BOSTON, Mass. -- Five leading indoor air quality (IAQ) organizations announced on June 14 the formation of a new consortium, Alliance for Sustainable & Practical IAQ in Real Estate (ASPIRE), with the goal of helping commercial and institutional buildings sustainably achieve indoor air quality. ASPIRE aims to encourage a more comprehensive, performance-based and data-driven approach to IAQ for building owners, managers and operators.
The founding consortium members include Awair, Clockworks Analytics, enVerid Systems, SafeTraces, and System2 Consulting.
"ASPIRE's founding members share a vision that buildings should provide a positive occupant experience, promote health and safety, and operate efficiently and sustainably; and we believe that IAQ is an intrinsic component of all three of these objectives," said Aaron Lapsley, principal and founder of System2 Consulting.
"Despite widespread claims in the marketplace, we know that there is no easy-button, silver-bullet solution that will fully address IAQ in every building. Instead, ASPIRE aims to encourage a performance-based framework that will help building stakeholders make well-informed decisions and implement practical solutions for achieving healthy air quality in a manner that minimizes or eliminates the trade-offs with energy efficiency," Lapsley said.
ASPIRE's founding members share a vision that buildings should provide a positive occupant experience, promote health and safety, and operate efficiently and sustainably.
As part of its charter, ASPIRE will provide market education on leading practices related to indoor air quality and its intersection with sustainability. ASPIRE's framework addresses five objectives:
- Monitor and improve indoor air quality (IAQ) and ventilation systems.
- Measure and reduce pathogen transmission and illness risk.
- Reduce energy costs and carbon emissions.
- Demonstrate success and leadership through certification.
- Direct investment to the highest value opportunities and solutions.
Representatives of each ASPIRE member offered the following statements:
Awair
"Our mission at Awair is to ensure everyone can breathe safely anywhere indoors," said Dustin DeVan, CEO of Awair. "IAQ requires management on a real-time basis, as well as having the insights and integrations to address issues quickly. We are excited to join such a collaborative team to democratize air data and to ensure people's safety, particularly as indoor air matters now more so than ever post-pandemic."
Clockworks Analytics
"Increased awareness of the critical role of IAQ on building and occupant health - coupled with a proliferation of IAQ solutions, standards, and data collection over the past year - has resulted in a large education gap," said Alex Grace, VP of Business Development at Clockworks Analytics. "We are excited to join with leaders in the building performance and IAQ space through ASPIRE and share our expertise in fault detection and diagnostics in order to help consumers make more informed IAQ decisions in their buildings."
enVerid Systems
"There has long been a tension between achieving indoor air quality goals and energy efficiency and sustainability goals," said Christian Weeks, CEO of enVerid Systems. "Buildings now need to solve for both. Working as part of ASPIRE we hope to educate building owners and operators on the opportunities to adopt performance-based design standards and advanced filtration solutions to enable healthy and sustainable buildings."
SafeTraces
"The global pandemic has put a spotlight on the critical importance of IAQ to public health, as well as the insufficiency of our current paradigm for IAQ systems, regulations, and standards in public buildings," said Erik Malmstrom, CEO of SafeTraces. "SafeTraces is thrilled to join forces with the most innovative technology companies in the built environment and to leverage our technology for advancing performance-based, data-driven metrics for combatting indoor respiratory infection."