Alliance formed to promote research on indoor air quality

A newly formed alliance seeks to serve as a global source for information, guidance and knowledge on indoor environmental quality.

A memorandum of understanding creating the Indoor Environment Quality Global Alliance was signed Sunday, June 29, at ASHRAE’s 2014 Annual Conference in Seattle, Wash.  Other groups joining the Alliance are the American Industrial Hygiene Association (AIHA), Air Infiltration and Ventilation Centre (AIVC), the Air & Waste Management Association (A&WMA), the Indoor Air Quality Association (IAQA) and the Federation of European Heating and Air-Conditioning Associations (REHVA).

The Alliance was formed by an ad hoc committee appointed by ASHRAE 2013-14 President Bill Bahnfleth to explore ways in which industry groups could work together to address all aspects of indoor environmental quality and health.

“In the built environment, indoor environmental quality must be our first concern,” Presidential Member Bahnfleth said. “Before we address impacts of buildings and transportation systems on energy consumption and the environment – which, make no mistake, are also critically important – we must ensure that we are providing indoor environments that are safe, healthy, productive and comfortable for occupants.

"Today, and for some time, we have strongly emphasized energy conservation and protection of the environment to such an extent that the need for progress in indoor environmental quality has been obscured. A broad, coordinated effort is needed to fill gaps in research, transfer the results of science to practice, advocate for higher standards and better educate both the built environment professions and the public. I believe that formation of this Alliance is a key to meeting those objectives. ASHRAE is eager to contribute its expertise to this group and to once again be a leader in the field of indoor environmental quality, beginning with a focus on indoor air quality.”

The Alliance will provide guidance on the definition of acceptable indoor environmental quality, with an emphasis on thermal conditions and indoor air pollution, to ensure that the knowledge gathered from indoor environmental quality (IEQ) research is promulgated to and implemented by IEQ practitioners and regulatory bodies worldwide.

The mission of the alliance IEQ-GA is to provide an acceptable indoor environmental quality (thermal environment-indoor air quality-lighting-acoustic) to occupants in buildings and places of work around the world and to make sure the knowledge from research on IEQ gets implemented in practice.

The establishment of the Alliance is supported by the World Health Organization and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, who will cooperate with the Alliance in the future.

Bahnfleth said the Alliance will also seek cooperation from other organizations whose work directly impacts the indoor environment on people’s well-being and health.