Sustainable commercial cleaning: what environmental requirements and the Nordic Swan Ecolabel mean in tenders
Nordic Swan Ecolabelled cleaning must keep cleaning agent consumption down to a maximum of 0.3 ml per square metre, use a high proportion of ecolabelled products, and keep PFAS and microplastics out of the agents. These are concrete numbers, not a vague sentiment. For anyone writing or reading a tender, it means that "sustainable" can be verified — and that you should request documentation on precisely those points.
What is the Nordic Swan Ecolabel for cleaning really?
The Nordic Swan Ecolabel is the official Nordic ecolabel. A cleaning company can apply for a license for the service itself, and the license is only granted when the company meets a set of criteria established by Ecolabelling Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden. The most important for cleaning are:
- Dosage: the consumption of cleaning agents must be kept low, with a ceiling around 0.3 ml per m² of cleaned surface.
- Product selection: a high proportion of the agents used must themselves be ecolabelled or meet equivalent requirements.
- Prohibited substances: PFAS and microplastics are not permitted in the products, along with a number of other undesirable chemicals.
- System and training: the company must have routines for dosage, waste, and training, and be able to demonstrate that they are followed.
Note the difference: the license belongs to the supplier and the service the supplier delivers. It does not automatically follow every single building you clean, nor is it the same as a product being Nordic Swan Ecolabelled. A Nordic Swan Ecolabelled detergent is one thing; a Nordic Swan Ecolabelled cleaning service is a complete system with dosage, routines, and documentation on top.
We are clear about one thing here: Vaskeladden makes no claim to a Nordic Swan Ecolabel license we do not hold. We explain the requirements because they are a good template for quality cleaning regardless, and because they appear in an increasing number of tenders. Should you need a quote with documented Nordic Swan Ecolabel standards, we will tell you what we can actually document – nothing more.
What environmental requirements do you meet in a tender?
Public buyers must, pursuant to section 5b of the Public Procurement Act, take climate and environmental considerations into account in procurements covered by section 5b, and many private buyers follow suit. From 1 July 2026, climate and environmental considerations in procurements subject to publication requirements under regulations issued pursuant to the Act must be weighted at a minimum of 30 percent when weighting award criteria. If criteria are listed in order of priority, climate and environmental considerations must be among the top three priorities. Award criteria may be replaced or combined with climate and environmental requirements in the specification when this yields a better climate or environmental effect; this must be justified in the procurement documents.
As qualification requirements or specifications, all tenderers must fulfill them to participate. A typical example is that agents must be ecolabelled, or that the supplier must have an environmental management system. The label rules are set out in section 8-6 of the Norwegian Public Procurement Regulation for Part II and section 15-3 for Part III. If you request the Nordic Swan Ecolabel or the EU Ecolabel, you must accept an equivalent label. Other suitable documentation should only be accepted when the supplier could not obtain the specified or equivalent label within the deadline due to reasons not attributable to the supplier, and the documentation demonstrates that the labelling requirements are met.
The rule has limited exceptions. The obligations in section 5b do not apply when the procurement by its nature has an insignificant climate footprint and environmental impact, or when they come at the expense of significant interests within health, safety, or emergency preparedness; this must also be justified in the procurement documents. Section 5b does not apply to defense and security procurements unless regulations state otherwise, and utility and concession contracts have separate rules. Section 5c of the Act also contains a separate exception when standardized minimum requirements or criteria for climate footprint or environmental impact are mandated by law or regulations issued pursuant to the Public Procurement Act and apply to the main performance. Always check the specific competition and the rules applicable to it.
A good piece of advice for both sides of the table: ask for what can be measured. "We work sustainably" is worthless in a tender. "We dose under 0.3 ml/m², use at least 90 percent ecolabelled products, and maintain consumption accounts per building" can be verified. If you want to dive deeper into how to distinguish reliable suppliers from the rest, we have a dedicated review on how to choose a cleaning supplier.
Why are dosage and microfibre at the core of green cleaning?
The simplest environmental measure in cleaning is using less agent. The Nordic Swan Ecolabel requirement of 0.3 ml/m² enforces precisely that. An office of 1,000 m² should manage with roughly 0.3 litres of concentrate per round, diluted according to instructions. Overdosing yields neither cleaner surfaces nor a better scent — it only sends more chemicals down the drain, increases costs, and results in sticky surfaces more often.
Microfibre is the second half. A densely woven microfibre cloth traps dirt and bacteria mechanically, so many surfaces become clean using water or a weak solution. This reduces the need for chemicals, and a colour-coded cloth routine (dedicated colours for bathrooms, kitchens, and offices) prevents you from transferring dirt between zones.
A small safety note that belongs in all chemical use:
Never mix bleach with anything other than water. Bleach and vinegar produce chlorine gas; bleach and ammonia or salmiak produce chloramine. Both are hazardous to health. If you are using acid against limescale, such as vinegar or citric acid, keep it away from natural stone, marble, granite, and slate — the acid etches and leaves dull spots. Always test in a hidden area first.
For more on equipment that actually reduces chemical use, see our overview of the best cleaning equipment 2026.
What must the supplier document?
A green tender stands or falls on documentation. Here is a checklist you can use as a buyer, or complete as a supplier:
- Product list with safety data sheets and proof of ecolabelling (Nordic Swan Ecolabel, EU Ecolabel, or equivalent) for each agent.
- Dosage regime with dilution ratios and an estimate of consumption per m², not just "according to instructions".
- Consumption accounts showing actual agent consumption per building over time — this separates promises from practice.
- Waste and packaging: source separation, concentrates over pre-mixed solutions, bottle refills.
- Transport: driving routes, vehicles, and whether cleaning is scheduled for daytime to save energy.
- Training: documented instruction in dosage, microfibre, and chemical safety.
- Reliability: that the business has legal status in the Norwegian Labour Inspection Authority's Renholdsregisteret, and that it documents proper working conditions for employees.
The last point is not window dressing. Since 1 July 2018, it has been illegal, including for private individuals, to purchase cleaning services from a business that lacks legal status in Renholdsregisteret, and it is punishable by law. For employees over 18 years of age in private cleaning companies, the universally applicable minimum wage is NOK 236.54/hour from 15 June 2025. An unusually low quote is reason to investigate scope, registration, and working conditions, but price alone does not reveal what someone earns or whether the work is lawful.
How to measure quality over time?
Green cleaning that fails to maintain quality is just greenwashing. That is where NS-INSTA 800 comes in. It is a Nordic standard for measuring and documenting cleaning quality on a scale from 0 to 5, regardless of the method or frequency the supplier uses. The standard does not tell you how often to clean — it describes how clean the result must be.
As a buyer, you can use it to agree on a measurable quality level and monitor it through spot checks, instead of micromanaging every task. This gives the supplier freedom to handle the job efficiently and gives you an objective basis for raising concerns if something slips. We explain this in more detail in our article on what INSTA 800 is for office cleaning. A brief word of advice on terminology: INSTA 800 is a standard for measuring cleanliness, not a company certification. A supplier claiming to be "INSTA 800 certified" is using the term imprecisely. The correct phrasing is that the supplier delivers according to and is measured against the standard.
How are price and sustainability connected?
It is a persistent myth that eco-friendly cleaning costs significantly more. In practice, the difference is small, and sometimes negative, because lower dosage and refills reduce procurement costs.
The prices here are approximate starting points for 2026, not a binding offer. What an assignment costs depends on size, condition, and access. You will receive the final price in a concrete quote from us — and it is often higher than the lowest estimate. Request a quote for a price that actually applies to your home or premises.
As of 2026, the market price for regular commercial cleaning is typically in the range of NOK 350–650/hour excluding VAT, depending on the building, frequency, and region. This is a market estimate, not a quote. A green setup usually falls within the same range — routines and documentation are what set providers apart, not a large environmental premium.
If you prefer to manage by need rather than a fixed frequency, demand-driven cleaning can offer both lower consumption and lower costs, because you clean where necessary. That fits well with the environmental requirements above: reducing unnecessary cleaning is the most sustainable action you can take.
In brief
Sustainable commercial cleaning is not a slogan, it is numbers you can ask for: dosage under 0.3 ml/m², a high proportion of eco-labelled products, no PFAS or microplastics, and consumption accounting showing that routines are being followed. Add legal status in Renholdsregisteret and documented working conditions for employees, and you have a tender that takes both the environment and people seriously. We are happy to explain what we can actually document for your building – without claiming credit for things we cannot back up.
