Every year, thousands of cleaning professionals gather at ISSA Show North America to talk about the future of the industry. This year, I want to talk about sustainability—not as a buzzword or as a political statement, but as a business strategy.
Sustainability isn’t a federal mandate, a press release values statement or something only large corporations can afford. If you’ve avoided it because it feels political, I want to change your mind.
Defining sustainability
Strip away the jargon, and the true meaning of sustainability is simple: making decisions today that help your organization succeed tomorrow. Sustainability is about wasting less, protecting your people, managing risk and building the trust that keeps customers coming back.
Think of the benefits of sustainability as a used-car report, revealing the risks that help you determine whether the car will break down on you. Or, as your customers are wondering, whether you will break down on them. Sustainability practices break the risks into three familiar categories: environmental, social and governance. Get any one wrong, and the headache becomes your customer’s problem too.
Large corporations have compliance departments to absorb the cost of their mistakes; you don’t. This is why sustainability, done right, is a bigger advantage for you than for them. They move slowly, with committees and sign-off chains. You can make decisions on Monday and see results by Friday.
Waiting is not an option. California law will soon require large companies to report their full supply-chain emissions. They will ask their vendors—possibly you—for energy, fuel and purchasing data. Companies with tracking already in place won’t blink. The unprepared ones will scramble and lose accounts to competitors.
Forming habits
Sustainability has gotten tangled up with political debates that have nothing to do with the job site. Your views on climate policy don’t affect whether you dilute a chemical correctly or answer your customers’ questions honestly. Sustainable practices require good management, not a political position.
Sustainability isn’t a program or department— it’s a habit. Think of it as a pause before a decision, giving you time to ask several questions: Is there a safer way to do this? Can we reduce waste, or save time or energy? How will this affect our workers and customers? Is there a risk we can avoid by acting now instead of waiting?
I call this process THINK Sustainably. A front line worker can complete this process while filling a mop bucket. A business owner can complete it before deciding what cleaning product or equipment to buy next.
What’s the first THINK Sustainably decision you’ll make this week? It just needs to be the first of many.
At ISSA Show North America this November (issashow.com), you will learn more tips on embracing sustainability to position your business for a win. Stop by the Sustainability Hub on the show floor, where you can join the ISSA Sustainability Committee for free. Then visit the exhibitors to learn how they THINK Sustainably.
