Clean Biz is a cleaning supplies business with clients from a range of sectors, with a focus on accommodation providers, restaurants and cafes. Owner Frank Thomas says that planning is a big part of sustainability, especially for someone who owns their own business. “I think we’re always ... thinking ahead to the future and what we’re going to do,” he says. 

Many of the sustainability initiatives implemented at Clean Biz are simple, but effective ones. Frank considers the biggest challenge associated with sustainable business practice to be awareness. He sees great value in training and educating both employees and clients to alter their behaviour for the better.

Waste minimisation represents a substantial aspect of operations at Clean Biz. “We recycle all of our packaging (now). We were doing two bin skips to the tip a month, now we are down to one every two months,” reports Frank. The business no longer needs to buy cardboard boxes as the ones coming in with goods ordered are re-used to ship goods back out. Frank also makes his own bio-diesel using cooking oil collected from local restaurants and cafes. He proudly says he “can make a litre of bio-diesel for 33 cents, so it is quite a big saving there.” Frank’s bio-diesel has been successfully used in the company vehicles for 3 years now.

Business background

Clean Biz is a cleaning supplies business that has clients from a variety of different sectors, including accommodation providers, restaurants and cafes. As owner Frank Thomas says, “anybody that goes through any sort of cleaning products, we try do business with them.” The business is based in Invercargill and has been operating for approximately 16 years. There are 8 staff employed who are kept busy all year round. A significant proportion of their business comes from tourism-related sectors. “If the cafes and bars ... hotels and motels aren’t busy then we’re not busy either”, Frank explains.

What sustainability means at Clean Biz

For Frank and the team at Clean Biz sustainability is about operating the business more economically, in a way that uses resources so that they will continue to support people in the future. Frank says that planning represents a big part of this, especially for someone who owns their own business, “I think we’re always ... thinking ahead to the future and what we’re going to do.” 

Sustainability is something that is constantly ticking over in Frank’s mind. Whether he is driving to and from work, or travelling to see clients, Frank is thinking of different things to implement within his business in order to work smarter and more efficiently. The economic bottom line is also never far from his thoughts; “I want to save money at the end of the day because we’re all going through tough economic times and every good businessman should be doing this (looking at sustainability).”

Sustainability in action

Many of the sustainability initiatives employed at Clean Biz are simple, but effective ones. Staff members are encouraged to turn off lights when not required, and a safe storage and disposal service for hazardous substances is offered to customers. The business previously used a lot of water to wash out containers, but this has been significantly reduced through the purchase of a high pressure water blaster and Frank's own purpose built machine which requires less water to operate as effectively as the previous method. 

Waste minimisation is a substantial aspect of operations at Clean Biz. “We recycle all of our packaging boxes (now). We were doing two bin skips to the tip a month, now we are down to one every two months,” explains Frank. Clean Biz no longer needs to buy cardboard boxes as boxes coming in with goods ordered are re-used to ship goods back out. All customers who are sold containers are prompted to tell Clean Biz staff when they are finished with them. Frank and his staff then collect and recycle them on their clients’ behalf. This take back service he offers to clients is a value added service, as well as saving Frank money by having to buy fewer new containers. Frank even buys used containers from as far a field as Christchurch to reuse in his business.

All of the products that the business ships out are packaged utilising biodegradable sealing tape. Clean Biz also supplies biodegradable plastic bags and biodegradable cleaning products to its customers. “The way the future is, a lot of our clients are requesting biodegradable products for sustainability in their business and we’re here to help them go forward,” explains Frank.

One initiative that gains a lot of attention at Clean Biz is their bio-diesel plant. Frank has designed, tested and now uses a system that produces bio-diesel using second-hand cooking oil from local restaurants, cafes and bars. Frank proudly says he “can make a litre of bio-diesel for 33 cents, so it is quite a big saving there.” The bio-diesel has been successfully used within the company vehicle fleet for the last 3 years.

Challenges involved in seeking sustainability

Frank considers that the biggest challenge associated with sustainable business practice is awareness. He sees great importance in training and educating both customers and employees to alter their behaviour for the better. “It’s all about education, and the more and more people talk about these things, the better off it’s going to be for everybody and the easier it’s going to get,” Frank explains.

Advice for other businesses

In terms of advice for other business-owners interested in sustainability, Frank believes that savings will almost always exist within any business and it’s simply a matter of having the inclination and time to look. He suggests that even stopping to think about sustainability for 5 minutes a day will lead to ideas which can improve the business’ bottom line. “I think you’ve always got to thinking outside of that square – just thinking all the time that there are better ways to be doing things in business,” Frank advises.