This industry’s priorities contribute in a very direct manner to the EU and UN sustainable development priorities. Cleaning and hygiene products and services are essential to society and our commitment is to deliver impactful projects in a responsible way, promoting sustainable production, design and consumption. By working together to tackle water quality through chemical safety, reducing our environmental footprint and embracing the circular economy, we steer best practices and aim to be a role model industry.

A.I.S.E. prioritises proactive engagement with EU policy makers, to contribute to a coherent legislative process that fosters innovation, sustainable development and a circular economy, to realise the full benefits of a single market and ensure that our industry can compete and thrive. In the area of sustainable development, our work is closely aligned with various EU initiatives relating to the EUROPE 2020 strategy and the EU Commission reflection paper Towards a Sustainable Europe 2030 on smart, sustainable and inclusive growth. These initiatives include:

The vision of the resource efficiency roadmap is that by 2050, the EU's economy will have grown in a way that respects resource constraints and planetary boundaries, thus contributing to global economic transformation. The economy will be competitive, inclusive and provide a high standard of living with much lower environmental impacts. All resources will be sustainability managed, from raw materials to energy, water, air, land and soil. A.I.S.E.’s resource initiative projects demonstrate the industry’s commitment to this vision.

In 2013, the European Commission launched the Single Market for Green Products (SMGP) initiative which is key to drive further sustainable production and consumption across Europe. The initiative envisages the development of an environmental footprint for products and organisations. A.I.S.E. has led the industry’s Product Environmental Footprint (PEF) pilot project for liquid laundry detergent since 2013. Read more about A.I.S.E.’s PEF pilot.

A.I.S.E.’s leadership and long history in the area of voluntary sustainability initiatives is one of the key strength of this industry in Europe. These initiatives, created and driven by A.I.S.E. promote sustainability, safety and safe use of cleaning and hygiene products at home and outside the home, ensuring significant savings at every stage of the life cycle. 

A.I.S.E.’s flagship initiative is the Charter for Sustainable Cleaning, a comprehensive sustainability assurance scheme for promoting best practice within the industry, covering production, design and consumption. A major update was launched in January 2020 as Charter 2020+ Read more 

Addressed via the UN SDGs, the concept of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) has build momentum in global frameworks. With the A.I.S.E. ‘Social Responsibility Guidance’, specific areas are addressed which are relevant to the cleaning and maintenance products industry in Europe. A.I.S.E. has developed this document, to support companies, especially SMEs, to find all information they need, in order to implement the requested SR areas within their management system. Read more

For more than 20 years, A.I.S.E. has promoted the optimal use of ingredients, packaging and energy through a series of Product Resource Efficiency Programmes (PREPs), in specific product categories. Read more 

A science-based approach taking into account the complete life cycle of a product is essential to progress towards sustainable development. The biggest impact on the environment happens when products are used, essentially because of the energy and water needed to do the laundry or wash the dishes. A.I.S.E. therefore engages directly with consumers through initiatives which encourage and promote optimal use of resources for more sustainable cleaning at home. Read more