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ISSA Member Profile: Boma N.V.

Categories: ISSA Member Spotlight

A recent Harvard Business Review article stated that corporate social responsibility “can be much more than a cost, a constraint, or a charitable deed—it can be a source of opportunity, innovation, and competitive advantage.” This comes as no surprise to the many companies within the cleaning industry who have been enacting socially-responsible policies for years and reaping the rewards.

The green cleaning movement, for example, not only protects the environment but has clearly demonstrated a company’s bottom-line can benefit from being eco-friendly, too. This proves that the application of solid green cleaning principles can attract potential customers and maintain current ones.

Boma N.V. is one such company for which social responsibility and eco-friendly cleaning are not mere marketing exercises, but central tenets of its business model. Founded in 1974, the company develops and distributes professional materials, products, and machines to cleaning contractors, health care institutions, schools, public administration facilities, and other commercial customers. While its main distribution centre is situated in Antwerp, Belgium, Boma has six subsidiaries in the Belgium, The Netherlands, and Luxembourg (BeNeLux) region.

Boma Marketing Director Stijn Wildiers explains further: “Our efforts to be eco-friendly are not greenwashing. We consistently try to ensure that when our customers choose Boma, they are making the choice for both the best products on the market and the greener choice. We believe that our customers shouldn’t have to make the choice between economy, quality, or protecting the environment.

“We offer our customers eco-friendly products that are delivered in the most efficient way―thus saving time, resources, and the environment. For example, many of the main cleaning contractors in the BeNeLux region utilize Boma’s DosDob system. This is an integrated order and management system that allows companies to be more efficient by offering the ability to request new deliveries on-the-spot and to control their spending at local bases.”

Boma joined ISSA in 2012, and its membership is a natural fit as ISSA is equally committed to being a socially and environmentally responsible organisation. As part of its aim to remain the leading worldwide association for the cleaning industry and create a global cleaning community, ISSA is continuously driving professionalism and high standards throughout the industry.

Complying with the ISSA Code of Ethics is a prerequisite for membership. The code states that all members must act ethically and professionally, thus helping to ensure that the cleaning industry commands the public’s respect.

“The cleaning industry deserves a better reputation than it sometimes gets, and ISSA has a hugely important role in enhancing this reputation,” Stijn said. “They do this not only by promoting the cleaning industry to the wider world, but also promoting professionalism within the industry itself―endorsing the use of professional and ecological tools and products as well as the need for effective training.”

According to Stijn, the only way to realise change is through a collective effort. “It is logical. We all live on the same planet, therefore we all have a responsibility to look after it,” he said. “The efforts of individual eco-pioneers, for example, are useless if they are not emulated by the rest of the world.” This sentiment rings true not only for green cleaning, but also for the general professionalism of our industry. As a community, we should all work together to ensure that standards are consistently high.

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