Working for a Cleaner Future
Ridge Crest Cleaning Ltd, established in 1994, has a proud boast – the company is the first in the UK to operate a completely environmentally friendly cleaning contract.
Based in Aylesford, Ridge Crest provides a full range of specialised services to commercial, public sector, leisure and industrial clients. When it comes to recognising its responsibilities as a leading business in its sector, to safeguard the environment, Ridge Crest is entirely up front about its commitments.
The ‘front line’ in provision of green cleaning services at Ridge Crest comes in the close liaison between client, supplier and local site management. It is these three combined that develop the solutions required for compliance with strict – and expanding – environmental legislation. |
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Summary of Key Achievements
- The first in the UK to operate a completely environmentally friendly cleaning contract.
- Achieved in 2006 European ISO 14001 accreditation; one of the first cleaning companies in the UK to do so.
- A environmental culture has now deeply penetrated the entire company by recycling, saving paper and using LPG Vehicles.
- In partnership with Maidstone Borough Council they set up the first wholly environmental friendly contract in the UK.
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 No Compromise
Some jobs on which the company is called in have a very obvious potential to cause detrimental environmental impact. Ridge Crest is uncompromising in ensuring that incidents such as chemical spillage or unnecessary emissions into water or the atmosphere are prevented and, when they do occur, reported and mitigated immediately.
It was in partnership with Maidstone Borough Council that Ridge Crest set up and implemented the first wholly environmentally friendly cleaning contract in the UK.
As the Council's preferred cleaning contractors, Ridge Crest Cleaning undertook to use only environmentally friendly, biodegradable cleaning products. The attention to detail was unrelenting. Every bin liner had to be bio degradable. Henceforth the Council's paper towels and toilet rolls were to be manufactured from 100% post consumer recycled and chlorine free products.
The innovative approach to cleaning worked well. Ridge Crest saw an opportunity in a highly competitive market and adopted the same approach on all its cleaning contracts. Ridge Crest has carried its commitment to the environment forward – achieving European ISO 14001 accreditation in 2006; one of the first cleaning companies in the UK to do so.
The Proof of Performance
Ian Beach, Managing Director, explained: “Everything we use is ecologically friendly, with an impact on the environment during manufacture that is minimal. We have also embarked on the route of making far greater use of the latest steam and microfibre cleaning systems. The cleaning products we now use have all been tested and found to perform as well, or in some cases even better, than the established standard alternatives.”
 But Ridge Crest’s planning goes beyond the relatively simple consideration of the cleaning products it uses, it encompasses what they are stored in too. All containers and packaging must contain high levels of recycled material, with packaging itself recycled once it has been used. An ‘environmental culture’ has now deeply penetrated the entire company and its 360 employees – recycling, saving paper, using LPG vehicles, etc, are an established day-to-day means of conducting their business. In addition the company has expanded its environmental interest into the sphere of waste management.
When the company secured the Award for Promoting Environmentally Sound Cleaning in the Environment Awards for Kent Business, Ian Beach commented: “I believe this recognises our continued commitment to the protection of our environment throughout every part of the business, which has been a major contributory factor to the company’s outstanding levels of growth during the last two years.
“We have encouraged our clients and suppliers alike to embrace the environmentally friendly approach, which they have done with equal enthusiasm.”
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