Launching the Global Framework for Action
Just a year after launching at the UN General Assembly, the Global Commission on Healthy Indoor Air debuted its signature deliverable: the Global Framework for Action.
Developed by over 200 global experts across 40+ countries, this ambitious roadmap provides a coordinated strategy to make healthy indoor environments the norm for everyone, everywhere.
Watch remarks from IWBI President and CEO Rachel Hodgdon, IWBI Executive Chairman Rick Fedrizzi and fellow Commissioners on the importance of the Global Framework, the momentum behind the movement and inspiration for what comes next.
Rachel Hodgdon, President and CEO, International WELL Building Institute (IWBI)
“The Global Commission on Healthy Indoor Air embodies the belief that we can transcend the goals or mission of any one organization and demonstrate the new heights we can reach and the new possibilities we can unlock when we focus on what we can accomplish together.
Now, we are putting that commitment into action.”
“The Commission created the Global Framework for Action to address the long-neglected public health crisis of indoor air quality, where indoor air can be two to five times more polluted than outdoors. We did not need another report diagnosing the problem or explaining why it matters. We needed an actionable plan for changing the systems, markets and expectations that shape the air inside our buildings. That is what this Framework delivers: a practical path for leaders all around the world to align their efforts and uphold the right to healthy indoor air for everyone, everywhere.”
Jason Hartke, EVP, IWBI and Secretariat of the Global Commission (left), with IWBI’s Rachel Hodgdon, Commission Co-Chair and Rick Fedrizzi, Commissioner
Georgia Lagoudas, PhD, Senior Fellow, Pandemic Center, Brown University School of Public Health; Co-Founder, Air Club
“It’s been a whirlwind year, I must say. It does feel like we are reaching this exponential growth point of wanting to put this on the agenda at all the global stages.”
“We’re really excited to be here together with all of you, to uplift this global framework. Bronwyn and I engage a lot with governments, and so we’re really hoping to see this as a starting point and share that this global framework is a roadmap for action.”
Dr. Joseph G. Allen, Associate Professor; Director of Harvard’s Healthy Building Program, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health
“Any way you pencil it out, if you include health in the outcomes, it is a no brainer investment decision.”
“I think back to this movement, and, of course, the pandemic has changed everyone’s perception. There’s been an uprising interest in this topic. And what was held together, this indoor air quality community, loosely held together, maybe some indoor air quality scientists around the world, has turned into a really powerful movement.
The Global Commission is over 200 people who have signed onto this…With the global framework, what we have is a clear path people have coalesced around. We have the information we need and know the concrete steps that need to be taken that lead to that change we all want to see, where [healthy indoor air] just becomes the norm, as Rachel mentioned. So we now have that path. The path is clear. And I’m really happy to be on that path with you all.”
Dr. Christine Bruckner, Director, M Moser Associates
“There’s one thing we all know to be true. We are our environment. As an architect, we design spaces around the world for well-being. We look at every material. We look at every element. And together, when we look at the air quality, we elevate all of our spaces and all of our lives. As humans, we’re continuously exchanging 11,000 liters of air, which brings in oxygen for our hearts and mind, but it also opens a route for pathogens and contaminants and all kinds of things that can stray them deeply to our bodies. This is unacceptable, clearly.”
“We are what we breathe. And that, together with this amazing new framework that everybody’s worked so hard on, with all of the Commissioners and all of the collaborators, it’s a privilege to see what the future can hold for the present and for our future generations.”
Rick Fedrizzi, Executive Chairman, IWBI
“The Global Framework for Action is delivered, and it is absolutely proof that when that group of committed, amazing, talented, intelligent people come together, great things can happen…All of you, I want you to understand how grateful we are. Your authentic leadership in this area. I know you believe in this. I know through your product designs and your new efforts, this is part of your culture and what you want to accomplish. That is the most beautiful intersection of sustainability and collaboration that you could ever hope for.”
