Why Accreditations Matter When Choosing a Cleaning Company

Anyone can call themselves a cleaning company. Far fewer can prove it. When a business is deciding who gets the keys to their offices, restaurants, or properties overnight, accreditations are one of the few genuine ways to separate a company that talks about standards from one that is independently held to them.

What Accreditation Actually Proves

An accreditation is not a badge a company buys. It is usually earned through audits, evidence, and ongoing compliance with a recognised body’s standards. For a cleaning company, that can mean anything from how staff are trained, to how chemicals are stored, to how fairly employees are paid.

Green Facilities lists its full set of accreditations and memberships openly on its site, which is worth a look before appointing any commercial cleaning provider, since it shows exactly which bodies are holding the business to account.

The Accreditations Worth Knowing About

A few names come up again and again in the cleaning industry, and each one signals something slightly different.

BICSc, the British Institute of Cleaning Science, is the largest independent professional and educational body in the UK cleaning sector. Accreditation here reflects proper training and recognised professional standards for cleaning staff.

IWFM, the Institute of Workplace and Facilities Management, is a global association that promotes best practice across the wider facilities management industry, not just cleaning.

ISSA, the International Sanitary Supply Association, is a worldwide trade body focused on cleaning as an investment in health, sustainability, and profitability.

SOCOTEC is a leading UK provider of testing, inspection, and compliance services, covering quality, health and safety, and environmental risk.

Ethics and Sustainability Credentials

Beyond technical cleaning standards, some accreditations focus on how a business treats its people and the planet.

The Good Business Charter measures behaviour across ten areas, including paying the real Living Wage, fair hours and contracts, employee wellbeing, diversity and inclusion, environmental responsibility, and prompt payment to suppliers.

B Corp Certification goes further still. It means a company has been independently verified against high standards for social and environmental impact, and has made a legal commitment to consider the interests of workers, customers, and the community, not just shareholders. Green Facilities holds B Corp status alongside an EcoVadis Bronze Medal, placing it in the top 35 percent globally for sustainability performance.

Why This Should Influence Your Choice of Cleaning Company

For a business owner, this level of accreditation translates into practical reassurance. It means:

1. Trained staff, rather than unvetted casual labour
2. Verified ethical practices, including fair pay and safe working conditions
3. Independently checked sustainability credentials, useful for your own ESG reporting
4. A company that is accountable to outside bodies, not just its own marketing

For procurement teams and facilities managers who need to justify a supplier choice internally, these accreditations also provide the paperwork and evidence to back that decision up.

Final Thoughts

Accreditations will not tell you everything about a cleaning company, but they tell you a great deal about how seriously that company takes its own standards. A provider willing to be audited, certified, and held accountable by external bodies is a provider that has nothing to hide.

If you are comparing cleaning companies for your business, it is worth checking their accreditations page before you check their price list. You can see the full list of what Green Facilities has been independently certified for here, or get in touch to discuss your requirements directly.