Our Progress - The Journey We Are Taking

Spotless' sustainability journey started more than two decades ago – with water, garment hanger re-use programs and the introduction of citrus-based cleaning products.

Laundry customers are benefiting from one of the world's most environmentally friendly laundries in Brisbane, Australia. Each year, more than 1.5 million litres of rainwater harvested from the building's roof is recycled throughout the wash process.

Equipped with the latest water reducing technologies, the plant uses 87 per cent less water than most laundries (2-3 litres per kilogram). Photovoltaic cells on the roof produce 60,000 kilowatt hours a year that is fed back into the grid.

As a company that purchases around $1 billion in goods and services each year, we have an important part to play in sustainable procurement. We are working with our suppliers to reduce packaging, purchase local where possible and seek products and services with the highest energy and water ratings.

Spotless is proud of its environmental record to date.

Our achievements include:

• Braiform garment hanger business has developed a re-use program. Every year we now recycle more than 500-700 million hangers.  Each hanger that is re-used saves 1kg of CO2 emissions per recycling effort
• Australian commercial laundries have halved their water usage over the last 10 years
• Laundry Services  has reduced energy consumption at our sites by 8.8% by investing in energy saving technology
• Truck route optimisation technology used by our laundry plants has seen fuel usage drop by 13% (or 50,000 litres)
• Food Services division is working with clients to address their energy, waste and water usage at our sites. We've achieved environmental accreditation with Green Table and Green Globe
.

• Green Table Australia is an education and certification program that supports and recognises Australian restaurants, cafes and catering businesses that are doing what they can to reduce their impact on the environment
• Green Globe was developed to provide a way forward for tourism organisations who were interested in measuring their environmental impact and then developing and implementing strategies to reduce those impacts
• Food teams are also involved with SecondBite, where uneaten food is redirected to charity and community groups, reducing waste to landfill
• Cleaning division introduced citrus based cleaning agents, water recyclable scrubbers and microfiber cloths. Water and energy management plans come standard on all client contracts.