Our approach to sustainable cleaning
Our products help customers to clean resource-efficiently
Environmental responsibility is at the heart of our corporate activity. As a worldwide leader in cleaning solutions, we want to provide more than just products which keep sites and surfaces hygienically clean. Our goal is to develop solutions designed to reduce environmental impact through more efficient use of resources.
This has always been a focus of the products and systems developed by both the professional and consumer divisions. As part of the family owned Freudenberg Group, environmental and social responsibility are core to our guiding principles.
Freudenberg – and in consequence also Vileda Professional – have for many years invested significant efforts into the responsible handling of materials, waste, energy, emissions and water in all the countries and communities in which we do business. Our internal initiatives translate into sustainable cleaning solutions with superior ecological profiles, which turn into benefits for our customers.
Reliable cleaning results and efficient resource use
Our resource-efficient cleaning solutions are the touch points for our customers and core to our environmental strategy. Users of Vileda Professional products rely on best-in-class cleaning performance, bacteria/virus removal, intuitive handling, and ergonomics, and accept no compromises in these elements. Our objective is to provide verified data showing that the production, usage, and end-of-life of our solutions reduce impact on the environment and global resources supported by certifications such as the Nordic Swan Ecolabel.
That is why we offer cleaning solutions designed for a reduced product footprint while decreasing the consumption of resources during operation (product handprint).
Small ecological footprints and large handprints
At Freudenberg, the environmental impact of our products is measured in two dimensions; we assess our direct contribution by the footprint and handprint of our resource-efficient cleaning products and systems.
An ongoing process to improve resource use across the lifecycle
The ecological footprint of a company is of course the most striking indicator when it comes to assessing sustainable efforts. The handprint is less prominent but has an important influence on the entire sustainability cycle, so it has always been in our focus. By reflecting both dimensions – footprint and handprint – in our product design, we create significant value over the entire life cycle of the respective products and high-quality cleaning solutions. We firmly believe that this circular thinking and doing in business is the way into the future.
We are continually looking for ways to improve the full lifecycle of our products. We are piloting many projects to improve our internal processes and entered into partnerships with leading companies in the sector to extract the maximum value from our resources in use and at the end of their life.
Tried, Tested, & Certified
Please find our resource-efficient cleaning products awarded with the Nordic Swan and Plastica Seconda Vita label. These labels help identify products designed for waste reduction, increased use of recycled materials, and enhanced user safety.
Making our economy more sustainable is not a coincidence, but the direct result of actions we take – as companies and customers. Our resource efficient cleaning solutions are designed to reduce waste while delivering proven performance, using >25% recycled materials. In recent years, we have increased the use of recycled plastics. This is reflected in products such as the Origo 2 5L bucket, made of 73% recycled content and certified with the Plastica Seconda Vita label. Nearly all our plastic packaging is recyclable. We are committed to continuous improvement and to taking action where we can make a measurable difference. That is why an increasing number of our products carry certifications such as Nordic Swan and Plastica Seconda Vita.
As a part of our initiative, Freudenberg Home and Cleaning Solutions have committed to ambitious sustainability targets for 2045:
- Reduce greenhouse gas emissions to achieve CO₂ neutrality by 2045
- Every single product will be more sustainable than its predecessor and designed for circular material use
- Ensure packaging is 100% recyclable, where systems are available
- Increase waste recycling rates to 100%
- Increase renewable energy use
We are also proud to announce that we are a signatory of the Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s New Plastics Economy Global Commitment.
Our resource-efficient cleaning solutions at a glance
All our customers around the world trust our best-in-class cleaning solutions that have a clear focus on minimizing product footprint (production + waste) and reducing the consumption of resources while being in operation (handprint model).
