Innovation
Innovation is at the heart of how Mitie delivers value for our people, customers and communities. From reimagining retail spaces in healthcare settings to embedding sustainable technology in high-footfall aviation environments, we’re using data, AI and smart building intelligence to transform how facilities perform, adapt and support the people who use them. This section highlights how our innovation strategy is shaping the future of facilities management, and the leadership driving it forward.
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Innovation
Creating inclusive, sustainable retail environments with PULSE
Mitie launched PULSE, a digital‑first retail and catering concept designed specifically for healthcare environments, transforming hospital retail spaces into inclusive, community‑focused destinations that support wellbeing, sustainability and affordability. Delivered at King George Hospital, the integrated model combined a café, retail space and PULSE Kitchen with a mobile app, enhancing accessibility, reducing wait times and improving service efficiency through data-led insight and real-time ordering.
Sustainability and social value were embedded across the offer. Partnerships with organisations addressing global poverty and homelessness, alongside low‑impact packaging integrated into on‑site waste systems, supported circular economy outcomes. Health-focused menus aligned to NHS standards incorporated carbon data and behavioural nudges to encourage more sustainable choices. Operational technology improved performance visibility and engagement, while an accessible pricing strategy ensured affordability for staff, patients and visitors. The result is a scalable, digitally enabled retail solution that improves user experience, strengthens community impact and delivers measurable environmental and operational benefits across healthcare estates.
Innovation
Transforming aviation services: Integrating sustainability, innovation and skills
Mitie strengthened its long-standing partnership with Manchester Airports Group (MAG) through a multi‑million‑pound contract extension, reinforcing its role as a strategic delivery partner within one of the UK’s most complex aviation environments. Supporting over 30 million passengers each year, the contract delivered integrated engineering, decarbonisation, cleaning and hygiene services, aligned to MAG’s ambition to achieve Net Zero by 2038 while maintaining safe and efficient operations.
Sustainability was embedded into frontline delivery through targeted innovation. Autonomous robotic cleaning units deployed within Terminal 2 delivered 181 hours of operation within the first six weeks, covering 155,280m² and achieving 98.71% total area coverage. The technology operates without chemical use and incorporates water recycling systems, significantly reducing both chemical consumption and reliance on fresh water. Trials of Dryft micro‑scrubber technology delivered a further ~30% reduction in water usage while improving hygiene outcomes, removing the need to reuse contaminated water and reducing slip risk.
Resource optimisation was strengthened through improved consumables management, with a standardised distribution model reducing overuse of materials such as cloths and mop heads while improving accountability. Circularity was enhanced through recycling initiatives for cleaning materials, diverting waste from general streams and ensuring lifecycle management through dedicated recovery channels.
Operational decarbonisation was further supported through the introduction of electric vehicles and low-emission equipment, reducing on-site emissions. Data-led platforms enabled real-time monitoring of performance, asset condition and health and safety, improving responsiveness and driving continuous improvement across operations.
Investment in people remained central to delivery. A new Training Centre of Excellence, developed with MAG, enhanced skills, consistency and performance across a 350‑strong workforce, supporting long-term capability and resilience in a high-footfall environment. The approach also improved colleague wellbeing, with ergonomic technologies reducing physical strain while maintaining productivity.
Engineering expertise continued to underpin critical infrastructure performance, maintaining essential systems including heating, ventilation and air conditioning, fire safety and public address infrastructure. This ensured alignment between sustainability initiatives and operational continuity, supporting both environmental performance and passenger experience.
Together, these initiatives demonstrate how Mitie integrates sustainability, innovation and workforce development into a single delivery model. By combining measurable environmental improvements with operational excellence, the partnership delivers scalable, low-carbon solutions in complex, high-profile environments.
AI
Charting the evolving role of AI in facilities cyber security
As AI becomes more deeply embedded in facilities management, security now works both ways: protecting operations through AI, and protecting the AI itself.
As ’customer zero’, Mitie trials all new technologies internally before they become part of our client offering, and AI is no exception. Within our Security Operations Centre, AI is used extensively for predictive analysis and to keep our systems updated with the latest threat intelligence. As facilities estates grow more connected, combining IT, Operational Technology and Internet of Things across multiple sites, this capability becomes increasingly essential.
AI helps reduce the burden of data overload, correlating vast volumes of activity logs to identify patterns that might otherwise go unnoticed, from unusual login behaviour to bot activity. Generative AI adds a further layer of capability, using natural language processing to summarise large volumes of threat intelligence, helping analysts spot risks faster and respond with greater precision.
By automating routine monitoring and surfacing the right insights, AI frees our security teams to focus on high-value investigation, judgement and decision-making, rather than manual, time-consuming tasks.
Security of the technology itself is equally important. We build on secure foundations provided by partners including Microsoft, IBM and Amazon Web Services (AWS), layering our own facilities-specific frameworks on top, including a defence-in-depth approach across networks, applications and devices, a zero-trust network design, and strict data access permissions.
Ultimately, human oversight remains central to how we apply AI. It supports and accelerates decision-making, but people retain the final say, ensuring the right balance of technology and human expertise as security threats continue to evolve.
Cijo Joseph named one of the UK’s top tech leaders
Cijo Joseph named one of the UK’s top tech leaders
Cijo Joseph, Mitie’s Chief Technology & Digital Officer, has been recognised as one of the UK’s most influential figures in technology, reflecting the strength of innovation leadership driving Mitie’s digital transformation.
Cijo was ranked #22 in Computing.com’s IT Leaders 100 for 2025 and shortlisted for Computer Weekly’s Top 50 Most Influential People in UK IT, accolades that recognise individuals shaping the future of the technology sector.
His influence was further recognised at the Gartner IT Leaders event, where he delivered one of the highest-rated keynotes of the conference, scoring 4.88 out of 5 for both content and delivery. Attendees praised his ability to combine clarity, humour and practical insight, describing him as “the human face” of shared industry challenges, paired with actionable guidance on driving change.
This latest recognition sits alongside Cijo’s CIO 100 award from last year, with this year’s list due to be revealed in September.
These achievements reflect the calibre of leadership guiding Mitie’s technology and innovation strategy, and the role that clear, authentic communication plays in translating complex digital ambition into tangible business outcomes.
Cijo is a dynamic, astute and forward-thinking leader. Through his great ability to communicate and thought leadership, he has translated complex ideas and delivered tangible strategic results. It is through Cijo’s drive and ambition with technology that we continue to propel Mitie forward to Facilities Transformation.
Hitesh Chavda
Chief Information Officer
Take the vital step from smart buildings to intelligent portfolios
The role of the built environment is fundamentally changing. Organisations must navigate shifting regulations, rapid technological change and rising expectations of how buildings support people and experience, and the market reflects this shift, with the global smart building sector valued at $103bn in 2024 and projected to reach $828bn by 2034.
Mitie’s white paper, From Smart Buildings to Intelligent Portfolios, sets out our perspective on this evolution, the move from isolated smart systems to fully integrated, intelligent portfolios. The paper identifies three key outcomes that intelligent buildings deliver:
- Sustainability and Net Zero – real-time data and automation reduce energy use and emissions while integrating renewables and demand flexibility, enabling portfolio-level decarbonisation.
- Resilience and asset performance – predictive analytics and proactive controls extend asset life, minimise downtime and strengthen compliance, while integrated physical and digital security protects continuity.
- Occupant experience and wellbeing – adaptive systems optimise air quality, comfort and safety, creating responsive environments that support health, trust and collaboration.
The paper also explores how this transformation is underpinned by a ’digital backbone’ of data acquisition, data intelligence and user interface design, and outlines a lifecycle approach, from design and construction, through operations and maintenance, to renewal and repurposing, for embedding intelligence at every stage.
Crucially, the shift from smart buildings to intelligent portfolios isn’t just a technological leap, it’s a strategic one, requiring collaboration between landlords, occupiers, service partners and local authorities to unlock value at scale.