Technology can be our friend when we know our goals and can afford the tools that help us reach them. For example, our smartphones help us communicate, provide access to the internet, and perform many tasks via apps. While expensive up front, they are often bundled with service packages. Likewise, “intelligent” cleaning technology can help cleaning professionals if they are mindful about what they expect this technology to accomplish and can afford it, whether through a direct purchase or bundled in a service agreement. Since customer service is a key differentiator for building service contractors (BSCs) and in-house service providers (ISPs), robotic vacuums and autonomous floor scrubbers that handle repetitive and labor-intensive functions can free up human resources for more customer-focused activities, turning cleaning automation into a strategic advantage. Make time for the human touch The initial “customer” for robotic technology is the cleaning worker. Artificial intelligence and intelligent machines can save these workers time that can be diverted to their training and career development. In a 2009 study, the International Facility Management Association found that for each dollar spent on training, organizations reported receiving an average of US$3.95 in benefits to both internal and external customers, a four-to-one return on investment. In the customer service realm, smart technology can also provide staff with more time for greeting customers and addressing their needs, providing personalized recommendations or assistance, promptly resolving issues or complaints, and ensuring customers have a positive experience. Cleaning professionals will also have more time to spend on quality checks and engaging in follow-up communications to enhance overall satisfaction. Customer-focused activities, such as personalized service, prompt issue resolution, and proactive engagement, can positively impact profitability. Studies have shown that organizations investing in enhanced customer experiences often see increased customer loyalty, higher retention rates, and more positive word-of-mouth referrals, all of which contribute to greater revenue and profit margins. By reallocating staff from routine cleaning tasks to these value-added interactions, businesses are likely to see improvements not only in customer satisfaction but also in their bottom line. For example, a study, The Value of Customer Experience, Quantified, published in a 2014 issue of Harvard Business Review, found that companies prioritizing customer experience saw revenues increase by up to 10% to 15% within three years. Similar research, Customer Loyalty: The Hidden Engine of Growth, published by Bain & Company, demonstrated that businesses excelling in customer service achieved retention rates 5% to10% higher than their competitors, directly correlating with greater long-term profitability. Another study, The ROI of Customer Experience, by the Temkin Group, showed that organizations with strong customer engagement programs experienced double the loyalty scores compared to those with less emphasis on customer-focused interactions. Remember the goal Despite all the advantages of robotic cleaning equipment, there is still a need for caution to be sure the machines are truly doing the job you purchased them for—cleaning. For example, although robotic vacuum cleaners are quite capable of maintaining the appearance of carpet, there are often performance tradeoffs inherent in the smaller machines as they may lack the deep-cleaning ability of full-sized units. It’s easy to confuse the appearance of carpet with actual cleanliness. Robotic units can appear to clean carpet yet leave embedded soil behind. These soils can scratch, dull, and wear carpet fibers. Foot traffic can drive them airborne, affecting indoor air quality (IAQ). Notably, the Carpet and Rug Institute does not offer its Seal of Approval—covering soil removal, IAQ, and carpet wear aspects—to any robotic vacuums, yet. Consider all aspects before purchase In addition to whether they’re up to the task of cleaning, there are other factors to consider regarding robotic equipment. Initial investment costs for intelligent cleaning equipment can be high, making it less accessible for smaller organizations. Additionally, robotic systems may face challenges in adapting to complex or cluttered environments, potentially requiring human intervention for certain tasks. While the oldest models utilize bump-and-go navigation, the newest ones use light detection and ranging (LIDAR), which is now popular in self-driving cars as it enables navigation even in the dark. Some models combine LIDAR with simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM), adding cameras for visual navigation. Maintenance and technical issues can also arise with this equipment, leading to downtime and the need for specialized support. These factors can offset some of the efficiency gains and require organizations to carefully assess the long-term value and reliability of robotic cleaning solutions. Despite these challenges, technology can still be our friend, when we know our goals and choose tools that are as helpful as our smartphones.
On January 12, a US$3.8 million public restroom in Staten Island, New York, captured the spotlight by winning a coveted 2026 American Institute of Architects (AIA) New York Design Award. The public restroom in Luis Lopez Playground was recognized for its modular construction and could serve as a model for future New York City facilities. As CMM reported earlier this month, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani launched a new program to expand access to public restrooms citywide, committing $4 million to the effort. A jury of independent architects, educators, and planners from outside New York City selected the 2026 winners of the AIA New York Design Awards. Chosen from over 200 entries, the winning projects span scales and types, from cultural institutions and academic buildings to smaller interventions in public space. The facility was among 24 projects honored by the organization. “We saw this project as taking on a challenge that many people have not solved for decades: How do you provide comfort, rest, and peace in a cost-effective, replicable way across many parks within a system?” asked Brie Hensold, a member of the voting jury, an honored member of American Society of Landscape Architects, and co-founder and principal of Agency Landscape + Planning. “This project considers the needs of caregivers, children, maintenance workers, and the unhoused community and offers a way for people to stay and linger and visit public spaces much longer than they could otherwise. This is proof-of-concept for a system that is modular and can be implemented across a much broader system that could inspire, not just here, but across the country.” According to reporting from the Advance/SILive.com, the shipping container-like restroom was designed in 2021 and unveiled in 2024, and was the first of its kind in NYC. It was manufactured in three pieces at a Pennsylvania factory before it was transported and assembled on-site. This public restroom was designed for NYC Parks as a pilot project using modular construction to deliver a more cost- and time-efficient result. The requirements were based on the current NYC Parks Standard Public Restroom Design for conventionally built restrooms with two restroom spaces and one maintenance and operations space. Based on extensive research into modular construction and its key drivers, a design with optimized modules was developed to enable citywide delivery and installation. This modular design was reviewed and approved by the NYC Public Design Commission for use in other locations throughout New York City. The color of the public restroom's thin brick cladding will be adjusted to match the neighborhood and community it serves. Additionally, the modular design enables quick, affordable expansion of the public restroom supply. NYC plans to build more modular restrooms, including a red, yellow, and orange version. The Parks Department intends to reconstruct 36 of its more than 700 comfort stations and add 46 new restrooms under its Better Bathrooms initiative.
Momentum is building for the 2026 ISSA Clean Advocacy Summit, the premier Capitol Hill fly-in event for the cleaning industry, March 23-24 in Washington, D.C. This year’s summit will be the keystone event taking place during International Cleaning Week. ISSA is co-hosting this year’s summit with the Business Service Contracts Association International (BSCAI); INDA, the Association of the Nonwoven Fabrics Industry; Institute of Inspection Cleaning and Restoration Certification (IICRC); International Franchise Association (IFA); New England Sanitary Supply Association (NESSA); Pacific Association of Business Service Contractors (PABSCO); and the Restoration Industry Association (RIA). “The 2026 summit is a unique opportunity for the cleaning and facility solutions industry to build on our legislative successes in 2025,” said John Nothdurft, ISSA Director of Government Affairs. “The bringing together of so many influential associations gives the industry a bigger voice and more influence on the critical policy issues being debated on Capitol Hill that will impact the industry for years to come. Hearing directly from business leaders firsthand is the most impactful way to advance the industry’s policy priorities and strengthen our collective voice in Washington, D.C.” The 2026 summit will take place at the Royal Sonesta Washington, D.C., Capitol Hill, within walking distance of the Capitol. Attendance will include more than 140 industry leaders representing a cross section of the cleaning and facility solutions industry, including manufacturers, distributors, residential and commercial cleaning companies, restoration cleaning companies, and franchises. “Franchised cleaning brands are directly affected by the labor and regulatory policies shaping today’s business environment,” said Jeff Hanscom, International Franchise Association senior vice president, state and local government relations and policy. “With so many shared members in this space, IFA is proud to support the ISSA 2026 Clean Advocacy Summit and partner with ISSA to ensure policymakers understand how smart policy helps franchise systems grow, support local owners, and create jobs.” “INDA is excited to again partner with ISSA to co-locate our Third Annual INDA Fly-In and Advocacy Summit at the Clean Advocacy Summit, which is quickly becoming one of the premier annual advocacy events in Washington, D.C.,” said Wes Fisher, INDA director of government affairs. “Over the last two years, dozens of INDA members have joined ISSA’s programming and additionally held sessions and congressional meetings specific to the nonwovens industry, including promoting the bipartisan WIPPES Act. As an association representing the manufacturers of many cleaning and personal care products, we look forward to continuing our fantastic partnership with ISSA and the Clean Advocacy Summit.” “The IICRC is proud to once again partner with ISSA for its Clean Advocacy Summit,” added IICRC director of Government Relations, Robbie Bradshaw. “The cleaning and restoration industries are integral to public health, safety, and disaster recovery, and it is vital that our voices are represented and heard in the policymaking process on Capitol Hill.” “United industry advocacy strengthens our collective voice with policymakers, advancing policies that support workforce development, healthy workplaces, and economic vitality for the entire cleaning, restoration, and facility services sector,” said Vince Scarfo, RIA director of advocacy and government affairs. “We are thrilled to work alongside the ISSA team to elevate our industries in a strong collaborative approach.” “NESSA is proud to serve as a supporting organization for the 2026 Clean Advocacy Summit and International Cleaning Week,” added Nicole Bernardo, NESSA executive director. “As a leading representative of the sanitary supply industry in New England, we look forward to elevating our members’ voices and advocating for initiatives that will help shape and advance the future of our industry.” On the first day of the industry’s largest fly-in event, participants will get the “inside scoop” on the key public policy issues facing their business and industry, including labor, supply chain, and tariff challenges; cleaning product regulations; the promotion of healthy workplaces; the end of period poverty; and more. On the second day, participants will apply their new knowledge and skills by heading to Capitol Hill to meet with their congressional delegation to advance the industry. For questions about the 2026 ISSA Clean Advocacy Summit or sponsorship opportunities, please contact John Nothdurft.
According to Copernicus, the European Union’s climate change monitoring service, 2025 recorded as the third-warmest year ever recorded. Last year was only slightly cooler than 2023 and 2024—the warmest year on record. The past 11 years have been the 11 warmest on record, according to Copernicus data. In 2025, the average global temperature was about 2.65 degrees Fahrenheit higher than from 1850 to 1900—the period scientists use as a reference point, since it precedes the industrial era in which massive amounts of carbon pollution have been pumped into the atmosphere. Air temperature over global land areas was the second warmest last year, while the Antarctic saw its warmest annual temperature on record and the Arctic its second warmest. The last three years, 2023-2025, were exceptionally warm for two main reasons, Copernicus explained. The first is the build-up of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere from continued emissions and reduced uptake of carbon dioxide by natural sinks. Secondly, sea-surface temperatures reached exceptionally high levels across the ocean, associated with an El Niño event and other ocean variability factors, amplified by climate change. Additional factors include changes in the amounts of aerosols and clouds, and variations in atmospheric circulation. As in 2023 and 2024, a significant fraction of the globe was much warmer than average in 2025. Air and sea surface temperatures in the tropics were lower than in 2023 and 2024, yet still much above average in many areas outside of the tropics. The lower tropical temperatures compared to 2023-2024 were partly due to the persistence of near-average or weak La Niña conditions in the equatorial Pacific throughout 2025. Temperatures over the tropical Atlantic and Indian Ocean were also less extreme in 2025 than in 2024. "The fact that the last eleven years were the warmest on record provides further evidence of the unmistakable trend towards a hotter climate,” said Carlo Buontempo, Copernicus Climate Change Service director. “The world is rapidly approaching the long-term temperature limit set by the Paris agreement. We are bound to pass it; the choice we now have is how to best manage the inevitable overshoot and its consequences on societies and natural systems.” In 2025, half of the global land area experienced more days than average with at least strong heat stress—defined as feels-like temperature of 32°C or above. Heat stress is recognized by the World Health Organization as the leading cause of global weather-related deaths. In areas with dry and often windy conditions, high temperatures also contributed to the spread and intensification of exceptional wildfires, which produce carbon, toxic air pollutants like particulate matter, and ozone, which also impacts human health. These emissions significantly degraded air quality and had potentially harmful impacts on human health at both the local and larger scales in both North America and Europe.
The U.S. House and Senate have passed a bipartisan $8.8 billion budget for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and other environmental agencies that largely avoids drastic cuts proposed by the Trump Administration. Still, EPA’s fiscal year 2026 budget will be at an all-time low. The budget also includes cuts that would eliminate the Department of Energy’s Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations and defund the Office of Energy Justice and Equity. At the same time, EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin is rolling out his promised “biggest deregulatory action in U.S. history,” aimed at eliminating 31 environmental and public health protections. For example, last week, the EPA announced it would stop considering the impact on human health when reviewing power plant pollution emissions. The EPA will stop calculating how much money is saved in health care costs avoided and deaths prevented from air pollution rules that curb two deadly pollutants—fine particulate matter and ozone, NBC News reported. The compromise spending package blocks several anti-environmental riders, though, including one that would have led to the sale of public lands, and sets legally binding spending requirements to help ensure the White House can’t withhold or misuse funds. The set of bills provides funding at near previous levels for agencies such as the Health and Human Services (HHS), National Park Service (NPS), National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), Department of Energy (DOE), U.S. Forest Service (USFS), National Science Foundation (NSF), and U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) that play an important role delivering science, environmental, and energy programs.