Cleaning Accountability Framework (CAF) has announced it will be working with property group ISPT on a new pilot program to scale up CAF building certification.

The new framework will enable certification of whole property portfolios, which CAF says will lead to a more efficient process both in terms of time and cost and broad-ranging positive outcomes for cleaners and other supply chain stakeholders.

Portfolio certification will enable CAF to increase its efforts to drive responsible procurement and contract management which ultimately will improve labour standards for cleaners across the whole industry,” Poonam Datar, CEO of CAF.

CAF members, including ISPT, have already made public commitments of their desire to achieve CAF certification across their entire property portfolios.

Alicia Maynard, general manager, sustainability and technical services at ISPT, said respect for human rights and ethical labour practices are a priority for ISPT and a key part of our ESG Strategy.

“We recognise the cleaning industry is susceptible to modern slavery and other forms of labour exploitation. That’s why we’ve targeted to certify all properties that are 100 per cent ISPT owned and operated using the CAF 3 Star Standard by 2025.

“Building on this commitment, we are very excited to be working with CAF on the development and pilot of a portfolio certification model. We see this as a critical step in the evolution of CAF that will enable the delivery of certification at scale, providing assurance that our cleaning services are being procured, managed, and delivered in a way that respects cleaners’ labour rights.”

Key areas for development within the Portfolio Certification Pilot will include:

• CAF compliant tender and contracting processes at a portfolio level
• Expansion of digital worker engagement capabilities
• Digital platform to analyse compliance data
• Training modules for procurers and providers of cleaning services on mitigating risk of exploitation and modern slavery
• Educational resources for cleaners, translated into community languages
• Grievance mechanism that includes anonymous reporting, investigation and remediation

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