ISSA, the worldwide cleaning industry association, is launching a multifaceted new endeavor designed to help its members gain greater acceptance of the positive impact of cleaning and to assist them in navigating the ongoing challenges facing the industry.
The association’s new position is meant to reflect the forward direction its members are taking each day to provide state-of-the-art cleaning processes and products, change perceptions of cleaning and protect public health. This focus is reflected in multiple new programs as well as ISSA’s new logo and tagline – “Advancing Clean. Driving Innovation.”
Ongoing market consolidations, cost pressures, complex environmental considerations, new product innovations, and increasing threats from pandemics and other health issues continue to reshape the scope and impact of the global cleaning industry. To help members address these issues, ISSA is rededicating its resources and expertise to more effectively educate the commercial market about the vital impact cleaning has on human health, the environment, and the bottom line (including tenant retention, reduced employee absenteeism, increased savings, and extended asset lifecycles).
The objective is to ensure facility decision makers take full advantage of the measurable impact cleaning can have on both their operational and financial success, and to ensure they – and the world – view cleaning not as an expense to be minimized, but as the vital investment it truly is.
Moreover, ISSA is improving upon the communications, tools, and advocacy its members rely on to help drive their business, stay on top of the latest trends and innovations, and best serve their customers and employees. Specifically, ISSA is pleased to debut the following ground-breaking tools at the ISSA/INTERCLEAN® North America trade show, held at the Las Vegas Convention Center, October 18-21, 2011:
The Value of Clean Calculator. This first-of-its-kind calculator will measure the impact cleaning has on critical areas, such as occupant productivity, absenteeism, asset preservation, and sustainability. By using this tool, ISSA members can directly show facility managers the unrealized savings achieved through proper cleaning, justify necessary new investments and garner increased appreciation by management for the true value cleaning can provide an organization.
Transpare™. This is the first online platform to help purchasers of green cleaning products easily differentiate options using an unprecedented level of comprehensive and transparent environmental, safety and health attributes. Users will be able to easily identify what makes up a product’s overall environmental attribute profile and ensure that these qualities are in line with purchasers’ specific sustainability needs. Manufacturers also are able to leverage Transpare to better promote their products’ innovative environmental, safety, and health attributes in a harmonized platform for the first time.
“Cleaning has a direct impact on human health, the environment and facilities’ bottom lines,” says ISSA Executive Director John Garfinkel. “Our new brand identity speaks to this far reaching impact, and we are taking concrete steps, through the introduction of new tools, services, and information, that will enable our organization and our members to change the way the world views cleaning.”
In addition to the Value of Clean Calculator and Transpare, ISSA will feature other valuable tools and services it provides association members during ISSA/INTERCLEAN. Located at the ISSA Resource Center, Booth 3868, visitors will also find information and demonstrations about:
Cleaning Industry Management Standard (CIMS). The first facility management standard, developed in conjunction with experts from all segments of the industry, which outlines the primary characteristics of a successful, quality cleaning organization. It is the only certification program for facility managers that provides a detailed roadmap for evaluating and improving the management of their cleaning processes, ensuring they have implemented the most efficient, quality processes for their needs.
ISSA Certification Experts (I.C.E.). A program that enables ISSA members to provide training and consulting services to cleaning organizations interested in complying with and preparing to be certified to the Cleaning Industry Management Standard (CIMS). I.C.E.-certified members can become an indispensable resource to their customers or their own organization, helping them achieve certification goals in an effective and efficient manner.
ISSA.com. The ISSA Web site is the cleaning industry’s No. 1 online resource, averaging nearly 90,000 product and educational video views per month and providing comprehensive industry data, daily news, and regulatory updates. It features an online buyers guide – searched more than 15,000 times each month—to help users find ISSA member companies that meet their needs for cleaning supplies and services.
“These products and services form the foundation of ISSA’s renewed commitment to fostering innovation, setting standards, helping members make valuable business connections, and educating the commercial cleaning industry on cleaning as an investment,” says Garfinkel. “Our new logo and tag line represent our promise to our members and the importance of our shared values. The cleaning industry is evolving, and ISSA is determined to stay ahead of the trends and better serve our members.”
Contacts: Nikole Muzzy, Reputation Partners (for ISSA) at nikole@reputationpartners.com; phone, 312-819-5719
ISSA Media Communications & Publications Director Lisa Veeck at lisav@issa.com; phone, 800-225-4772 (North America) or 847-982-0800.
