Manual car wash company, Hands On has been recognised for its ongoing commitment to developing a truly environmentally friendly hand car wash service at a private awards ceremony held at the Houses of Parliament.
The eco-friendly company, also known as ‘car wash Heroes’ at more than 150 supermarket, shopping centre and forecourt sites throughout the UK, was presented with the Green Mark Level 2 award by Adam Holloway, MP for Gravesham, and commended on its drive to take real and lasting action.
Hands On was awarded Green Mark Level 1 in 2009 for its environmentally friendly approach to car washing. The company has now recertified and progressed to the higher Level 2 award, demonstrating its commitment to environmentally responsibility and the value it brings to the company.
Bob Dine, Commercial Director, comments: “We are absolutely delighted to pick up yet another environmental award acknowledging our efforts to provide a truly green service for our customers.
It’s taken five years of reviewing and refining every single process, material and procedure to get to this stage, but we’re confident now that we offer customers a far greener way to clean their cars without having to compromise on quality.
“Whilst we’re incredibly proud of our achievements so far, we know that this is an ongoing journey and we’re determined to continue developing our processes to further reduce the environmental impact of the business.”
Hands On was praised for developing a new washing methodology that reduces water consumption by an astonishing 60%, as well as introducing environmentally safe cleaning chemicals for all operators and using only local suppliers in order to reduce emissions and conserve fuel. As part of its commitment to progressing through the scheme, Hands On also worked with Green Mark to develop an Environmental Management System (EMS), which pulls together all environmental activities carried out across the company, making it easier to plan for the future and adapt to change. It also provides them with a valuable route towards achieving ISO 14001 by reducing the amount of preparatory work required.
Hands On was highly commended by the MP for its work towards a sustainable future: “With trading partners such as Sainsbury’s, Asda and Marks and Spencer, your company stands proud among giants with an understanding of the importance of environment to business and economic prosperity. But Hands On stands for more – you are a much smaller business than your partners and yet you manage to achieve great standards.
“I believe Hands On calls its environmental efforts a “real labour of love” and I’m not surprised, because everyone in business knows that when it comes to raising environmental standards, it’s an uphill fight and many give up along the way if they don’t have the spirit to make it.”
The award is the latest in a line of environmental accolades won by Hands On, including The Green Achiever Scheme and the Green Apple Awards, which reward commercial organisations for adhering to environmental best practice.
The Hands On Car Wash service costs from £5 and takes approximately 20 minutes to complete.
For more information about Hands On visit: www.carwashheroes.com
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