ECJ EUROPEAN Cleaning Journal

ECJ Italian correspondent Anna Garbagna brings news of success from the contract cleaning association ANIP-Confindustria.

There was an excellent closing for the year 2017 and a dynamic start to 2018 for ANIP-Confindustria, the Italian Association of Cleaning  and Integrated Services Companies.

In fact, at the end of last year ANIP took the top prize at the ECJ European Cleaning & Hygiene Awards in the category ‘Best initiative to raise the profile and perception of the cleaning
sector’ for the event LiFE (Labour Intensive Facility Event) and the ANIP Roadshow.

This was for having worked to bring out the profile and the perception of the cleaning sector, giving visibility to an important sector which is not yet fully understood at national level.

The trophy was received by president Lorenzo Mattioli at a gala dinner in Rome, attended by the key players of the sector at European level.

ANIP found a new way to  confront issues and opportunities concerning the sector by means of engaging and modern communication. A serious and thorough job, which was fully acknowledged by the awards jury. The association also competed with the nomination of Lorenzo Mattioli as ‘Inspirational leader of the year’.

2018 started with the presentation of a volume which gathers the contributions of the second edition of LiFE.  In the presence of president Mattioli, MPo Dario Ginefra (Commission of Productive Activities at the Chamber of Deputies), Nicola Di Battista (director of the magazine Domus) and Silvano di Curcio, lecturer in facility management and scientific director of  Patrimoni PA net.

The meeting - coordinated by Claudio Cerasa, director of the newspaper Il Foglio - was the opportunity to  emphasise that a closer relationship between the associated institutions and a strengthening of the image of facility management in the perception of the general public could help ANIP-Confindustria to grow further.

“Today our sector,” said Mattioli, “is ready to accept major challenges that will be able to improve the country - let’s think about, for example the integrated management of cultural assets. We are optimistic looking to the future, even if the road ahead is still long. The important works cry out compared to how little known we are in Italy. This recognition  has been already achieved in many European countries,  including France and Germany.”

Dario Ginefra invited the facilities industry to meet a new challenge. “The motivation for a new framework law on services must come from you, a proposal which could be an opportunity for recognition and acknowledgement by the government of the importance and opportunities in the service industry - which is often perceived in a less than positive light.”

The speakers traced the possible courses of action, starting with some unavoidable topics, expressed in person by Mattioli,  namely “the lost opportunity of the procurement code and the need to avoid any further delay to the constitution of Confindustria Servizi, an opportunity  for which  the foundation have already been laid down.”

The contribution of Nicola Di Battista, which considered the facilities sector as a driving sector for modernity, was valuable on a technical level. He stressed the need to follow the philosophy of care and recycling in the management of urban spaces.