The British Cleaning Council and members write monthly columns for both Cleaning and Maintenance and Tomorrow’s Cleaning. You can read recent columns below.
To read the columns as they originally appeared, please visit https://cleaningmag.com/columnists and https://www.tomorrowscleaning.com/back-issues
AI revolution will transform rather than take cleaning jobs
By David Garcia, Chair of the British Cleaning Council. (This column first appeared in Tomorrow’s Cleaning).
There is a huge amount of concern and worry nationwide about the future as the Artificial Intelligence (AI) revolution picks up steam and we start to see changes in our society. 
As a result, AI is all over the news at the moment.
In the past few months, the implementation of a national AI strategy, HMRC introducing AI-powered virtual assistants to handle public queries and provide services, and an AI system for diagnosing eye diseases are among the stories which have made headlines.
In my last column, I mentioned the decline of entry-level jobs across the UK which was being attributed to AI.
More and more of us are using AI every day – whether to write a job application, write social media messages or as search engines on our laptops.
But what impact will AI have on jobs in the cleaning industry?
Robots, co-bots and AI are already having a huge impact and change is gathering pace, but there are limitations, meaning that the human cleaning operative is still in demand.
Autonomous floor scrubbers, smart sensors and predictive maintenance software tackle most routine cleaning tasks automatically these days.
In offices, warehouses and public spaces, robot vacuum cleaners and floor scrubbers carry out repetitive tasks like vacuuming and sweeping the floor, washing windows, wiping and sanitising large surfaces, and refilling supplies.
These are roles which were previously carried by human cleaning staff.
But instead of losing their jobs, cleaning staff have seen them change. They are now switching to more valuable and detail-focused tasks.
AI, robots and co-bots are not ideal at the many cleaning jobs which require a level of flexibility, attention to detail, and human judgment, so these are now the domain of humans.
The human touch is required for complicated cleaning spaces like homes or businesses with irregular layouts, or jobs that involve different surfaces and materials.
AI-powered robots and co-bots can not provide the delicate touch and fine motor skills of human staff, who are also much better at improvising when things go wrong, such as dealing with accidental spills.
There are other traits that humans bring to the cleaning industry that AI will not be able to replicate any time soon.
Humans have emotional Intelligence. With our empathy, we are better at customer service than AI, and our abilities to build trust and rapport mean we have the upper hand when it comes to working with clients and colleagues.
I can’t see AI powered machines taking over these kinds of tasks in the foreseeable future. For all these reasons, the cleaning industry always has been and remains a people industry.
The introduction of these new technologies has had positive results overall. Service quality and cleaning standards have risen. Efficiency has been improved and resource management optimised.
More interesting roles mean human staff are enjoying more job satisfaction as well as acquiring new skills.
This opinion was reinforced recently following the publication of a major report which modelled the potential impact of AI on the workforce, and found that cleaning staff could be optimistic.
It found office clerks, receptionists, book-keepers, sales, marketing and public relations professionals, business and systems analysts and programmers would lose the most employment by 2050 due to AI.
Cleaning, laundry workers, public administration and safety, business administration managers, construction and mining labourers, and hospitality workers were all occupations that are least likely to be automated.
So for anyone working in an at-risk industry, think about future-proofing your career and switch to the cleaning industry.
ESG in the cleaning sector: a greener future for contract cleaning
By Executive Council Member of the Federation of Window Cleaners (FWC), Darran G Yates MBICSc. (This column first appeared in Cleaning and Maintenance).
The cleaning industry is undergoing a quiet but powerful transformation.
More and more contract cleaning providers across the UK are embracing ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) principles. But what does this mean, and how can
sustainability be built into a hands-on, practical service like the cleaning industry?
Let’s explore how ESG fits within the cleaning sector and demystify some often misunderstood but important climate terms, including carbon neutrality, net zero, and Scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions.
What is ESG?
ESG stands for:
- Environmental: Reducing environmental impact (e.g., cutting emissions, using eco-friendly products).
- Social: Supporting staff wellbeing, diversity, and fair working conditions.
- Governance: Running a business transparently and ethically.
In cleaning, this might mean switching to chemical-free products, using electric vehicles for transport, and ensuring cleaners are paid fairly and treated with respect.
What is carbon neutrality?
Carbon neutrality means balancing the amount of carbon dioxide (CO₂) you emit with the amount you offset.
For example, a cleaning company might use petrol vans (which emit CO₂) but then offset that carbon by investing in tree-planting or renewable energy projects. In short, metaphorically: ‘committing a crime and then doing the time!’
The idea is to ‘cancel out’ the emissions you create, but you’re still creating them.
What is net zero?
Net zero is more ambitious. Instead of just offsetting emissions, a net zero approach focuses on cutting emissions as much as possible first, and only offsetting the small amount left over.
In short metaphorically: ‘Do not commit the crime at all’.
- Carbon neutral = offset emissions.
- Net zero = reduce emissions vastly, offset only if needed.
What are Scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions?
For a UK contract cleaning provider, carbon emissions are grouped into three categories:
Scope 1: direct emissions:
- Emissions from company vehicles (e.g., vans used to get to sites).
- Fuel burned in company-owned equipment (e.g., diesel generators).
Scope 2: indirect emissions from energy:
- Electricity used in offices or warehouses.
- Even shared office lighting and heating can count.
Scope 3: other indirect emissions
This is the biggest and most complex category. Includes emissions from:
- Generally, ALL your sub-contractors, people you pay money to for a product or service.
- Staff commuting (if not using company vehicles).
For many cleaning companies, Scope 3 makes up most emissions, but is also the hardest to track.
What are contract cleaning companies doing?
Across the UK, more cleaning providers are:
- Switching to biodegradable, non-toxic cleaning products.
- Training staff on sustainable practices.
- Replacing diesel vans with electric vehicles.
- Monitoring emissions and reporting their progress.
Why does it matter?
Clients are starting to expect more from their service providers. Local authorities, large office buildings, and public sector contracts are all increasingly demanding ESG commitments and proof of sustainable operations.
In this new era, being ‘just a contract cleaner’ isn’t enough. The cleaning sector is stepping up and becoming part of the solution in the UK’s journey to a cleaner, greener and more sustainable future.
In fact, going green is good for business.
At In-depth Managed Services, of which I am the ESG, I&R Director, over the last 12 months we have seen a trend relating to tenders where the percentage of scoring for the environment has grown from 5 per cent to a 20-25 per cent focus on ESG, including sustainability, ethics and similar areas.
When it comes to tendering, we can potentially see the end of companies focusing on ‘buying business’ and instead see them prioritising as of high importance, ESG, sustainability, ethics, social value and mobilisation, recruitment and health and safety.
So, in essence, if you score well in these areas, you won’t necessarily have to be the cheapest bid to win the business, and you could have a better margin. Like I said, ESG is good for business.
If you are in the cleaning sector and you are not on board with this now, trust me, you need to keep pace with this evolving market.
ESG specialists are rapidly becoming a vital asset to the sales strategy of all businesses going forward. This is not just a fad, it’s here for the long haul.
To help guide you on these principles, you should refer to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals 2015 (SDGs) as a starting point (THE 17 GOALS | Sustainable Development )