011 CR Index were published in the Financial Times Responsible Business supplement on 8 June 2011.
Thomas Jelley, corporate citizenship manager at Sodexo, said: “We are thrilled to have achieved gold band ranking for the first time. It is a great endorsement of Sodexo's Better Tomorrow Plan and the efforts of colleagues across the UK and Ireland who have helped to bring it to life through continuous improvement in management and performance.”
Phil Hooper, corporate affairs director, added: “Over the last year, we have taken significant strides to consolidate our approach to corporate citizenship and achieving a gold band ranking is a major achievement for us. Participation in the BITC CR Index guides our approach and helps us keep track of best practice.”
Stephen Howard, chief executive, Business in the Community, said: “I congratulate Sodexo on achieving gold band ranking in the 2011 BITC Corporate Responsibility Index. It is a challenging time, but the results of this year’s Index demonstrate that companies are still focused on transforming their businesses in order to have a positive impact on society. All the companies who participated this year are at different stages in their responsible business journey, but they are all taking these issues seriously and are prepared to lead by example.”
www.sodexo.com
More effective cleaning ‘doesn’t compromise quality’
More effective cleaning can be achieved in the UK’s healthcare institutions without compromising quality, according to a new survey.
Some 89% of those who took part in the survey - run by the online blog site www.cleanleanhealthcare.org - commented on the importance of rigorous cleaning to help control hospital infections and viruses.
The blog site, run by Jigsaw Cleaning Systems, looked at the issue of more effective cleaning against quality and gathered further comments. James Blackhurst, managing director of Jigsaw Cleaning Systems, said: “We wanted to see if people, particularly those who working the healthcare industry, thought it was possible to be more effective and still maintain quality levels because we don’t think there should be any reason to compromise. By using the latest methods and materials, we firmly believe that effectiveness can be improved and at the same time ensure quality of cleanliness.”
Jigsaw recently introduced a new cleaning formula made from plant oils, known to be healthy for the skin. The new liquid - branded Wetrok Libero and distributed through Jigsaw Cleaning Systems - is known to be highly effective in all cleaning situations across floors and other surfaces.
Libero is Italian for ‘free’ - and the formula is free from a host of chemicals including soap, complexing agents, solvents, salts, alcali, acid, phosphates, colouring and perfume. Unusually, this liquid is also very effective for window and glass cleaning.
The blog site features regular blog articles from the leading names in the healthcare industry, opinion polls, sector statistics and news.
www.jigsawcleaningsystems.co.uk
