News analysis with BESA
Powerful ventilation message goes global
The link between poor standards of ventilation in buildings and millions of premature deaths grabbed worldwide attention on the very fi rst World Ventilation Day (#WorldVentil8Day) held on November 8
T
he campaign, which was hailed as a huge success by health experts, engineers, scientists, and academics, involved 21 organisations, including professional bodies, universities, and environmental groups from across
UK, Europe, North America, and Australia. There were webinars, in person talks, the launch of new research, and a range
of ventilation experiments over the whole 24-hour period demonstrating how good ventilation can reduce exposure to air pollutants and infectious disease, aid human productivity, improve sleep, and reduce mould and damp in buildings. Spearheaded by leading healthy building champion Professor Cath Noakes
OBE, Professor of Environmental Engineering for Buildings at the University of Leeds, the campaign was co-ordinated by BESA working with fellow UK bodies CIBSE and FETA.
It also had support from the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the Future Urban Ventilation Network as well as AREA (the umbrella body for European contractors’ organisations), and ASHRAE (the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air Conditioning Engineers).
Social media
The theme of the day was: ‘Improving Ventilation for a Healthier World’ and this was picked up more than fi ve million times on social media networks in 30 countries. The website attracted over 15,000 visitors from 75 diff erent countries and print media coverage had a reach of 382 million across 12 countries. High profi le fi gures, including London Mayor Sadiq Khan, the UK’s chief scientist Sir Patrick Vallance, Minister for Health Ireland Stephen Donnelly, and UK Green Party peer Natalie Bennett amplifi ed the message through their own social networks. “The level of global engagement was astonishing considering the campaign
was only launched three weeks before the day itself – and with no budget,” said BESA technical director Graeme Fox, who was interviewed by a range of UK national news outlets and radio stations. “It shows that there is a huge appetite for information about this issue. People
are genuinely worried about air pollution, but we were able to explain how they can take control of their indoor air quality (IAQ) by reviewing how their homes, offi ces, schools, and the public places they visit are ventilated.” The Sun, Daily Mail, Independent, and Sky News all mentioned the campaign in the UK as did several radio stations. A UK ITN News crew was en route to an event organised by BESA when they were diverted to cover the Just Stop Oil protests on the M25 motorway. World Health Organisation (WHO) child health advocate Rosamund Adoo Kissi-
Debrah told the BESA event that the lack of eff ective building ventilation was directly linked to 3.8 million deaths worldwide every year. World Ventilation Day (#WorldVentil8Day) took place the day after Rochdale
Coroner’s Court ruled that the death of two-year-old Awaab Ishak was directly linked to his exposure to damp and mould in a poorly ventilated fl at. Kissi-Debrah, whose own daughter Ella died in 2013 as the result of a severe
asthma attack triggered by air pollution, said many more children would continue to die unless governments and the ventilation industry worked together to “fi x this public health crisis”. “The NHS will not be able
to reduce its waiting lists until we clean up our air,” she said. “It is also much easier to control the indoor air than the outdoor – so tackling IAQ is a great way to give people back power over their own environment and save lives. “We have to be clear about this…bad IAQ leads directly to deaths,” said Kissi-Debrah, who also warned that there was a new ‘ghost generation’ of children who, since the pandemic, have stayed at home and are at particular risk. World Ventilation Day also
Above: Chair of BESA’s Wellbeing in Buildings Group Nathan Wood with WHO child health advocate Rosamund Adoo Kissi-Debrah
Below: Healthy building champion Professor Cath Noakes
recognised the role played by engineers who implement the measures and strategies used to make buildings healthier and safer – highlighting the need for training and recruiting more skilled people to take on this growing global task. The website (
worldventil8day.com) includes a range of free resources including ‘top facts’ about the role of ventilation, and diff erent methods that can be adapted depending on the age, design, location, and purpose of the building.
Trade-off
It also explains how building operators can manage the complex trade-off between ventilation, energy consumption, climate change, urban pollution, noise, comfort, and security. “The pandemic showed how well-ventilated spaces help to reduce the
transmission of diseases in buildings,” said Fox. “Basically, far too many buildings are simply under-ventilated, and this is just the start of an awareness raising campaign to encourage many more owners and operators to make this a priority and save millions of lives around the world.” Several speakers at the BESA event, hosted by Airfl ow Developments in High
Wycombe, said the importance of this issue should also inspire more people to take up careers in ventilation and IAQ.
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December 2022
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