Editor’s Note: Keith Schneringer is the Senior Director of Marketing – JanSan + Sustainability at BradyPLUS. ISSA recently interviewed him about his recent industry honor, his mission, his thoughts on advocacy initiatives and other important topics, and his vision for the future.

ISSA: You recently received an award that is close to your heart. Can you tell us about it and what it means to you?

Schneringer: Being recognized as “ISSA Advocate of the Year” for distributors and manufacturers this year was both a humbling experience and a great honor. This recognition has been particularly gratifying and meaningful to me, given all the recent changes and upheavals in our industry due to the pandemic and ongoing industry consolidation.

Because of all these changes, this award symbolizes my sense of obligation and respect for those who have come before us in the industry to build it to where it is today. It also represents and encompasses many wonderful relationships I have enjoyed in the industry over the years.

During my acceptance speech in our nation’s capital when the award was announced, I mentioned that over the years, I have been fortunate enough to meet many people in our industry from different parts of the country, different backgrounds, and different nationalities. One thing we all have in common is that through the cleaning industry, we have all been able to pursue and experience our own version of the American dream. Through perseverance and hard work, we have afforded ourselves the opportunity to make a good living and provide for our families.

ISSA: Tell us about your time in the industry and what you have observed over the years. What were some early challenges, and how have things evolved?

Schneringer: The industry has undergone a continual evolution and a plethora of changes since I started in 1990, and it seems like the evolution has been speeding up recently since the pandemic!

Some of the early challenges we faced dealt with access to information. Typically, we trained on a certain subset of products and procedures, learning by watching someone demonstrate them to us. If we still had questions, we learned by asking to find out who had the most expertise on a subject. At that time, customers were very reliant on their distributor representative for information on products and procedures.

The advent of the internet revealed to me that finding and sharing information became much easier, and customers could increasingly inform themselves before engaging with their distributor representative. I also began to see that a distributor representative could take the initiative to learn more about the best products and procedures to be a more valuable resource for their customers. They could even use the internet to share their expertise and knowledge to help benefit their customers.

ISSA: What specific historical issues have you seen as most important to the cleaning industry? Have you seen them solved, or do they persist?

Schneringer: Some of the more important historical issues I have seen in the cleaning industry include pandemics, labor shortages, and supply chain challenges.

While we have witnessed each of these issues flare up individually from time to time over the years, it appears that we have been hit by all three of them practically at once recently as a result of the pandemic! And while we continue to evolve with innovations to address each of these issues more effectively, they still seem to pop back up to challenge us in new and ever-evolving ways.

ISSA: Let’s talk about advocacy. What have you been most proud of in recent years with the industry and advocacy efforts?

Schneringer: It has been wonderful to see how the industry’s advocacy efforts have continued to coalesce and grow over the last several years. Looking back, even three years ago, the number of people in the cleaning industry participating in Clean Advocacy Week has quadrupled. There have been some great wins to celebrate.

Walking around the capital this year and seeing so many colleagues with their highly visible red background and white-lettered “I’m An Advocate for Clean” buttons was super cool to experience in the halls of the House of Representatives, the Senate, and other governmental agencies.

ISSA: What will it take for the industry to come together and work together to promote cleaning beyond what we have attempted?

Schneringer: When it comes to promoting cleaning and paying attention to advocacy and legislation, I am a firm believer that “a rising tide lifts all boats” and that instead of fighting over the same size “slices of pie,” we can all benefit by “increasing the overall size of the pie.” In other words, the more attention that is devoted to cleaning, the more that the general public understands the valuable role that cleaning plays in protecting public health and productivity. And the more that the cleaning industry can advocate for legislation that results in improved cleaning outcomes, the more opportunity there is for all of us in the industry.

No matter what role each of us play—whether we are a distributor, a manufacturer, a building service contractor (BSC), an in-house cleaning service provider, or an industry consultant—we can all benefit by coming together as an industry to increase awareness about the value of cleaning. Getting involved with advocacy is one way we can come together and show the collective breadth and influence of our industry—and that means at the local, state, and federal levels.

The cleaning industry is frequently referred to as a “hidden industry” with “hidden heroes” who are recognized mostly during challenging times like the recent pandemic. The more we can increase the visibility and awareness of the significant role our industry plays in society every day, the more success we will be able to achieve to come together and promote cleaning.

ISSA: What are your recommendations for engaging policymakers and government officials to advance the industry’s agendas?

Schneringer: My recommendation for engaging these policymakers and officials to advance the agendas of the cleaning industry is to be informed, be friendly, be engaged, be engaging, and be flexible.

If policymakers and government officials can hear from all of us in the industry in relatable ways that are connected to the places where we live and work, we can continue to be more successful in building the case for the importance of cleaning. Being able to tie what we do to real people, real jobs, and real outcomes is immensely powerful and effective in capturing and retaining attention on issues that are important to our industry.

ISSA: How have you been measuring the results so far?

Schneringer: We measure some results by the number of people engaged. For example, the Clean Advocacy Summit has grown from a group of 40 people to over 130 people in the last several years.

Some results are measured in the number of proclamations of support from around the country. For example, National Cleaning Week has evolved into International Cleaning Week in the last several years. This year, 24 states, the U.S. House of Representatives, and six other organizations joined ISSA in supporting International Cleaning Week in 2024.

We measure some results in policies. For example, the passage of the Pesticide Registration Improvement Act will help to provide additional resources to the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Office of Pesticide Programs to help review and register more disinfectant product innovations. A few other examples include the passage of two pieces of legislation: one to avert rail shutdown and another to enact ocean shipping reform, which helped to keep supply chains flowing to avert shortages.

Some results are measured in cross-industry partnerships. For example, ISSA and the International WELL Building Institute launched the Healthy Workplaces Coalition, which now has over 75 organizations, associations, and leaders working collaboratively to advance federal policies to promote healthy workplaces.

ISSA: What are some of the more important or key legislative/policy changes you are working on?

Schneringer: Some legislative/policy topics which are a primary area of focus for our BradyPLUS team include:

• Labor: Attracting and retaining cleaning workers in a tight labor environment and then training them to be most effective.
• Ingredient communication: Providing customers with information to accurately understand the products they use in their facilities.
• Funding for disinfectant product registrations: Having enough funds earmarked for governmental agencies to review and approve new disinfectant product innovations so they can get to the market faster, more effectively, and efficiently.
• Ending period poverty: Providing access to menstrual care products in away-from-home facilities.
• Green cleaning: Cleaning products and procedures that protect public health while reducing environmental impacts.
• Indoor air quality: Making the connection between clean air and building occupant health.
• Overall building occupant health and safety: Use tax credits to enhance cleanliness, health, and safety in all away-from-home spaces.

ISSA: What’s your ultimate vision for the cleaning industry?

Schneringer: At BradyPLUS, our vision for the cleaning industry is to continue to increase professionalism and to be the ones who help to keep away-from-home spaces where we work, learn, heal, worship, and relax cleaner, healthier, safer, more productive, and more sustainable.

ISSA: Open microphone opportunity: What would you like to say to the industry, and what is your call to action for everyone reading this?

Schneringer: Call to Action: Get involved with your cleaning industry, network, and make some friends! By joining forces we can all make a difference.

You can become a member of ISSA, attend the ISSA Show in Las Vegas in the fall, and attend the Clean Advocacy Summit in Washington, DC, in the spring.

To keep informed, you can also subscribe to industry publications, such as ISSA Today, the media publication you are reading right now.

Most importantly, please go out and help to promote the value of cleaning!