Empowering our customers to make sustainable purchasing decisions through transparent supply chain data.
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At Lime Sustainable Supplies, we believe your supply chain is one of the most powerful tools you have to drive real environmental change in the cleaning industry and avoid falling into the trap of greenwashing. Every few months, we share insights on sustainable practices because protecting our planet isn’t optional; it’s essential.
The cleaning sector has made huge strides in recent years, but with that progress has come confusion. Many businesses are left questioning whether their suppliers are as sustainable as they claim. Are the products they use genuinely ethical and eco-conscious, or just cleverly marketed?
For a long time, choosing an “eco” product or one stamped with a green label felt like enough. Today, that’s no longer the case. Clients particularly facilities managers and end users are demanding more from the brands they work with. They want transparency, data, and evidence that the products and services they use aren’t harming the planet.
They’re asking important questions:
What’s the environmental footprint of these products?
Are they manufactured responsibly?
Are they part of a circular economy?
To answer those questions credibly, businesses need to look at the foundation of their operations: their supply chain.
A genuinely responsible supply chain is backed by transparent, reliable data. It’s not enough to rely on vague promises businesses need access to clear metrics that reflect the full environmental impact of the products they purchase.
Here’s what to evaluate:
Manufacturing: Where are products made? What materials are used? Is renewable energy part of the process?
Ingredients: Are they natural or renewable? Do they contain harmful chemicals or VOCs?
Efficiency in use: Is the product concentrated to reduce plastic and emissions, or is it a standard ready-to-use bottle?
Packaging and disposal: Is it recyclable or compostable? Can it re-enter the supply loop?
Impact reporting: Are environmental impacts measured and reported accurately?
Learn more about circular economy principles from WRAP UK.
Independent life cycle assessments (LCAs) help companies understand the real environmental cost of their operations. LCAs provide the data needed to reduce emissions across Scope 1, 2, 3 and increasingly, Scope 4, which includes downstream effects and avoided emissions.
This type of data doesn’t just enhance transparency, it empowers businesses to make smarter, more impactful decisions.
If you’re looking to improve your business’s environmental performance, start small. Some impactful first steps might include:
Switching to concentrated cleaning products
Eliminating single-use plastic packaging
Avoiding 750ml ready-to-use cleaning sprays
Working with a supply chain partner that shares your sustainability goals
Sustainability isn’t about overhauling everything at once, it’s about thoughtful, incremental change. Over time, those changes add up to major impact. Explore plastic reduction initiatives at Plastic Free July UK.
For sustainability efforts to stick, internal buy-in is critical. Appoint champions within your team to lead the charge, gather momentum, and measure impact.
Before implementing changes, gather baseline data. Afterward, measure again and share your progress. Publicly reporting your achievements encourages accountability and inspires further action.
Read about business leadership on climate at Business Climate Hub UK.
At Lime Sustainable Supplies, we know that supply chain data only matters if it’s easy to understand. That’s why we convert detailed metrics into visual reports, so you can quickly see how your choices impact the environment across your business or by individual site.
Clear, visual reporting helps your team and clients connect the dots between product choices and environmental outcomes.
Ultimately, credible data is the key to meaningful change. If businesses across our industry challenge their supply chain to do better, demand transparency, and act on insights, we can all contribute to a more sustainable future.
Let’s turn data into action, and action into a cleaner, greener tomorrow.
Ready to embrace a cleaner, greener way of working? Browse our range of sustainable cleaning products for solutions that work for your business and the planet, with full supply chain transparency at your fingertips.
On every delivery over £50*
With every sustainable order
By offsetting on sustainable orders
