The S in ESG covers how a business treats people, including workers in its supply chain.
For any organisation that outsources cleaning, that workforce sits squarely within its social responsibility. Cleaning is a recognised higher-risk sector for low pay and labour exploitation.
Choosing a supplier with fair pay, training and proper governance is a social value decision, not only a cost one.
Most ESG conversations lean heavily on carbon.
Emissions targets, recycling rates and energy use take up the agenda, while the social pillar, the S, gets far less airtime.
Yet how an organisation treats people shapes its reputation, its ability to retain staff and its exposure to risk just as much as any environmental measure.
For organisations that outsource services, the social pillar reaches well beyond direct employees and into the supply chain.
Cleaning is one of the clearest examples. The people who clean your offices are often employed by a contractor, paid at or near the minimum wage, and working at hours when the building is empty.
This article explains what the social pillar of ESG actually covers, why cleaning sits at the heart of it, how social value now shapes contracts, and what to look for in a supplier.
By the end, you’ll be able to judge whether your cleaning arrangements support or undermine your own social commitments.
What the S in ESG actually means
The S in ESG stands for social.
The social pillar measures how a business affects people: its own workforce, its suppliers’ workforces, and the communities around it. It sits alongside the environmental (E) and governance (G) pillars and carries equal weight in any serious assessment.
In practice, the S covers:
- labour standards and fair pay
- human rights and modern slavery
- health and safety
- diversity and inclusion
- training and progression
- community impact
The point that catches many organisations out is scope.
Social responsibility doesn’t stop at your payroll. It extends through everyone who works on your behalf, including contracted staff you may never employ directly.
That matters because reporting frameworks, investors and public buyers increasingly ask about supply chain conditions, not just head office policy.
A strong environmental record means little if the people delivering your services are treated poorly. The S is where the gap between stated values and daily reality tends to show up first.
Why cleaning is a frontline social issue
Cleaning is not a peripheral concern for the social pillar. It is one of the sectors where the risks are highest and the opportunity to do well is clearest.
Modern slavery and supply chain risk
In its 2020 industry profile, the Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority identified cleaning as a higher-risk sector for labour exploitation, noting that London is the most frequently reported location.
Cleaning is often carried out alone, at unsociable hours, across multiple sites, which makes poor practice harder to spot.
When you outsource cleaning, that risk becomes part of your own social footprint, and your modern slavery due diligence needs to reflect it.
Pay, the real Living Wage and retention
Much of the cleaning workforce is paid at or near the legal minimum, in shift-based roles with limited progression. Pay sits at the centre of the social pillar because it shapes lives and it shapes service quality.
Just 39% of the cleaning sector earns the real Living Wage, set by the Living Wage Foundation, which means most cleaners are paid below it. Suppliers that commit to the rate tend to see better retention, and stable teams clean your premises more reliably than a revolving door of new starters.
Health, safety and dignity at work
Cleaning staff handle hazardous substances under the COSHH Regulations 2002 and work in environments others have left for the day.
A supplier with ISO 45001 certification for health and safety management treats this as a managed process rather than an afterthought.
Dignity at work, proper equipment, training and being treated as part of the wider team all fall under the S, and they are visible in how a contractor runs day to day.
Corporate Social Responsibility
How social value now shapes cleaning contracts
Social value has moved from a nice-to-have to a scored requirement, especially in the public sector and large private frameworks.
The Procurement Act 2023 and Most Advantageous Tender
Under the Procurement Act 2023, public buyers award contracts to the Most Advantageous Tender rather than simply the lowest price.
That shift gives social value real weight in the decision. Social value commonly carries a meaningful share of the evaluation score in cleaning and facilities tenders, often around ten per cent, though the exact weighting varies by framework.
What evaluators look for
Buyers want evidence, not statements.
That means local employment and recruitment, skills and training, fair pay commitments, environmental measures and community benefit.
For cleaning specifically, evaluators look at how staff are paid and developed, whether there is a credible modern slavery statement, and how the contractor manages welfare across sites.
If you procure cleaning, your supplier’s social record becomes part of your own bid and reporting story.
What good looks like in a cleaning supplier
Once you accept that cleaning is a social value decision, the question becomes how to tell a strong supplier from a weak one. The answer lies in a handful of straightforward questions.
Questions worth asking
- How are staff paid, and is the supplier signed up to the real Living Wage?
- What training and progression exists for cleaners?
- Is there a modern slavery statement backed by supply chain due diligence?
- What are staff retention rates?
- How is health and safety managed, and is it independently certified?
A credible supplier answers these without hesitation.
At Alliance Cleaning, our in-house Alliance Pathway training programme and dedicated contract manager model mean fewer sites per manager and closer attention to staff welfare, supported by ISO 45001 certification.
As a family-run business with more than 28 years in the sector, we treat the people doing the work as central to the service, not a line to be squeezed.
“Facilities managers often tell us they hadn’t thought of cleaning as part of their ESG picture, but it always is. The way a contractor pays, trains and looks after its people sits inside your own social value story. Get that right and you reduce risk and improve the standard of work at the same time.” Max Yorke, COO.
Conclusion
The S in ESG is easy to overlook and hard to fake. It shows up in how people are paid, trained and treated, and for any organisation that outsources cleaning, much of that responsibility sits with a contractor.
Cleaning is a recognised higher-risk sector, which makes the choice of supplier a genuine social value decision rather than a routine purchase.
Start by reviewing your cleaning arrangements against your own ESG commitments.
Ask your supplier about pay, training, retention and modern slavery, and treat their answers as part of your social record.
To discuss how Alliance Cleaning supports clients’ social value goals, call 01992 700073 or email [email protected].
Frequently Asked Questions
What does the S in ESG stand for?
The S stands for social. It covers how a business affects people, including its own staff, its suppliers’ workforces and the wider community. Areas include fair pay, human rights, modern slavery, health and safety, diversity and inclusion, training and community impact. The S sits alongside the environmental and governance pillars and carries equal weight.
Why is cleaning relevant to the social pillar of ESG?
Cleaning is relevant because it is a recognised higher-risk sector for low pay and labour exploitation, and most organisations outsource it. When you contract a cleaning company, the way it treats its staff becomes part of your own social footprint. Pay, training, welfare and modern slavery controls all sit within the S, whether the workers are on your payroll or not.
Is cleaning really a high-risk sector for modern slavery?
Yes. In its 2020 industry profile, the Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority identified cleaning as a higher-risk sector. The work is often done alone, at unsociable hours, across multiple sites, which makes exploitation harder to detect. That structural risk is why due diligence on your cleaning supplier matters for your own modern slavery compliance.
How does social value affect cleaning contracts in the UK?
Social value is now a scored part of many cleaning tenders. Under the Procurement Act 2023, public buyers award to the Most Advantageous Tender rather than the lowest price. Social value often carries a weighting of around 10-20%, covering local employment, skills, fair pay, environmental measures and community benefit, so it can decide who wins.
What is the Procurement Act 2023?
The Procurement Act 2023 is UK legislation that reformed public sector procurement. One of its central changes is awarding contracts to the Most Advantageous Tender rather than simply the lowest bid. This gives factors such as social value, quality and sustainability genuine weight in decisions, which directly affects how cleaning and facilities contracts are evaluated.
What should I ask a cleaning supplier about their social value?
Ask how staff are paid and whether they meet the real Living Wage, what training and progression exists, whether there is a modern slavery statement with supply chain due diligence, what staff retention looks like, and how health and safety is managed and certified. A strong supplier answers these clearly and backs them with evidence.
How do ISO certifications relate to the social pillar?
ISO 45001 covers occupational health and safety management, which sits directly within the social pillar by protecting workers. ISO 9001 supports consistent quality, and ISO 14001 covers environmental management. Certification shows that a supplier manages these areas through audited systems rather than informal habits, giving buyers assurance that commitments are applied in practice.
What is the difference between the S and the G in ESG?
The S, social, focuses on how a business affects people, such as fair pay, safety and human rights. The G, governance, focuses on the systems that make those commitments credible: auditing, due diligence, reporting and accountability. They work together. Strong governance is how an organisation proves its social claims are real rather than presentation.
Can outsourcing cleaning create ESG risk for my organisation?
Outsourcing does not remove responsibility. If a cleaning contractor underpays staff or has weak modern slavery controls, that becomes part of your social footprint and can surface in audits, reporting and reputation. Choosing a supplier with fair pay, training and proper governance reduces that risk and supports your own social value commitments.
Does social value only apply to public sector cleaning contracts?
No. Social value started with public sector requirements and the Procurement Act 2023, but private organisations increasingly apply the same thinking. ESG reporting, investor expectations and corporate values all push private buyers to check supplier conditions. Any organisation with social commitments has reason to assess how its cleaning contractor treats staff, regardless of sector.
