The International WELL Building Institute (IWBI) and the Worldwide Cleaning Industry Association (ISSA) this week launched the Healthy Workplaces Coalition.
The Washington-based coalition includes more than 40 national organizations, industry leaders and trade associations collaborating to support and advance federal policy aimed at helping businesses and organizations better afford and implement health and safety improvements in workplaces and across the built environment.
Members of this new advocacy coalition launched on Capitol Hill will work together to not only support federal policy promoting healthy workplaces, but also raise awareness using a collective voice to help the public, policymakers and businesses understand the imperative of workplace health and safety during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond.
In addition to IWBI and ISSA, the Coalition’s leadership team includes ASHRAE, the Building Owners and Managers Association International (BOMA), the US Green Building Council and the International Facilities Management Association (IFMA).
IWBI CEO, Rachel Hodgdon, said for the first time, many of the nation’s most important building orgtanisations and leading businesses are uniting to advocate for workplace health.
“This kind of collaborative advocacy will help drive the level of investment necessary to get us safely back to business now and fortify our workplaces for the future,” she said.
Over the past two years, businesses across the country have struggled to meet new and evolving expectations for safely returning to the workplace.
According to a recent Honeywell survey, 72 per cent of office workers worldwide worry about air quality in their workplaces’ buildings.
They are concerned about the impact of poor air quality on their well-being and want more information from their employers about actions taken to improve the built environment and support the health and safety of employees and patrons alike.
While COVID-19 increased the public’s attention to the importance of cleaning, air filtration, and hand hygiene, there is now an increased focus and commitment by businesses and buildings to invest in healthy spaces, according to John Barrett, executive director of ISSA.
Other members of the Healthy Workplaces Coalition include the Air-Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration Institute (AHRI); Carrier Global Corporation; Daikin U.S. Corporation; Honeywell; Johnson Controls; Schneider Electric and Trane Technologies.