The Building Engineering Services Association (BESA) has joined more than 150 worldwide organisations in signing the Global Pledge for Healthy Indoor Air at the United Nations headquarters in New York.
It highlights indoor air quality (IAQ) as a fundamental human right and a critical component of public health, education, and economic productivity.
The pledge, which was launched at the Healthy Indoor Air: A Global Call to Action conference attended by political leaders, policymakers, scientists and health experts, states: “We declare, for the first time as a global community, that clean indoor air is a fundamental human right for protecting health and safeguarding well-being.
“Poor air quality in indoor environments – where populations spend up to 90 per cent of their time – contributes to respiratory disease (including asthma and lung cancer), heart disease, infectious disease transmission, and cognitive impairment, in addition to potential impacts from carcinogens.”
In 2000, a World Health Organisation working group concluded ‘everyone has a right to healthy indoor air’ and in recent years, both the United Nations (2022) and the World Health Organisation (2021) recognised clean air as a human right.
“The Global Pledge builds on those pioneering steps to help galvanize global action explicitly on indoor air quality,” the signatories said in a statement.
By signing, BESA joined a growing coalition of global partners who commit to:
- Monitor and improve indoor air quality in buildings they influence.
- Apply science-based standards and share best practice openly.
- Collaborate across sectors to accelerate innovation and investment in healthier indoor environments.
- Report transparently on progress to maintain public trust and accountability.
BESA and its members have long campaigned for IAQ to be treated with the same urgency as outdoor pollution, warning that poor ventilation and exposure to indoor pollutants contribute to respiratory illnesses, lost productivity, and reduced wellbeing.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) states that IAQ is directly linked to 3.8 million premature deaths worldwide every year.
“Signing the Global Pledge was a natural step for BESA,” said technical director Kevin Morrissey. “Our members are at the forefront of designing, installing and maintaining the systems that determine the quality of the air we breathe.
“This commitment sends a clear signal: we will work with clients, policymakers, and partners worldwide to make clean indoor air the norm, not the exception.”
One of the Association’s first steps following the signing of the Global Pledge will be to host a major event to mark the fourth World Ventilation Day in London on November 6.
The WorldVentil8Day Exchange is a free, full-day knowledge-sharing event bringing together engineers, consultants, housing providers, policymakers and regulators to focus on ventilation and IAQ solutions.
“These tools help building owners, FM providers and contractors take practical steps to assess, monitor, and improve indoor environments,” said the group’s chair Adam Taylor (pictured). “The pledge will also help us in our ongoing efforts to champion IAQ in regulatory debates, industry standards, and client education.”