International WELL Building Institute (IWBI) senior vice president & Asia Pacific head, Jack Noonan, told a NSW parliamentary inquiry into Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) that clean air should be treated as a fundamental pillar of public health.
Presenting evidence to the NSW Upper House Clean Indoor Air committee yesterday, Noonan said poor IAQ represents a pervasive public health crisis—one that demands urgent, coordinated global action.
He said indoor air can be as much as three to five times more polluted than outdoor air.
“From homes and schools to workplaces and public spaces, poor indoor air contributes to respiratory diseases and illnesses, cardiovascular disease, cognitive decline and rising healthcare costs for billions of people around the world,” Noonan said.
IWBI is the global authority for advancing healthy buildings, and in its parliamentary submission has recommended the NSW government leverage industry-established IAQ standards in new construction projects and major renovations.
This is in addition to implementing WELL strategies for public infrastructure and publicly subsidised projects.
Nearly 13 million square meters (140 million square feet) are engaged in WELL in Australia.
“With over 600 buildings on the continent utilising the WELL Standard, the infrastructure for implementation, monitoring and verification is active and proven within the market,” Noonan said.
"This work matters. Healthy buildings with healthy indoor air quality are our fulcrum in leveraging globally proven frameworks to protect public health and enhance our collective experience in the built environment on a huge scale.
“By utilising proven frameworks, the NSW Government has an opportunity to bridge a gap in health equity–ensuring that our students in classrooms and workers in public offices benefit from the same environments that have become the standard in much of the private sector. “
IWBI president & CEO, Rachel Hodgdon, said governments around the world are beginning to lead by example on improving indoor air quality, moving beyond minimum codes and baseline standards.
“Just as the private sector has embraced WELL as a signal of health leadership, governments have an opportunity to set the bar higher for achieving clean and healthy indoor air in the buildings they own and oversee,” she said.
Last year IWBI launched the Global Commission for Healthy Indoor Air in an effort to create the world's foremost alliance of global leaders united in a shared mission to improve air quality around the world.