With his new House Fleur de Loire*****, the two-starred chef Christophe Hay represents a commitment to eco-friendly hospitality.

Fleur de Loire, the quest for excellence

The project was ambitious: to rehabilitate the 5.000 m² of the old hospice of the city of Blois to make a hotel complex that would include under the same roof a hotel, 2 gastronomic restaurants, a pastry kiosk and a spa. The whole, to be conceived in a sustainable way where the impact on the environment would be limited. The Chef has surrounded himself with partners, including Green Care Professional, the eco-pioneer in sustainable hygiene.

Hygiene, an integral part of the project

In such establishments, hygiene is crucial, not only for the cleaning of the hotel area, but also for all the catering areas and the spa.

«Hygiene is an integral part of the project, and we needed eco-friendly alternatives, so it made sense to work with Green Care Professional»

A partnership with Green Care Professional

As a partner, Green Care Professional’s role was to propose cleaning solutions adapted to each area and that meet the highest sustainability criteria. The Fleur de Loire teams were also trained in the proper use of the detergents and were sensitized to “green cleaning” methods. With a limited range of cleaners, Green Care reduces the number of cleaning operations and saves time, water and energy for the teams.

Discover our partnership in video!

Markas: a sustainable family-run business with a futuristic vision  

For more than 30 years, Markas has made its mark in the cleaning industry. Having begun with just a handful of employees, the family business now managed by the second generation has developed into a company with a workforce of over 9,000. The company’s growth has not diminished the owners’ commitment to sustainability and responsibility. Remaining true to their roots, they always act with people and the environment in mind.

Proof of the company’s commitment to the environment is its 25 years of cooperation with Werner & Mertz. From the start, they shared the idea of qualitative cleaning performance made possible by highly effective cleaning products. Moreover, the two companies understood the importance of the “soft” aspects such as ecology, resource conservation and safety for people and the environment. Since then, both companies have intensified their environmental protection efforts. Green Care Professional has further developed its products while Markas has fulfilled the highest environmental standards (ISO 14001 and EMAS) for years and most recently has worked according to an EU Ecolabel-certified cleaning process.   

Every kilo of plastic, crude oil or CO₂ that can be avoided spares the environment from pollution and contributes to a more livable future. It’s no exaggeration to say that Markas has been a huge success. Not least of all because many satisfied customers have been pleasantly surprised to learn that ecology, hygienic cleanliness and a good price/performance are not necessarily contradictory.

Success, short & sweet

• For more than 25 years, a pioneering partner in ecological cleaning
• Overall, exemplary conservation of important resources (crude oil, plastic, CO₂)
• Customer satisfaction, “pleasantly surprised”  
• Satisfied employees and strong employer brand

Sustainable maintenance and value preservation with the building services provider for residential and commercial real estate

Since 1983 Immobilien Service Deutschland has been looking after the maintenance and value preservation of real estate and properties of every type. Building cleaning is an important business unit alongside building services, green space maintenance and winter service. With representation in 90 locations, the company takes care of 20,000 objects with a workforce of more than 6,000 employees.

Immobilien Service Deutschland is actively engaged in sustainability. In large cities, for example, employees are using cargo bikes to get to objects quickly and cleanly (no emissions). At some locations electric vehicles are being tested with the goal of making fleets fit for the future. In the garden too the air is clean. For the protection of the environment and employees, emission-free garden equipment has been in use since the company’s 35th anniversary.

In the course of the restructuring, cleaning chemicals also were converted. Since then Immobilien Service Deutschland has been working with Werner & Mertz and has scored several successes. From January 2019 to December 2020, the following reductions were achieved: 42,115 kg of carbon dioxide, 13,412 kg of crude oil and 7,132 kg of plastic. The switch to sustainable products has been enthusiastically accepted by customers, employees and job applicants alike.

Christophe Hay, Star Chef in Maison d’à Côté

“Respect is what motivates me every time I make a decision. Respect for Nature, the land, tradesmen and producers who support us. And, of course, for the people who work with us day after day.”

Two awards, two stars
– for achievement and responsibility

With the idea of La Maison d’à Côté, Christophe Hay returned to his hometown, where he offers his guests the best from carefully chosen ingredients. On top of that, in a warm and friendly atmosphere. From the meticulous selection of local suppliers to the construction materials, Hay was able to realize his dream – a place in tune with Nature. His boldness and his skills were rewarded with a second Michelin star in 2019 and with the “Green Macaron” in 2020.

Local heritage and rare delicacies

Very attached to his hometown, Hay chose to work with unique products that come mostly from the Loire Valley. For one thing, he wanted to make the area better known, and he also wanted to preserve its culinary traditions. With his respect for Nature, resources and the environment at the back of his mind, the chef put in his own 3000-square meter vegetable garden with the help of his gardener Alain Gaillard. The meats offered in the restaurant come from his own Wagyu Farm in France, operating under the watchful eyes of Yvan Dersoir, a friend and breeder. So Hay managed to do what he had always wanted: to share with his guests an unusual cuisine that is both sustainable and ethical.

Responsibility down to the smallest detail

Since the day he returned, Hay has paid attention to the eco system, that is, with environmentally aware insulation, heat recovery systems, renewable energy and a compost heap in the garden. The “will to do it better” is reflected in every one of his decisions. That’s why he set his stake on environmentally friendly cleaning products from Werner & Mertz – out of respect for people (his coworkers) and Nature (his home).

Paul Canarelli’s tourism concept

“Murtoli is more than just a hotel. It is a reminder of our ancestors – heritage in harmony with Nature.”

Destination in the past
“Murtoli” – the special hotel

Beyond the borders of a conventional hotel project, Paul Canarelli brought to life a new, visionary tourism concept, an extensive tourism model that did not put the focus on people. The emphasis instead was on conserving the character of the natural landscape. Tourism that enlivens the legacy of our ancestors who worked the land.

The idea revolved around Corsica, a special travel destination. An area unique to the world. Here Canarelli made his dream come true in Murtoli, a hidden beauty, filled with the passion and will of one man. His objective is the renaissance of a heritage that respects the reminders of its age and the work of farmers, shepherds and hotelier.

With his project Canarelli makes sure that those memories are brought back to life in the preserved simple materials and the vernacular architecture. Everything in harmony with Nature. The guests of Murtoli have a one-of-a-kind experience in perfect harmony with unspoiled Nature. Despite tourism, the natural world should remain just as unspoiled.His employees see to that while caring for flora and fauna as if they were part of a nature reserve. Values such as responsibility and respect for humans and Nature influence the daily activities of everyone involved. So it was only logical for them to count on sustainable and environmentally friendly cleaning products from the Green Care Professional brand. Without residue or negative consequences for Nature. To preserve this unique heritage.

Christoph Aribert, a Michelin star chef at Maison Aribert

“I am a cook at heart. This establishment is the starting point for a collective human adventure that goes beyond the doors of the restaurant.”

Back to the roots: Two-star chef with a unique restaurant strategy for his hometown

A brilliant career and two stars in the Michelin Guide prompted Christoph Aribert to open his own “maison”, a contemporary hotel-restaurant in Uriage-les-Bains near Grenoble. However, he didn’t want a conventional building. With thoughts of his local roots and his respect and love for the forests and the mountains of Isère, he had his house designed without compromising the environment. His efforts were rewarded with the “”Green Macaron”” prize in January 2020.

What is it exactly that makes Maison Aribert so special?

Working with the local architect Joëlle Personnaz, Aribert gave the 150-year-old building in his hometown a new lease on life. But the two of them did not just renovate the building. With a bio-climatic design, they made sure that the structure would have hardly any negative impact on the environment. Insulation with wood shavings, collecting spring water, green roof, boiler with pellets, green electricity from Grenoble. Every detail was checked for environmental friendliness, including ecological materials, ethically produced cotton for bed linens, sustainable maintenance products and cleaning agents with a biological basis.

It’s no wonder that the master of the house chose sustainable products from Green Care Professional and its parent company Werner & Mertz. The two philosophies fit together perfectly: what Werner & Mertz refers to as the circular economy, Aribert calls simply “home-grown” and “zero waste”. The compost heap, for example, is a willing recipient for anything that cannot be cooked.

The Zimmer Tower in Lier is cleaned with Green Care Professional, making it a sustainability role model

Before the Zimmer Tower got its name, it was a simple keep within the city walls of Lier in the 14th century. The current name was given to the tower in honor of the Belgian clockmaker Louis Zimmer (1888-1970), whose Jubilee clock is built into the front of the tower. It’s a very unusual clock in which 12 smaller clocks circle the large clock with 57 dials. Technically, they are not all clocks, but rather displays of information such as moon phases and tides and the time of day on all continents.

In 1960 a new pavilion was built next to the tower in order to present Zimmer’s latest masterpiece, the astronomical clock, which was prepared for the World Fair 1935 in Brussels and then exhibited in the USA. Albert Einstein was fascinated by Zimmer’s astronomical clock and congratulated the clockmaker for the clock’s mechanism. One of the clocks, for example, takes 25,800 years to complete a single orbit, which corresponds exactly to Earth’s axial precession cycle. Zimmer later expanded the clock to include a mechanical planetarium. It’s no wonder that the tower with so much history was placed under historic preservation in 1980.

Since 2019 the Zimmer museum has been cleaned with Green Care Professional products from Werner & Mertz. It’s a special challenge since too much moisture could damage the clocks. That’s why we adapted the work processes and cleaning methods in close cooperation with the responsible parties so we could satisfy all the requirements.

Our success in brief

• switch from traditional products to Green Care Professional
• development of specially adapted work processes and cleaning methods