GECA, an independent not-for-profit organisation, has commended Australian bus operator Busways for environmental gains through new sustainable cleaning practices implemented at 19 Busways sites in NSW and SA.
Busways began using concentrated GECA certified non-toxic, biodegradable detergents for washing buses, depot cleaning and employee hand hygiene 13 months ago.
Since then, the cleaning solutions have kept Busways’ fleet sparkling through 46,000 bus wash cycles while leading to an 80% reduction in chemical drum packaging going to landfill, saving over 10,000 litres in chemicals manufactured, and reducing transport emissions with 14.6 fewer tonnes of freight shipped to Busways sites**.
GECA CEO Josh Begbie commended Busways for its commitment to sustainability by switching to these certified products, highlighting that GECA certification is a significant achievement.
“GECA’s third-party assessment procedures are trusted and rigorous, looking at impacts across a product’s entire lifecycle, from extraction of raw materials to end of its life,” Mr Begbie said.
“Our licensees, Chemform and SC Johnson, had their products independently assessed against critical environmental, health, social and quality criteria.
“By procuring GECA certified products, Busways has made a better choice for its employees, customers and our planet and positioned itself as a leader and innovator within the industry.”
Busways COO Chris Wolf says the investment in using certified lifecycle ecolabelled products has contributed to lowering Busways’ ecological footprint and shows Busways’ commitment to prioritise enhanced environmental and safety outcomes for employees and communities.
“People can be confident that the cleaning products we use have undergone a transparent, independent, third-party assessment against science-based criteria for a wide range of environmental, human health and social impacts across their entire lifecycle, while proving they perform as promised,” Mr Wolf explains.
Ian Prasetya from supplier Klenell Industrial Suppliers (KIS), said KIS worked collaboratively to help Busways realise their eco-vision whilst enhancing exterior bus maintenance. This included several months of trialling different products and engaging with Busways employees and sites to fine tune final detergent selection.
In 2022, Busways won the 2022 Bus Industry Confederation (BIC) National Industry Environment and Innovation Award and the BusNSW Environment and Innovation Award for a range of initiatives including the procurement of GECA certified cleaning solutions.
Busways bus washes use grey water captured in depot onsite rainwater tanks.
** Figures are sourced from Klenell Industrial Suppliers reports on Busways site usage showing quantities of packaging, liquid products supplied and transport for product delivery.
About Busways
Busways is the largest wholly Australian-owned bus operator with 80 years’ experience in the transport industry, operating services in Western Sydney, Central Coast and the Mid-North Coast, and in South Australia. An innovator in bus passenger transport, Busways operates a fleet of over 1,350 buses.
About GECA
GECA is a purpose-driven not-for-profit that stands for integrity, independence, and impact. Their mission is to create solutions for sustainable consumption and production. To achieve this, they offer a suite of services designed for anyone committed to continuous improvement in their sustainability, including Australia’s only not-for-profit multi-sector ecolabelling program. GECA’s robust lifecycle ecolabel standards are relevant to critical Australian industries, and GECA is the only Australian member of the Global Ecolabelling Network (GEN). For more information, see https://geca.eco/.
About Klenall Industrial Suppliers
Klenall Industrial Suppliers is an NSW-owned business that has been providing cleaning products and other services for Australian businesses since 1983.
