World Green Building Council’s (WorldGBC) has launched a new awareness campaign in an effort to combat global air pollution from the built environment.

The campaign, Air Quality in the Built Environment, aims to increase awareness, develop understanding and kickstart actions from a global audience across the building and construction sector.

The campaign is in partnership with the Climate and Clean Air Coalition (CCAC), a global programme led by UN Environment, dedicated to reducing the impact of short-lived climate pollutants on both human health and climate change.

Catriona Brady, head of better places for People, World Green Building Council said: “This campaign is a major milestone to promote a healthier and more sustainable built environment. We’re delighted to be working with so many green building councils and the Climate and Clean Air Coalition to raise awareness of how green buildings are part of the solution.”

The campaign will focus on the following messages:

• Reducing ambient outdoor emissions: 
  • Operational emissions: Reducing the impact of the built environment on global air pollution by limiting emissions of greenhouse gases and short-lived climate pollutants to benefit human health, the natural environment, and limit the construction sector’s contribution on climate change.
  • Embodied emissions: Endorsing strategies to lower emission of greenhouse gases from the full life cycle of a building. Aiming to increase awareness of the health and environmental threats of unsustainable construction practices, as well as impact of material transport, demolition and waste across the supply chain.
• Mitigating sources of indoor air pollution:
  • Materials: Promoting the importance of sustainable, non-toxic and air-purifying building materials to limit exposure to the release of pollutants within buildings
  • Building fabric: Developing awareness of the importance of building fabric and construction quality, as well as the role of retrofitting existing stock, to lower the risk of damp and mould
  • Ventilation: Champion appropriate ventilation strategies to achieve energy efficiency and health priorities for efficient indoor air management
• Radically improving sustainable operation of buildings: 
  • Prevent the emissions multiplier effect: Endorsing sustainable design, operation and retrofit of buildings that protect inhabitants from polluted outdoor air with conscious avoidance of the emissions multiplier effect
  • Minimise indoor pollution: To increase understanding and present solutions to the health and environmental threats of indoor air pollution, in both developing and developed nations
• Increasing global awareness:
  • Developing recognition of the impact of the built environment on global air pollution, including understanding of threats to human and planetary health and the consequential economic impacts.
  • Presenting solutions and promote calls to action for a range of stakeholders; including citizens, business and policy makers.

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