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HIVE'S ESG JOURNEY: ENVIRONMENT


1. We are delighted to announce that we are fully certified by The Planet Mark in Scopes 1,2 and 3 and are leading the way among the low-carbon cleaning companies.

We have been collecting data, measuring and monitoring our carbon footprint internally for full Scopes 1, 2 and 3 since our baseline year of 2017, using solid and comprehensive methodologies. 


We have also been measuring our footprint for full Scope 1 & 2 and partial Scope 3 with an external organisation, The Planet Mark, for 6 years.


For the last year, we have been certified by them in all the relevant categories in Scope 3 too.


It is fantastic to see that they confirmed that we are constantly reducing our footprint measured against turnover and had similar findings of the distribution of emission sources. 


 
2. We are so proud to share that we had full marks from The Planet Mark for the relevance, completeness and transparency of our data. 

Every measurement is as good as the quality of the data it’s using.


Our team has meticulously recorded and documented every single bit of relevant data - from utility bills to employee commute breakdowns, from the detailed lists of purchased items and their weights to the use of our electric van.


Seeing The Planet Mark's conclusion that we scored the highest points for relevance, completeness and transparency in our data was heartening.


We scored high on Data Accuracy too, and we are striving to improve it to the maximum score by working with our supplies to gather precise information from them. 


 
3. We have achieved Net Zero in Scopes 1 and 2, where our emissions are either zero or impossible to reduce more. 

We have been using renewable energy since the foundation of the company and an electric vehicle - exclusively charged by renewable energy - for over 5 years.


By moving to new premises without a gas boiler, we were able to completely eliminate any avoidable emissions starting from May 2023.


Even before our move, we reduced our Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 40% compared to 2023.


Short of convincing our landlord to install solar panels, we can safely say that our energy-related emissions are minimal. 


 

4. This is a comparison of our emissions by Planet Mark with a similar, environmentally-conscious cleaning company.

The Planet Mark benchmarks our carbon footprint with other companies in the industry and our emissions are almost half of an average Planet Mark-certified cleaning company’s emissions. 


Hive Cleaning’s scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions have been compared with an unnamed company,  and the emissions have been adjusted for employee numbers.


For both cleaning companies purchased goods and services and employee commuting were the two biggest contributing categories to their overall footprint.


We are even more determined to lead the way to low-carbon cleaning by example and proud to perform well even among Planet Mark-certified, environmentally conscious companies.  


 

5. Not only are we the highest-scoring B Corp in the cleaning industry, but we score more than twice the average cleaning sector company in the Environment category (31.2 vs 14.8)

The environment section of B Corp evaluates a company’s overall environmental management practices as well as its impact on the air, climate, water, land, and biodiversity.


This includes the direct impact of a company’s operations and, when applicable, its supply chain and distribution channels.


This section also recognises our environmentally innovative processes and services that have a positive environmental impact, such as reforestation and supporting urban bees, providing less toxic alternatives to the market, or educating people about environmental problems.


 

6. Actively and positively contributing to most of the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals. 

17 World Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) were adopted by all United Nations members in 2015.


They were created with the aim of peace and prosperity for people and the planet while tackling climate change and working to preserve oceans and forests.


The SDGs emphasise sustainable development's interconnected environmental, social and economic aspects by putting sustainability at their centre.


We have been monitoring our active and positive contribution to 12 different SDGs with The Planet Mark and B Corp. 


 

7. Over 5 years of using i-Mop, we have saved enough water to fill an Olympic pool. 

The introduction of i-Mop technology over five years ago allowed us to save enough to fill an Olympic Pool. 


We take the availability of clean drinking water for granted in the UK. However, sadly, 2.7 billion people worldwide suffer from a shortage of drinking water.


We feel strongly about saving water as much as possible through our everyday actions and educating our employees.


i-Mops are a great way to achieve excellent cleaning results with minimal water use —they save more water than most similar scrubber dryers, so water is saved every time they’re used. 


 

8. 1500 trees planted in Devon in the last 2 years as part of our reforestation project 

Our reforestation and rewilding project is integral to our environmental and sustainability strategy.


We started it in March 2023, and since then, we have planted 1500 trees and restored a significant portion of an ancient hedgerow with our volunteers. 


We are establishing a traditional broadleaf forest, which will remove Carbon Dioxide from the atmosphere, improve the surrounding area's natural beauty, enhance biodiversity, and restore habitat.


 

9. We support more than a million bees in our apiary in Kennington Park. 

Everyone knows if bees disappear, we’ll follow soon, but at Hive, we passionately believe every small step can help our environment.


Our name gives away that we love our bees and honey, and since 2017, a portion of the profit from each contract goes towards supporting a beehive.


Our bees add to the biodiversity of London and supply us with delicious honey to share with our clients.


They are housed at Bee Urban in Kennington Park, where we run monthly Beekeeping Experience Days to learn about bees, build beehives, harvest honey and more.


 

10. We have comprehensive plastic reduction strategies, including using Toucan Eco technology and introducing glass bottles at all client sites.

We use Toucan Eco, a revolutionary eco-friendly system that creates a powerful disinfectant cleaning solution from water, salt and electricity, which is proven to kill up to 99.999% of germs.


We set up Toucan machines on every site and with just a tub of salt, it can last them years, providing 90% of their cleaning solutions on-site without using any plastic bottles. 


Also, we've massively reduced waste plastic by providing all new clients with low-carbon soap and hand cream in reusable 100% recycled glass bottles. Since 2020, we have attained Plastic Zero status every year through the Plastic Bank Scheme to remove plastic waste from the North Atlantic garbage patch.








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