Health is wealth, and cleaning executives will prosper as they play a strong role in the health of indoor spaces for customers who value it.

The number of these customers is growing. Healthy building construction will see a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 4.9% from 2025 to 2032 (Meticulous Research, 2024) compared to a projected CAGR of 4.7% for standard buildings (IMARC Group, 2025). Tech in facility air purification and indoor environmental quality (IEQ) monitoring is expanding at 9.3% to 9.7% CAGR (FMI, Mordor Intelligence).

Certified for IEQ

Tapping this market means finding and cultivating customers who care about indoor environmental quality (IEQ):

• WELL & Fitwel® certified (WELL, Fitwel). WELL provides a global health performance rating system for buildings across 10 core concepts (Indoor Exposure Index, 2026), and Fitwel translates public health science into pragmatic design and operational strategies for buildings. Together, they have certified billions of square feet of commercial space, with exponential growth on the horizon.
• LEED certified. Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certified buildings are facilities that value both sustainability and IEQ. More than 100,000 of these buildings exist globally, and 190,000 to 200,000 are pursuing certification (Green Building Consulting).

Premium commercial spaces include office buildings and firms that use healthy indoor spaces as a magnet to attract workers back to the office. (Jones Lang LaSalle Research, CBRE Research, Cushman & Wakefield & NAIOP)

Providing IEQ

What must you do to make sure you are offering your customers a healthy indoor space?

• Provide healthy space audits. An example of this could be a complimentary IEQ or indoor health and hygiene audit, rather than selling cleaning, and sell the data. Use an ATP (adenosine triphosphate) meter to evaluate surface bioload as a proxy for bacteria levels and other contaminants, and an IAQ monitor to measure particles and gases (ISSA, 2025). The pitch: “Let’s benchmark health factors in your space. If your current provider is delivering, great! If not, we can show you how to fix it.”
• Partner with like-minded businesses already in the space, such as heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) contractors, IEQ consultants and commercial real estate brokers. They may have an “in” with the customer, and your programs can support each other’s.
• Use the language of risk and ROI. Don’t say: “We clean with HEPA vacuums and use microfiber cloths.” Instead say: “Our specialized HEPA dust-containment system captures particles down to .3 microns, greatly lowering PM2.5 and allergens, which data links to 5-10% better cognitive performance and lower absenteeism.”
• Elevate your marketing. Get and post professional online photos of your staff using ATP luminometers, HEPA (high-efficiency particulate air) or ULPA (ultra-low particulate air) filtered vacuums and IEQ dashboards connected to smart building sensors.
• Provide case studies. Write and publish meaningful success stories with headlines such as “How We Helped ABC Schools Improve Classroom IAQ by 79% Validated by Airborne Particle Measurement” or “How We Helped XYZ Medical Clinic Reduce Surface Bioburden by 50% Using Variable ATP Tests.”

Confidence in the health of the indoor environment

As more organizations invest in healthy buildings and seek measurable evidence of better IEQ, cleaning executives can position themselves as partners in achieving those goals.

The key is to move from making claims about cleanliness to providing data that helps customers understand, benchmark and improve their indoor spaces. By targeting organizations that already value IEQ, partnering with complementary professionals and using credible measurements to demonstrate results, cleaning companies can differentiate themselves from commodity providers.

Customers who value real-time health data want more than someone who empties trash and cleans floors. They want evidence that their investment is making a difference. Cleaning executives who can provide that evidence will be better positioned to win these customers, retain them and grow with the expanding healthy-building market.