“The silver lining of the Covid epidemic was that the value of the cleaning industry became very salient, as were the many complexities inherent in the industry. There has been a drift away from that with the prevalence of work from home and economic threats taking the centre stage that was abandoned by Covid. However, the opportunity now is for Vivid to play a key role in partnering with our clients to ‘earn the commute’ of their people.” Daniel Carpenter, CEO, Vivid Property Services

“2024 will be a balancing act across the entire market, as the industry focuses on simultaneous challenges including labour issues, staff shortages, increased cleaning requirements, technological advancements, and a focus around ESG initiatives. Facilities and contract cleaners have experienced mounting pressures and concerns surrounding health and hygiene, they have also had to adjust to the different flows of volume within buildings which have impacted cleaning schedules. Simultaneously they are needing to improve labour sustainability, manage staff shortages and monitor costs. As a result, technology and automation will continue to be a focal point moving into 2024 and beyond as companies investigate ways to manage these increasing demands.” Lauren Micallef, Oceania Manager, ISSA

“2023 was all about clamping down on greenwashing by increased transparency and this will continue into 2024. We will be developing practical industry guidance on greenwashing to ensure our industry stays on the right side of consumer law.  Closely related, disclosure will be another big sustainability trend. In the EU and the US, mandatory sustainability reporting is already a reality for many businesses and Australia is set to follow suit. While the proposals for mandatory reporting indicate size thresholds will apply, all businesses from SMEs to multinationals should be taking steps to track their Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) data.” Bronwyn Capanna, Executive Director, Accord

“As we look toward 2024, we anticipate resourcing to be a continual challenge in a market where unemployment rates reach unprecedented lows. Additionally, the weight of logistics costs continues to place immense pressure across the industry.” Mick Askew, Sales Director Professional, Kärcher Australia

“More businesses and customers are becoming increasingly aware of their responsibility towards environmental matters and sustainability.” Mark Piwkowski, CEO, Quayclean Australia

“Thanks in part to our campaigning to the government, the Right to Repair movement is now being recognised within the cleaning industry. We hope that this will only grow and that businesses will start to realise that there is no circular economy without repair.” Lisa Michalson, Director, Cleanstar/XPOWER

“Sustainable products that are ethically sourced will continue to be a trend in 2024.  This includes the use of more recycled plastic (instead of virgin plastic) in the products we produce but also how they are packaged. Reducing unsustainable components and taking any other steps that can reduce our overall carbon footprint are no longer becoming a trend, but a necessity to meet customer and community expectations.” Gerard Searl, Sales Director, Sabco Professional

“Artificial intelligence is getting enormous coverage, especially across mainstream business and trade media. We’re still trying to comprehend all that AI can and, in the future, will allow people to do, but I can see opportunities to use it to improve operator training, whether it be through language translation or generation of specific relevant images and video.” Steve Agar, Co-Managing Director, Agar

“For manufacturers in the commercial cleaning industry, I expect to see in 2024 a growing demand for the refurbishment and trade of used machines. In the current economic climate, businesses may well consider the expense of investing in new equipment prohibitive, and instead seek to extend the working life of their existing equipment, or perhaps purchase refurbished equipment.” Tony Antonious, Managing Director and Owner, Polivac International

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