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EFCI Brussels conference looks to the future of the sector
10th of July 2019
More than 100 delegates from EU member states gathered in Brussels recently for the EFCI (European Cleaning and Facility Services Industry) conference, with the theme Cleaning and Facility Services: Shaping the Industry of the Future.
The event coincided with the relaunch of the federation, bringing together representatives from the European Institutions, EFCI’s stakeholders and cleaning industry professionals.
Centred around four roundtable discussions the themes covered:
• An Industry in Evolution, during which EFCI’s trend report The Cleaning industry in Europe 1995-2016 was presented and analysed
• Innovating in a Labour-Intensive Industry, when social aspects of digitalisation and CSR were discussed
• An Innovative Value Chain, during which policymakers, industry representatives and clients presented their visions on where to put the accent on innovation
• C for Circular Economy, where an MEP, the European Commission and industry representatives explained how facility services can better integrate in the circular economy and how can it provide business value.
The basis for the day's discussion was the EFCI's new trend report The European Cleaning Industry 1995-2016. This statistical report builds on historical EFCI’s surveys and presents the evolution of the sector from different angles. The cleaning industry has shown significant growth over the last 20 years with a turnover tripled to €107 billion and employment increase of 80 per cent, currently employing nearly four million people. The report includes relevant comparisons at national level, based on the most recent data available in Eurostat.
EFCI director Isabel Yglesias concluded the conference by highlighting the quality of the interventions and that the main issues raised coincided with EFCI’s political priorities for the new European legislative mandate: the need for high quality procurement and for a level playing field to ensure that the sector continues its growth and develops all its potential, the development of a skills and training agenda for the sector; and the support through adequate legislation for the sectors to totally integrate the circular economy.
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