The Overlooked Sustainability Win: Why Restrooms Matter in 2026

Audrey Wesson, Sustainability Manager, Essity

There's an overlooked sustainability opportunity hiding in plain sight across many businesses: restrooms.

While these high-traffic spaces represent some of the highest-impact, lowest-friction sustainability wins available, they've historically been managed separately from corporate sustainability roadmaps.

In 2026, that's changing – and facility managers are leading the way.

Today’s Consumers and Employees are Voting With Their Values

As sustainability becomes a higher priority across industries, credibility increasingly depends on what people can see and experience. Restrooms represent a critical proof point – frequently used spaces where sustainability commitments either show up in daily operations or reveal gaps between promises and practice. Organizations that optimize these areas create authentic, visible evidence of their environmental values.

Sustainability is no longer a nice-to-have for employees and customers; it's a decision driver. People choose where to work and where to spend their money based on whether companies actually walk the talk. Consider this: 67% of people want restrooms to be managed more sustainably, and 65% say a company's eco-image impacts their job choices. Companies that align restroom operations with sustainability goals will gain a visible, credible differentiator – helping to attract loyal customers, retain and inspire employees, and strengthen the organization’s overall reputation.

Small Changes, Big Impact: Why Restroom Optimization Matters

When companies measure and optimize restroom operations, they discover that small changes can have an outsized impact. The strategies making the biggest difference fall into five categories:

• Smart dispensing systems – Implementing high-capacity, one-at-a-time dispensing solutions prevents overconsumption by delivering the right amount of product per use, while reducing waste, and ensuring consistent supply availability.  
• Responsible materials and packaging – Prioritizing products, like coreless toilet paper systems and hand towels, that are certified by third-party organizations to meet sustainable packaging requirements (e.g. Green Seal, Forest Stewardship Council) helps to reduce environmental footprint while highlighting the organization’s commitment to sustainability.
• Data-driven cleaning technology – Using real-time occupancy data from connected dispensers can help facility teams optimize cleaning schedules and product allocation, while giving valuable time back to staff.
• Sustainability signage – Making sustainability commitments visible through signage can help these efforts hit home for both customers and employees. This can look like graphics showing restroom users how to properly wash and dry their hands using less soap, water and towels, or images demonstrating how the facility is reducing packaging, waste and carbon throughout their hygiene operations.
• Inclusive hygiene – Embracing the people side of sustainability means ensuring restroom hygiene meets the needs of as many users as possible. For example, installing dispensers that are certified easy-to-use, providing soaps that are gentle on skin and implementing hand towel systems versus air dryers for a calmer, quieter restroom environment.

The result: simple operational changes like these can reduce packaging waste by up to 83%, cut product consumption by 50%, and generate measurable cost savings that cascade across the business. For a mid-size company, these changes open up resources previously spent on supplies and waste management, freeing capital for reinvestment into core operations or scaled sustainability efforts elsewhere.

Transitioning an Overlooked Space to a Sustainability Asset

The companies that make the greatest sustainability gains in 2026 will be those that build environmentally friendly practices throughout their operations.

This approach is already powering gains for some facilities – for example, one large stadium in the U.S. has increased efficiency and sustainability through its hygiene protocols, which in turn helps to meet increasing customer and employee expectations. The stadium implemented data-driven cleaning to reduce waste and paper towel usage, with a facility manager saying that, “It made us more efficient. We are spending less, and are more cognizant of what products we’re using, scheduling the same amount of labor, but using them for different things; instead of asking cleaners to check all the dispensers, they only need to check half of them.”

Restrooms are where sustainability can move from being an external statement to a strategic asset – driving cost savings, reducing environmental impact, and building authentic trust with both employees and customers. In 2026, companies that have optimized restroom operations will have concrete stories to tell around waste reduction, cost savings, employee satisfaction and customer reviews. The high-ROI sustainability win has been hiding in plain sight, and the companies that see it first will gain the advantage that comes with moving forward on it.

Audrey Wesson is passionate about driving sustainability efforts with professional hygiene products that improve business performance for distributor partners and end-customers. Audrey brings technical sustainability expertise in climate management and decarbonization as well as experience leading impact-driven sustainability programs.