What an epilogue to B Corp Month (the merry month of March)! NuServe has proudly recertified as a B Corporation, making us the longest-standing B Corp cleaning company in the facilities sector, having first certified back in 2020.
To boot, the team have improved our score from 81.1 to a well-rounded 100 points across the five B Corp pillars – community, customers, environment, governance and workers, by making incremental steps across our operations to improve our social and environmental performance.
Read our Positive Impact Report to find out more.
How we compare to other facility companies
How does this compare to other businesses? To qualify as a B Corp a company must score 80 or above to meet the rigorous requirements. A typical company scores on average 50.9 on the B Impact Assessment. NuServe has now scored 100 points putting us at a strategic advantage to support customers on their ESG journey as we consider people and planet, in addition to profit, in our extensive facilities service offering.
Why it’s important to consider a B Corp company as your cleaning Service provider?
Albeit, often hidden, commercial cleaning and the facility company a client chooses to work with have a massive impact on a business’s ESG agenda and the overall health of people and the planet.
Cleaning chemicals can be harsh and damaging for cleaning operatives and those with allergies, not to mention the downstream impact of harmful chemicals in waterways.
A facility company will also impact your consumable use and is critical in making meaningful decisions and reductions to your company’s consumables in line with waste hierarchy principles.
Further to this, cleaning operatives are often hidden figures underpaid and overworked, it is best to work with a company that supports a real Living Wage, unsung heroes of the pandemic, and keeps business running as usual in schools, offices and hospitals.
B Corp sustainable cleaning service successes for 2023
100% of our fleet is now electric! To top this we have implemented a travel hierarchy to reduce our business travel emissions. We have been focusing on reducing plastic in our supply chain and closely monitoring our material spending to make reductions in alignment with the waste hierarchy.
Our ongoing and holistic charity partnership with Royal Trinity Hospice charity shops continues to grow with team bonding days volunteering and our circular economy work perk, which you can read about here.
Among many other award nominations, our Sustainability Officer won an industry award for Excellence in Sustainability Innovation in July 2023.
B Corp positive impact report victories for 2022
Social impact highlights from our positive impact report
- We established our Diversity and Inclusion council.
- For the first time, 100% of our staff were paid the Real Living Wage outside of London, as of Q2 2022. This figure is fluid and changes quarterly.
Environmental highlights from our B Corp report
- 90% of our cleaning supplies and products are now plant-based and chemical-free.
- 60% of our fleet comprises of electric vehicles; we’re on our way to 100%.
The background behind the B Corp cleaning company
NuServe – founded in 1996 – has acquired a host of ESG accreditations which underline its track record in establishing itself as a planet-conscious company. These include measuring our company’s carbon emissions with and offsetting our emissions.
Ten years ago, NuServe pioneered the adaption of bio-enzymatic cleaning agents, utilising the power of nature to keep customers’ offices clean. Its ‘green’ range of cleaning materials are certified under EU Ecolabel, Ecologo and the Defra Approved buying scheme.
A B Corp cleaning company
Simon Duke, MD of NuServe, said: “Our mission is to uphold the right to good work and fair pay, to protect our people and our planet, and to deliver quality services that honour the trust afforded us. Fundamentally, we’re a family business, with family values, but with a modern and innovative approach”.
“At the heart of our business is a commitment to sustainability. In fact, in 2019, we amended our articles of association, making our directors legally responsible for ensuring that we have a material positive impact on society and the environment”.
Simon added: “NuServe hopes achieving the B Corp certification will resonate with business leaders keen to work with suppliers that can demonstrate a genuine and concerted effort to limit their environmental impact and work towards a fairer society.”
Part of the vibrant UK B Corp community
The B Corp community in the UK represents a broad range of industries and sizes, comprises over 360 companies and includes well-known brands such as The Guardian, innocent, Patagonia, The Body Shop, and organic food pioneers Abel & Cole.
Chris Turner, Executive Director of B Lab UK, said: “We are delighted to welcome NuServe to the B Corp community. This is a movement of companies who are committed to changing how business operates, who believe business really can be a force for good. We know that NuServe are going to be a fantastic addition to the community and will continue driving the conversation forward”.
The fast-growing company, which employs nearly 600 people throughout the United Kingdom with hubs in the London, Gatwick, Manchester, Watford and Birmingham.
NuServe’s positive impact report 2022/23
Read our second Postive Impact Report here.
NuServe’s positive impact report 2020/21
Read our first Positive Impact Report here.