CLEANING & HYGIENE
A ROUTE TO SUCCESS
Traditionally, reducing environmental impact has been seen as an endeavour that increases costs, with more sustainable products perceived to be more expensive than traditional counterparts. However, as Alastair Scott, Sales Director of Robert Scott explains, sustainable solutions are increasingly cost effective, especially when taking a longer-term view, and offer a wider range of commercial benefits.
According to new research from cleaning manufacturer and distributor Robert Scott, 62% of professionals working in the cleaning and FM sector are anticipating rising costs to continue to be a challenge in 2024, while over 80% state that their customers see sustainability as important or very important. It's therefore clear that those in the industry need to find a balance between achieving value for money and maximising efficiency, whilst also enhancing sustainability credentials.
Voice of the industry Robert Scott recently conducted its annual survey of cleaning professionals to understand the most pressing issues and prevailing sentiment in the industry. The results revealed a cautious optimism for the year, with just 34% of respondents forecasting price increases in the year (in contrast to the over 90% that predicted increases in 2023) and general anticipation that inflation and supply chain issues will have less impact in 2024 compared to last year.
Challenges, of course, still exist in the market, with significant persisting uncertainties – including ongoing global events such as the conflict in Ukraine and logistical challenges in the Red Sea, as well as a general election that could see a significant shift in the policy direction of the nation.
So, it’s fair to say that the year is set to be a mixed bag of optimism amidst some persisting uncertainties. Cleaning and FM businesses are consequently (and sensibly) adopting a wait-and-see approach.
24 | TOMORROW’S FM
Prevailing trends Given the continuing uncertainty combined and cautious outlook, it isn’t a surprise that achieving value for money came out as the most important trend for the year in the research (62%).
Perhaps a little more surprisingly, given the prevailing mood, is that the second and third leading trends identified were ‘reducing plastic waste’ (55%) and ‘green cleaning’ (48%). In fact, both issues have seen a significant increase in priority since last year.
Even as cleaning and FM businesses continue to grapple with challenging market conditions and move with caution in their planning and decision-making, their growing commitment to and concern around sustainability issues has not waivered. It has, in fact, grown.
No doubt, this is in part due to the changing market demand they are facing. Indeed, 80% of survey participants acknowledged that sustainability is either important or very important to their clients.
In essence, any business that doesn’t have their eye on sustainability is at risk of getting left behind and losing out to peers with stronger green credentials.
Long term value approach This has no doubt factored into a sentiment change in how many industry players assess cost and value when it comes to the cleaning regimes they employ and solutions they purchase.
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