In 35 years of service — his entire career — the new CEO of Planon Software, which provides solutions to the facility management (FM) industry, can’t recall a more exciting time than now to be in facility services.  In the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, Peter Ankerstjerne suggests that facility and workplace executives are finally getting what they’ve been clamoring for: a seat at the table in the C-suite. “Companies are beginning to understand how much of their culture comes from having people come together at the office — maybe not every day anymore, but at least from time to time,” he explains, “and CEOs and CFOs are asking us for solutions to their problems.”

They want to know, Ankerstjerne continues, how to leverage the workplace to attract talent, foster culture, and do their part to help the environment. FM companies, BSCs, and other service providers have a part to play in that vision — in particular, in the space where sustainability and data utilization intersect. The intertwining trends, he warns, are not to be ignored — at least not by companies wanting to lead the charge into the future.

Technology Gives Sustainability a Boost

Ankerstjerne acknowledges that sustainability is by no means a new concept to the facility management and contract cleaning universe. The idea of green cleaning goes back decades, but the innovation to support it previously wasn’t readily available or accessible. “There have been some real technological advancements and also the availability of data that is now fundamentally changing the approach around sustainability, which was just was not available 10 or 20 years ago,” he states. The maturation of smart building technology, the Internet of Things (IoT), automation, and robotics is now colliding with the pickup in data-driven decision-making, especially with regards to artificial intelligence and machine learning. As a result, Ankerstjerne explains, cleaning companies are positioned to “work smarter."

Predictive Analytics

IoT and sensor technologies, in particular, are helping in this area. Instead of waiting for equipment failures or other problems to happen and then addressing them, the systems allow FMs to study the data and pinpoint when servicing is required to prevent a breakdown. “They want to be able to use predictive analytics to work with resource allocations and also to create a much more unique customer experience around the services they provide,” says Ankerstjerne.

Working Smarter

Also consider, for instance, the debate around whether areas should be cleaned even when they haven’t been recently occupied. Here’s one scenario:

A conference room has not been used for a few days — which cleaning staff are aware of, informed by a glance at their smartphones or tablets that house IoT and sensor data. Does the meeting space still require housekeeping…or is it a waste of time, energy, and resources to clean an untouched area? As dust settles over time, even an unused space will require at least surface treatment after perhaps 4-5 days; but before then, Ankerstjerne says, no — there’s no need to treat it.

Using technology to see where the “footfall” is, he notes, promotes efficiency. The “cleaning schedule will change day to day based on where people are actually at, how many people are there, what spaces people have been using…even what the weather outside is like,” he elaborates. “If there’s rain or snow, you might want to clean the reception area on a more frequent basis; but if it’s sunny and dry, you don’t need to.” While Ankerstjerne understands that this kind of thinking has always been intuitive to cleaners — that an office that hasn’t been occupied doesn’t require the same level of attention as one that has been in use — there wasn’t a system for measuring and documenting this kind of information before. Now there is. And, as he points out, the result is a “more dynamic cleaning operation,” which is both more effective and less expensive.

At the same time, as FMs and BSCs strive to decipher what true green cleaning practices look like,  Ankerstjerne adds that they are exploring how to use data to ensure that these methods are implemented in a good and effective way. Are trends in areas such as chemical usage and energy consumption, for example, having the desired impact on environmental footprint?

Who Cares, Anyway?

According to Ankerstjerne, the sustainability bus is being driven by an undercurrent of interest from BSC, FM, and other service company customers. “Customers are demanding sustainable cleaning methods and practices,” he reports. “It’s just as important as the pricing aspect or even more so.”

Importantly, he mentions, the upcharges of the past associated with sustainable cleaning have all but disappeared off invoices. Ankerstjerne remembers when, 15 years ago, there might have been a premium in the neighborhood of 20% for a “green” service — but not today. Sure, there’s still an investment on the front end but over time, he contends, “the savings that you get on that return on investment are absolutely significant.” In fact, Ankerstjerne maintains, when paired with cleaning robots or other technologies, sustainable cleaning can actually be less expensive than conventional approaches.

Ironically, the challenge appears to be less about price than perception. As much as customers say they want sustainable cleaning, new approaches often clash with old mindsets. Ankerstjerne circles back to his example about whether or not to clean an unused room. A common posture of customers, he explains, is that they’re paying for a clean environment — which often comes with an expectation that every desk and every room should be cleaned every day. What they mistake as corners being cut when cleaners don’t hit every single table every single time is actually the staff using data to work more efficiently. “In all honesty, they shouldn’t care about how often a table or a floor is cleaned, as long as it’s clean,” he insists. “But it’s a cultural journey, and it’s going to take time for customers to adapt to this new way of working and this new way of thinking. But it’s fundamental that we adapt to this...only by using the technology in the right way are you able to adapt to the changing market requirements. But it does require a lot of communications, a lot of documentation, and a lot of understanding on the customer’s part in order to work with this in a good way.”

The desire for environmental stewardship reaches not only companies’ customers but their employees, as well — at least those who intend to build a career in the niche. In those cases, he agrees that an employer’s performance on ESG (environmental, social, governance) will carry a great deal of weight. “I think we’re seeing more and more that employees are choosing with their feet, so to speak: that they choose the companies that have a proper sustainability profile in the market,” he says. “I think the whole social aspect is incredibly important.”

Leading From the Front, and the Greenwash Effect

That being said, Ankerstjerne recognizes there’s a subset of providers that are as resistant to change as some customers. They’ll find reasons to justify not integrating sustainable cleaning products and processes with data utilization. The privacy, quality, security, and other concerns associated with data utilization, for example, might seem like a good excuse to keep standing still while the rest of the industry races forward. But handling data in the right way by moving through the right protocols and security channels, Ankerstjerne is confident, makes it safe and effective. Whatever the excuse, holdouts will be fine in the short term, he suspects, because there’s likely no shortage of companies that don’t want to pay for top-quality service. “To this day, you can start up a cleaning company with a mop and a bucket,” he marvels. “It’s not a technology-driven industry, but I think it will be in the future — especially as sustainability and these technology approaches we’re talking about get a stronger foothold in the market.”

In the meantime, until sustainability-driven legislation that’s in the works finally comes to fruition, some companies will continue to promote themselves as sustainable even if they really are not — and risk being stigmatized for “greenwashing” in the process. Perpetrators profess to be environmentally friendly, but Ankerstjerne says their sustainability reports, if they can produce one at all, are vague and unsubstantiated. They may play up a minor initiative like a recycling program while ignoring their overall carbon footprint or energy usage, he shares; or they might very well provide sustainable services to customers without embracing green goals themselves.

On the other hand, companies that take their ‘own medicine,’ that is, provide detailed documentation on methods and processes in order to deliver both transparency and accountability around sustainable cleaning, will emerge as winners over the long term, according to Ankerstjerne. They will be the ones that implement sustainable products and methods and use them in tandem with real-time data utilization and automated processes, which will subsequently work together to elevate the customer experience. Not only will they emerge as early adopters, Ankerstjerne says, but they’ll be innovative in working with suppliers and partners to help flesh out the solutions of the future rather than taking a passive ‘watch and wait’ stance. He believes companies taking the slow route risk losing out and being left behind, in terms of efficiency, brand reputation, trust, and more. “Your competitors are going to run away with the market,” he warns.

Not only from a business standpoint, he believes sustainability and data technology are incredibly important now for various reasons — not least of all, he argues, to resolve some of the environmental crises of the world. “It goes hand in hand: sustainability and technology. It really is two sides of the same coin,” Ankerstjerne declares. “We need to take this seriously.”

Peter Ankerstjerne joined Planon Software in 2021 and assumed the role of CEO in June 2024. He previously served as a director and Chairman of the Board for the IFMA (International Facility Management Association) and has held high-level positions at JLL and ISS.

This article was originially published here from WFBSC.