Climate and energy
Measure what we control, act where the effect is real, contribute alongside our clients.
A cleaning and technical services company does not carry a factory’s footprint, but it is not neutral either. Its effects sit in the travel of its teams, in the energy and water used during interventions, in the products and equipment it selects, and in how long it keeps that equipment in service.
Our approach follows three steps: measure, act, contribute. Measure, because a climate commitment without data is only an intention. Act, on the items we control directly. Contribute, because much of a building’s impact comes from decisions that belong to the client, where field observation is genuinely useful.
This work is framed by GSF Canada’s environmental management system, certified ISO 14001:2015 for Laval operations. The standard does not impose a numerical result: it requires identifying impacts, setting objectives, tracking gaps, and having the approach verified.
We therefore do not publish a CO₂ reduction target for Canada until a calculation method and a baseline have been established and validated. Groupe GSF separately pursues a climate ambition across its international activities, presented as such.
Measure
Before promising a reduction, you need to know what you are talking about. Our measurement levers rest on data that is genuinely available: fuel used by vehicles assigned to routes, volumes of product ordered, quantities of equipment replaced, and consumption tracking where the client agrees to share readings.
- Tracking of chemicals ordered and dilutions applied.
- Tracking of vehicles and routes assigned to contracts.
- Inventory of equipment and its replacement cycle.
- Gap analysis within the ISO 14001 system.
Act
Our actions target what we control directly. Controlled dilution and training reduce product volumes; preventive maintenance extends machine life; intervention planning cuts unnecessary trips; more efficient equipment is chosen at renewal rather than by replacing assets early.
- Controlled dilution and hands-on training on product use.
- Preventive maintenance rather than early replacement.
- Grouping and planning interventions within the same area.
- Efficiency criteria built into equipment purchasing decisions.
Contribute
Our teams are inside buildings every day, often overnight. They see the lights left on, the leaks, the doors that no longer seal, the overheated rooms. Passed on to the building manager, those observations are often worth more than a generic commitment: they point to real consumption that can be corrected right away.
The ISO 14001 framework in Canada
GSF Canada’s environmental management system is certified ISO 14001:2015 (certificate Q3710-1, Laval establishment), covering janitorial and maintenance services for industrial, commercial and institutional sectors. The certification is valid from 27 June 2024 to 27 June 2027 and is subject to periodic audits.
Products, water and materials
Climate is not separable from the rest. Product selection, respecting dilutions, reducing unnecessary rinsing and participating in material sorting all fall under the same management framework. We align with each site’s collection setup: the client defines the streams, and our teams follow the instruction.
Groupe GSF’s climate ambition
Groupe GSF pursues an environmental and climate ambition across its international activities, documented in its publications and reflected in its EcoVadis assessment. Those elements concern Groupe GSF. They are not equivalent to a Canadian target and are not presented as one.
What we do not claim
We publish no Canadian carbon inventory, no numerical reduction target, no offsetting and no neutrality claim until those elements are calculated, documented and validated. The restraint is deliberate: on climate topics, an approximate figure always comes back to the organization that published it.
Resources
- Groupe GSFEnvironmental commitments — Groupe GSF (gsf.fr)
Groupe GSF environmental ambition and publications (French).