Supporting others

It is important for the Environmental Cleaners to support the wider community. We are therefore involved in sponsorships, awards and bursaries that link to environmental cleaning:

Supporting education

The Environmental Cleaners has a charitable fund and gives grants to support educational advancement and training in the cleaning industry and more generally.

To recognise the contribution made by training colleges in developing the skills of the people working in our industry, we established an annual Eric Hill Memorial Award (named after our founder). It is awarded to the college with the highest number of successful candidates in the City and Guilds’ examinations each year in Cleaning Science and Cleaning Services Supervision.

We also provide support for students to undertake a foundation degree course – developed in collaboration with the British Institute of Cleaning Science (BICSc) – in Environmental Cleaning Management at Northampton University. The students’ places are funded by a donation to the University from one of our ‘late’ members, John Butler.

The University manages these funds and also selects the students who will be supported each year. This is a unique opportunity to obtain a nationally-recognised qualification in cleaning management while working within the cleaning or allied industries, or to make a career change from another sector.

As a contribution to education more generally, we also provide bursaries for students of the City of London School for Girls and the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. We provide grants for prizes at the City of London School, the City of London Freemen’s School and the City of London School for Girls.

Supporting the cleaning industry

Thanks to our wide membership, the Environmental Cleaners has a strong understanding of the needs of the industry as well as its clients. For this reason, we support the City of London’s annual Sustainable City Awards as part of its expert judging panel, and sponsor the Environmental Management in Small Business category.

We also present a certificate and cheque to the Square Mile’s Outstanding Sweeper of the Year, and the runner-up, in the City of London Corporation Clean City Awards.

Supporting the armed forces

Many City livery companies have built up ties with the UK’s defence forces. We support the Royal Army Medical Corps at the Royal Defence Medical College and also the RAF Environmental Health Cadres. We also support the South East London Army Cadet force, Air Training Corps and Marine and Sea Cadets based in Bromley and several other military charities.

We seek to improve our industry and the lives of those who work in it, for example by organising our ‘Annual Military Awards’ which recognise the work and achievements of medical staff in the military and are attended by many senior military personnel. These awards are one of the most popular events in our calendar with members and guests attending along with family and friends.