Ghent, the second largest city in Flanders, cleans with Green Care Professional, which makes it a role model in sustainability.

Green procurement in Ghent

Since 2008 the City of Ghent has followed an action plan for sustainability (“Ghent 2020”), which includes more than 105 actions and initiatives to make Ghent a more sustainable city, including sustainable procurement processes. Initiated in 2012, the first procurement strategy with a focus on sustainability was renewed and signed by the city’s mayor in 2014.

In recent years Ghent has worked steadily to make its municipal cleaning services sustainable and that includes the use of integrally sustainable cleaning products. Ghent purchases products that satisfy the EU Ecolabel criteria and was the first city to introduce “Cradle to Cradle®” certified products for the cleaning of its buildings and facilities. More than 340 sites in the city (office buildings, schools, museums, etc.) use the municipal cleaning services. For many other public facilities, the City of Ghent acts as the central contact for procurement.

About the City of Ghent

Ghent developed from a Celtic settlement where the Scheldt and Lys rivers flow together. In the Middle Ages, the thriving textile industry made Ghent one of the largest and most important cities in Europe. The flax and linen industry and the city’s staple rights for grain also contributed to Ghent’s wealth. After a brief period of Calvinism, the city deteriorated visibly until its return to prosperity at the end of the 18th century when Ghent became one of the first industrialized cities on the European mainland.

Matthieu Gaulois, Sales Manager of Groupe Gaulois

“Mont-Saint-Michel is unique island! A rise in sea level brought on by climate change would mean the end for us. That’s why we dare not ignore the conservation of our environment and want to do something today. The products from Green Care Professional help us.”

The two Groupe Gaulois hotels clean with Green Care Professional, making them sustainability role models

Founded in 1912, the Groupe Gaulois is one of the largest hotel groups in the community of Mont-Saint-Michel in Normandy, France. With three hotels and five restaurants, the Groupe Gaulois is an important player in the tourism industry there. In recent years the hotel group has managed to implement the principles of sustainable development in its daily business – including the use of cleaning products from PROFESSIONAL. “It is importat to us to integrate sustainability in our everyday work. That should be the case in all hotels and restaurants, so we began using cleaning products that are certified by Ecolabel and Cradle-to-Cradle,” said Sales Director Matthieu Gaulois.

In its never-ending attempts to become more sustainable, the Groupe Gaulois discovered the brand Green Care Professional and quickly introduced the “Quick & Easy” products to the area of maintenance cleaning, followed close by the “KLIKS” products for laundry hygiene. “The products are very effective and environmentally friendly,” said Gaulois, “and the recyclable packaging is made of recycled plastic.” The use of the products has made it possible to reduce the strain on the environment and has made the cleaning staff more aware of the importance of ecological preservation.

Over the past few years the sales director noted that hotel and restaurant guests are paying more attention to the issue of sustainability and more frequently are asking about ecological aspects when making online reservations. The Groupe Gaulois has taken this observation into account in its marketing concept. It sees the use of our eco-certified cleaning products as added value, which can be effectively communicated to the target groups. “Green Care Professional has combined technical solutions with efficiency, innovation and environmental friendliness. With all these beneficial factors, I don’t understand how anyone can hesitate here,” said Gaulois.

In the pursuit of sustainability, the hotel group is a pioneer in its industry and a major contributor to the maintenance of the unique island Mont-Saint-Michel, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.