Competitors collaborate on Plan A
June 1st 2008

A group of four leading cleaning contractors are collaborating to deliver Marks & Spencer’s Plan A cleaning requirements.

M&S, which made headlines last year when announcing a 100 point plan to make its operation environmentally sustainable, is now drawing up a cleaning ‘greenprint’ with the consortium to be rolled out across all of its UK stores. “Cleaning and support services is a major part of Plan A,” says M&S head of facilities management, cleaning,waste & pest control, Mandy Keepax.“I have charged our contractors with assessing cleaning machinery, use of water, use of chemicals and to try and bring daytime cleaning into focus.”

The consortium is charged with making savings of between five and 10 per cent by April 2009.To deliver as effectively as possible, Emprise Services, GS Associates, Integrated Cleaning Management and Rentokil Initial Retail Cleaning are meeting bi-monthly to share best practice. “I think it’s unique in our industry,” says Emprise MD for retail and leisure, Lesley Shearman. “In the open market they are our competitors, but here we are pooling ideas and delivering savings as a result.”

M&S speaks exclusively to Cleaning Matters in this month’s Green Cleaning supplement.