In an industry where trust, consistency, and accountability underpin every client relationship, certifications are far more than a display of badges. They represent a rigorous, independently verified commitment to quality, safety, sustainability, and ethical practice. For facilities management companies operating in the United Kingdom, achieving and maintaining the right accreditations signals to clients, staff, and the wider public that standards are not simply promised - they are proven.
At Green Facilities Management, we have built our reputation not only on the quality of our commercial cleaning services, but on the depth of our professional credentials. This article explores why certifications matter in facilities management, what each of our accreditations means in practice, and how together they create a framework for exceptional, responsible service delivery.
Facilities management encompasses a broad spectrum of services - from day-to-day commercial cleaning and hygiene management to deep cleaning, infection prevention, and specialist support across offices, retail, education, hospitality, and health club environments. The diversity of these settings means that clients need assurance of a consistent, professional standard, regardless of the task at hand.
Certifications serve several critical functions. They provide independent validation that a company's processes, people, and policies meet agreed industry benchmarks. They demonstrate a commitment to continual improvement rather than complacency. They also protect clients from risk - regulatory, reputational, and operational - by ensuring service providers adhere to the latest best practice standards.
In a competitive market, accreditations also help clients make informed procurement decisions. When tendering for contracts or selecting service partners, organisations large and small look to certifications as reliable indicators of capability and trustworthiness.
Green Facilities Management: Our Accreditations and Memberships
Green Facilities has pursued an extensive portfolio of accreditations across quality, sustainability, professional standards, and ethical business conduct. Each one reflects a distinct aspect of our operations and values.
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EcoVadis Bronze Medal EcoVadis |
EcoVadis is a globally recognised sustainability ratings platform that evaluates companies across environmental impact, labour and human rights, ethics, and sustainable procurement. Achieving the Bronze Medal places Green Facilities in the top 35% of assessed companies worldwide for sustainability performance - a significant milestone reflecting our ongoing commitment to responsible environmental and social governance (ESG). This accreditation provides clients with transparent, evidence-based assurance that our practices align with internationally recognised sustainability principles. |
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BICSc British Institute of Cleaning Science |
The British Institute of Cleaning Science is the largest independent professional and educational body within the UK cleaning industry. BICSc membership and accreditation demonstrate adherence to the highest professional and technical cleaning standards. For clients, a BICSc-accredited partner means operatives have received structured, industry-recognised training, and that quality is maintained through systematic processes rather than informal methods. |
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IWFM Institute of Workplace and Facilities Management |
The Institute of Workplace and Facilities Management is a globally respected professional association that sets the standards for the workplace and facilities management sector. IWFM membership reflects our investment in professional development, best practice, and sector-wide excellence. It connects our team to a network of specialists, emerging research, and guidance that keeps our approach at the forefront of the industry. |
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ISSA International Sanitary Supply Association |
The International Sanitary Supply Association is the worldwide trade association for the cleaning and hygiene sector. ISSA membership signals our alignment with global professional standards and our access to the latest advances in cleaning science, sustainable products, and industry innovation. As ISSA promotes cleaning as an investment in human health and environmental sustainability, our membership reinforces the values at the heart of our business. |
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SOCOTEC SOCOTEC UK |
SOCOTEC is the UK's leading provider of testing, inspection, and compliance services across the areas of quality, health and safety, and environmental management. Working with SOCOTEC ensures that our operations are independently verified against stringent compliance frameworks, helping us manage risk effectively and assuring clients that our service delivery meets the highest regulatory and safety requirements. |
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Good Business Charter (GBC) Good Business Charter |
The Good Business Charter is an accreditation for responsible business conduct, assessing organisations across ten components: real Living Wage, fairer hours and contracts, employee wellbeing, employee representation, diversity and inclusion, environmental responsibility, paying fair tax, commitment to customers, ethical sourcing, and prompt payment. Holding the GBC accreditation demonstrates that Green Facilities is not only a capable service provider, but a genuinely responsible employer and corporate citizen. |
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B Corp Certification B Lab UK |
B Corp Certification is among the most rigorous and respected marks of social and environmental business performance in the world. Awarded by B Lab, it verifies that a company meets high standards across governance, workers, community, environment, and customers, and requires a legal commitment to stakeholder governance. B Corp status places Green Facilities within a global community of businesses that balance profit with purpose - an aspiration that informs every decision we make. |
Whilst the accreditations above reflect professional membership and ethical conduct, ISO standards represent the internationally accepted framework for management systems across quality, health and safety, and environmental performance. In facilities management, the most relevant ISO standards are:
ISO 9001 establishes the criteria for a quality management system and is based on a number of quality management principles, including a strong customer focus, the motivation and implication of top management, a process approach, and continual improvement. For facilities management companies, ISO 9001 certification provides clients with confidence that service delivery is structured, monitored, and consistently improved upon.
ISO 14001 provides the framework for an effective environmental management system. In an industry that relies on chemical products, water consumption, and transportation, environmental responsibility is not an optional consideration - it is a business-critical obligation. ISO 14001 certification demonstrates a structured approach to reducing environmental impact, managing compliance, and driving continual improvement in environmental performance.
ISO 45001 is the internationally recognised standard for occupational health and safety management systems. In facilities management, where operatives work across diverse and sometimes high-risk environments, robust health and safety processes are essential. ISO 45001 certification confirms that a company has implemented a systematic approach to identifying hazards, managing risk, and protecting the wellbeing of its workforce.
Collectively, these ISO standards - often pursued together as an integrated management system - form the bedrock of professional service delivery in the UK facilities management sector.
It would be a mistake to view certifications purely as compliance exercises or marketing tools. The most meaningful accreditations require genuine cultural change - embedding standards into daily practice, empowering staff to uphold them, and committing to independent scrutiny on an ongoing basis.
At Green Facilities, our certifications reflect an organisational culture in which continuous improvement is not a policy statement but a lived reality. From the operatives on the ground who follow BICSc-accredited cleaning protocols, to the leadership team upholding the principles of B Corp governance, every member of our business is connected to the standards we have committed to meet.
This culture also extends to our environmental commitments. Our EcoVadis Bronze Medal and Good Business Charter accreditation, combined with the principles embedded in ISO 14001, reflect a consistent thread of environmental responsibility running through our procurement decisions, product choices, and operational practices.
For organisations procuring facilities management and commercial cleaning services, certifications provide far more than reassurance. They offer a practical framework for due diligence, risk management, and supplier accountability.
When you partner with a BICSc-accredited, B Corp-certified, and GBC-accredited provider, you are selecting a company that has submitted to independent verification of its standards - not once, but on a continuing basis. You are also choosing a partner whose values align with your own corporate social responsibility commitments, which is an increasingly important consideration for businesses across the public and private sectors.
Furthermore, as sustainability reporting requirements expand - driven by frameworks such as the UK Government's Streamlined Energy and Carbon Reporting (SECR) obligations and growing investor interest in ESG performance - having suppliers with robust environmental credentials becomes a meaningful contribution to your own reporting and targets.
Certifications in facilities management are not a luxury, nor are they merely a commercial differentiator. They are a commitment - to clients, to staff, to the environment, and to the communities in which we operate. ISO standards provide the structural framework for quality, safety, and environmental performance, whilst industry memberships and ethical business accreditations such as B Corp, the Good Business Charter, and EcoVadis reflect a broader commitment to conducting business responsibly.
At Green Facilities Management, we are proud of the rigorous standards we have earned and the values they represent. We believe that the future of facilities management lies not just in operational excellence, but in a principled approach to how that excellence is achieved - for every client, in every space, every day.