INDUSTRY COMMENT


Turning IAQ advocacy into action


Step One: measure, respond and improve


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As part of Carrier’s Commercial HVAC team, Matt Maleki, business development manager and indoor air quality specialist, champions Carrier’s ongoing commitment to healthier indoor environments. Here, he discusses why the BESA global IAQ pledge marks a pivotal moment for the industry and how defining a practical “Step One” could turn awareness and intent into meaningful action


W


hen the Building Engineering Services Association (BESA) joined 150 worldwide organisations in signing the Global


Pledge for Healthy Indoor Air, it felt like a landmark moment for the HVAC industry. This unified commitment recognises that the air inside our buildings is equally important to our health as outdoor air, though often less visible. Yet, as encouraging as the pledge is, it also highlights the collective challenge we now face: translating shared ambition into measurable, everyday improvements. Across the UK, regulation is tightening and


awareness is growing. Awaab’s Law, which came into effect in October 2025, will hold social landlords to account for mould and damp, marking an important step towards healthier living environments. But the truth is that IAQ does not stop at housing associations or rented homes. It affects every building where people live, work, learn and recover. The conversation must therefore shift from pledges and position statements to practical, achievable steps that begin improving air quality today.


The momentum behind IAQ


The public conversation around air has changed dramatically over the past decade. What was once the domain of engineers and environmental scientists has now become part of mainstream


18 January 2026


Left: Matt Maleki, Business Development Manager and IAQ Specialist, Carrier Commercial HVAC


like and making sure it’s realistic for everyone involved, from manufacturers and developers to specifiers, contractors, and facilities managers.


The frameworks we have and the one we still need


thinking. Campaigners such as Rosamund Adoo- Kissi-Debrah, following the tragic loss of her nine-year-old daughter Ella, attributed to air pollution, have helped bring a more personal perspective to the issue. Their work reminds us that air pollution, indoors or out, has consequences measured in both statistics and lives. This awareness has created momentum that


regulators, developers and manufacturers can’t ignore. Employers are beginning to view IAQ as part of their duty of care and tenants are asking questions about ventilation, filtration and the hidden systems that make a space feel “fresh.” In that sense, the BESA pledge is timely. It signals alignment across sectors and a willingness to act. But awareness alone will not clean the air. If we


stop at pledges, we risk congratulating ourselves for setting intentions rather than achieving outcomes. The real work lies in defining what progress looks


The UK’s regulatory landscape already acknowledges IAQ, but mostly through the lens of ventilation and energy efficiency. Part F of the Building Regulations, written in 2010, establishes the minimum airflow rates and design principles to prevent buildings from becoming airtight boxes, and a 2021 amendment introduced CO2 monitoring for new dwellings. Part O, introduced in 2022, addresses


overheating, a crucial issue as our homes become better insulated and summers become hotter. Together, they provide the structural legislation for how air moves through a building. But what they don’t yet do is guarantee the quality of that air. Apart from CO2 monitoring in some new dwellings, there is currently no binding requirement to monitor pollutants, no consistent method to demonstrate filtration performance, and no mechanism to link IAQ data to system control or efficiency. The forthcoming updates to Part B, covering fire safety, may indirectly influence IAQ through ventilation and fire-safety coordination, but the direction of travel remains piecemeal.


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