ECJ EUROPEAN Cleaning Journal

The EFCI is organising its eleventh conference on October 11-15. Following the limitations brought by Covid-19 pandemic, the EFCI has decided to organise a programme of online seminars and exchanges, that will give the opportunity to its members and stakeholders of discussing the most pressing issues for the sector in the context of the recovery from the pandemic.

Since 2009, the EFCI, has organised conferences on the most relevant topics for the industry with the participation of industry experts and policy makers. The EFCI has, with them, created a platform for exchange and learning about policy and technical topics for the sector and to share the knowledge of industry experts.

EFCI’s 2019 conference - entitled ‘Cleaning and Facility Services: Shaping the Industry for the Future’ succeeded in becoming a reflection point for the industry by tackling the challenges ahead without forgetting to look back to the successful evolution of the sector by presenting EFCI’s Trend Report ‘The Cleaning Industry in Europe 1995-2016’. The conference reunited over 100 representatives of the sector with policymakers from the European institutions and employers’ organisations, experts from the sector and its suppliers in a one-day event that also consolidated EFCI’s relaunched name and strategy.

EFCI’s Online Week: October 11-15

EFCI’s Online Week will be a platform for the experts of the industry to analyse and review the latest development for the industry, linked to  Europe’s recovery plans, the new world of work, the greening of cleaning services and the main innovation trends for the sector.

The conference will include exchanges with representatives of the European Institutions and other EFCI stakeholders, as well as from the sector itself.

A focus on Covid-19’s effect on the sector and on its role in Europe’s recovery

On Monday October 11, the online week will be inaugurated with the presentation of EFCI’s 2021 Report on the State of the Industry, which builds on the previous EFCI surveys. This years’ edition is completed with a study on the effects of Covid-19, which will be analysed by representatives of the sector’s association leaders.

This will tie in with the session of Tuesday October 12, which will invite policymakers and experts to discuss how the sector can contribute and benefit from Europe’s recovery plans. After being recognised as essential and continuing to tirelessly provide essential services to all sectors of the economy through this crisis, our sector is ready to continue to ensure our fellow citizens’ wellbeing in all spaces of their daily life.

The panel will include testimonials of cleaning contractors’ experiences in creating meaningful jobs and how public policy can contribute, through tools like public procurement, to consolidate our sector’s role as a vector for recovery and job creation.

A first Executives Summit

On Wednesday October 13, the EFCI invites cleaning company leaders to an exchange on the current and future challenges of the sector. Company and association executives will be invited to analyse the level of preparedness of the sector for the challenges ahead and specially for the green and digital transitions. This summit will offer simultaneous translation and will be open to members of EFCI’s member associations.

The green and digital transitions: how is the sector navigating them?

Thursday October 14 will be dedicated to sustainability and the green transition of the sector. From regulatory aspects to practical examples of how the sector’s companies are re-designing their businesses to go circular, the panel will provide tools for discussion and analysis for cleaning and facility services companies of all sizes.

Friday October 15 will close the week with a session on innovation and digitalisation, seeking to improve the industry’s readiness for new technologies with the challenges and opportunities they bring along, in a panel that will unite policy forecasts, suppliers’ views and industries’ experiences of success.

EFCI’s Online Week is open for sponsorship opportunities for suppliers and other stakeholders of the sector, as it was the case for 2019 conference. The details on the programme and registration are constantly updated on www.efci.eu. We invite the international cleaning community to join this Online Week to learn, exchange and get ready, together, to continue playing an essential role in Europe’s recovery.