GreenEcoNet

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Manufacturing award winning green cleaning chemicals

Delphis Eco's picture
Delphis Eco
Posted on: 
Sunday, 12 July, 2015 - 23:00

All Delphis Eco products are made from ecological ingredients making them safer for the environment and the people using them, while guaranteeing genuine cleaning solutions certified by Ecolabel. Each stage of the production and distribution process has been analysed and developed to lower as much as possible the impact on the environment.

Hazardous chemicals are an issue to address and we are trying to raise the awareness by providing options, which are instantly available, at the same costs. There is no longer the so-called “premium green” cost to bear for our customers because our market is not very environmentally focused, therefore, there is not a willingness to pay the premium price for greener products. The resulting lower margins for Delphis Eco at the moment are an incentive for themselves to further improve the efficiency, increasing quality while reducing costs. We are constantly looking for innovations in packaging that push the environmental boundaries.

 

Description of the process

We make sure that our products contribute to the minimisation of waste, pollution and natural resource depletion at every stage of the development, production and distribution. We believe that corporate needs to act more responsibly and sustainably to be in a much better world. Our ecological cleaning chemicals have minimal effect on the environment; thus reducing the risk to water and soil for the growing of crops and the rearing of animals destined for human consumption.

The ingredients are plant based and they come from sustainable sources. Every product that is able to receive the Ecolabel has, making Delphis Eco the company with the broadest range of products to have Ecolabel labelling, in the UK.

Furthermore, we provide products as concentrates or super-concentrate, resulting in using fewer packages that can be recycled (100% recyclable plastic) also considering that labels are printed with vegetable ink and glue is produced from natural substances. Reusable trigger bottles save money and plastic going to landfill.

Efforts are made also to reduce the impact of transportation. We ship as much as possible in concentrate form to reduce transport and carbon miles. This positively impacts on our carbon footprint, proving Delphis Eco's dedication to the environment.

Finally, in terms of performance...Going ‘green’ doesn’t sacrifice performance. We achieve a 92% success rate compared to five non eco market leading brands. Basically, our green cleaning chemicals really do work!

Full list of products available here: http://www.delphiseco.com/products/index

 

Effects/Results

Environmental benefits derived from the use of Delphis Eco products:

●      EU Ecolabel accredited

●      Derived from sustainable, plant based resources

●      Reduced impact on aquatic life

●      Reduced use of hazardous substances

●      Reduced carbon footprint

●      Phosphonate and phosphate free

●      Readily biodegradable

●      Non-flammable

●      REACH, CLIP and CLP approved

 

Barriers/challenges/Lessons learnt

Mainly the Eco-labelling process is costly. Another difficult challenge is selling the product to those customers who perceive that the sustainable products do not work. Luckily, now there are some amazing customers, and people know that our products work thanks to their endorsement.

Reformulate the product, innovate the product is also a difficult part to play. The chemists spend a huge amount of time to come up with innovative and functional products. Despite this, a “laundry range” is not currently available because at the moment there is not sustainable alternative.

 
 

Further details

How was the green solution financed?: 
Private funds
Would you characterize the green solution as: 
High capital intensive investment (i.e. above €30,000)
Cost savings description: 
We offer a premium product that doesn’t come at a premium. In most cases we reduce costs by supplying less products, not more. Our concentrate chemicals dilute down significantly meaning that just a small amount can go a long, long way.
Operating and maintenance costs: 
Yes, low O&M costs
Emission reductions description: 
We looked at using a carbon calculator to work out the reduced carbon impact of our business and our products as well as the reduced carbon mile and reduction of plastic use, but it still very expensive to do.
Water consumption savings description: 
Use of rainwater harvesting system, and providing products in concentrate or superconcentrate allows to reduce the consumption of water.
Material consumption savings description: 
All products are available in concentrate or superconcentrate, making the amount of packaging necessary lower than traditional products.
Regulatory framework prerequisites and constraints?: 

Applied for the Eco-label for all surface cleaners and 7-8 approved back then and were the first in the UK to get accreditation for mechanical cleaning, creating a solvent-free metal cleaning. The EU Ecolabel is the premier European award for the manufacture of ecological products. It is the European-wide symbol for products that satisfy stringent controls with respect to their effects on the environment and people.
All products bearing the EU Ecolabel have been checked by independent bodies to ensure they comply with strict ecological and performance criteria. The Ecolabel is administered in the UK by the Defra, supported by the European Commission and all members states of the EU.
The EU Ecolabel is unique and is only granted to products that are manufactured using sustainable, reusable products and methods in the manufacturing process. EU Ecolabel certification is only granted after each product is blind tested against four comparable leading brands to prove their performance is equivalent to or better than the established brands.
The application is very costly and it’s been self funded. The application process requires a huge amount of data, such as the product modeling, and therefore it is a costly process.
Fully operating under EU REACH and CLP regulation long time before they were enforced.