Background Cleaning industry activities have several major environmental impacts, arising from the use of water and energy resources, wastewater production, and the high proportion (70-75%) of oil-based cleaning products that are slow to biodegrade. Furthermore, the consumption of cleaning products in Europe has been estimated at around 11 kg per year per EU citizen, with an upward trend. In 2008, this prompted the French Federation of Cleaning Industries to develop a Sustainable Development Programme for implementation by all cleaning companies. Objectives The main objective of the Cleaning Industry Sustainable Development Programme (CISDP) LIFE project was to help implement FEP (French Federation of Cleaning Industries)’s Sustainable Development Programme, thereby conserving natural resources, optimizing energy consumption, reducing water consumption and pollution, and improving the recycling of waste. Specific objectives for achieving this included the development of self-diagnosis software for cleaning companies; the promotion of a leverage effect on suppliers and subcontractors to foster the inclusion of waste-management objectives; the development of an environmental and social reporting system; the training and involvement of cleaning company employees in sustainable development issues; and the sharing of information, methodological and tools with associated cleaning federations and their companies in other EU countries. Results The CISDP project successfully achieved its objectives. Around 300 SMEs in France have implemented the FEP’s Sustainable Development Programme, representing more than half of the employees of the French cleaning industry. Employees in these companies have been trained on an individual and collective basis in best environmental practices. A networking system among SMEs was developed to promote sustainable development at a large scale, while environmental impacts in small companies have been assessed in cases where they could not have afforded their own studies. The CISDP project also completed a second version of its self-diagnostic sustainable development tool, comprising 60 indicators for fuel and energy savings, use of environmentally-friendly cleaning products, training, and other objectives. This improved tool was based on feedback from 150 French cleaning companies where the software was trialled. At the European level, the project achieved a good level of collaboration. Links were developed with five European federations of the cleaning industry, from Belgium, United Kingdom, Italy and Germany. As a result, some 330 companies in Europe have applied the FEP programme, helped by a series of meetings and a European Networking Conference. In addition, the project beneficiary FEP was awarded first prize in the 2012 Business Awards for the Environment, organized by Pollutec, in the Management and Initiatives for Sustainable Development category. In conclusion, the CISDP project has contributed to improving the environmental performance of the cleaning industry. Its outcomes have been timely. In France the project led to a voluntary agreement being signed with the French Ministry for the Environment, and it has anticipated changes in European laws and directives on corporate social responsibility and on environmental management. Further information on the project can be found in the project's layman report and After-LIFE Communication Plan, included in the Final technical report (see "Read more" section).