What does the Swan Ecolabel actually mean?

More than eco-labelled products.

The most common misconception we often hear is that it is believed that the Swan label means that we use eco-labeled means and that may not be so strange, we see quite a few companies using it in their marketing as proof that one thinks about the environment, e.g. “We use eco-labelled products.”.

It may sound a bit tough, but buying into eco-labelled products, every company in our industry should be able to buy into, there is pretty much always an eco-labelled alternative and it has been for a long time.

We have Swan branded cleaning services, i.e. room care, floor care and window cleaning. In our industry, less than 1% of companies are Swan branded. The swan is a third-party certification that, in addition to sustainability requirements, imposes requirements on quality and function, i.e. that the product or service does what it says it should do.

Lifecycle based and tough requirements set a good standard and structure for our business. Swan's requirements are usually ahead of legislation and also contribute to achieving the UN's global sustainability goals to ensure sustainable development.

The swan shows which environmental loads have the greatest impact and thus shows how the company can reduce emissions, resource use and waste load, we report in which chemicals we use and to what extent because training and correct dosing are important, we report our chemical consumption in relation to cleaned square meters, which is good because we are then controlled by a third, independent party.

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A Swan-branded cleaning service:

− uses a high proportion of eco-labelled cleaning products

— minimizes the consumption of non-essential chemicals

− minimizes the environmental impact of transportation

− have employees with the right training in both environmental issues and cleaning methods

− has a quality system to ensure high cleaning quality.

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In addition to this, there are also other necessary requirements for the business that can be read in full here which include ethical requirements that are checked and ensured that they meet the requirements of the Swan.

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- Registration for VAT and employer's contribution (Copy of the completed form from the Swedish Tax Agency)

- Taxes and fees (Copy of the company's latest bank statement from the Tax Authority)

- Wages and working conditions (Documentation on membership of the relevant employers' association)

The criteria document for the application for the Swan Ecolabel cleaning service is about 40 pages and contains the following items:

- General requirements for the applicant

- Requirements for chemicals

- Requirements for transportation

- Requirements for the consumption of garbage bags

- Use of eco-labelled products and services

- Quality

- Ethics/work environment