🗓️ Date: Friday 9 June
đź•“ Time:Â 10:30 AM CEST
đź“Ť Venue:Â Residence Palace 155 Rue de la Loi, 1040 Bruxelles
We all have a right to breathe healthy air indoors – where we spend most our lives. Yet growing evidence from the IDEAL Cluster and across Europe shows that air quality can vary significantly from one indoor space to another. In some cases, the poorest air is found where our most vulnerable populations spend their time: children in schools or older persons in care homes.
Evidence increasingly links indoor pollutants to immediate health effects, reduced performance and elevated long term health risks. To make matters worse, in too many schools, children are exposed to mixtures of particulate matter, mould, allergens and chemical emissions that undermine health, wellbeing and learning. More concerning still, significant knowledge gaps remain, and the full scale of long term health impacts is still unknown. Yet, while outdoor air pollution is widely recognised as Europe’s largest environmental health threat, indoor air quality has received far less policy attention, despite often higher exposure levels and significant health and socioeconomic impacts.
Now, that momentum is building. Sparked in part by the COVID-19 pandemic, advances in sensors, smart ventilation, building renovation and digital tools – together with new European legislation and policy initiatives – create a timely opportunity to place indoor air quality firmly within Europe’s Zero Pollution ambition. Simply put, zero pollution cannot be achieved without addressing indoor sources. At the same time, improving indoor air quality presents clear opportunities for innovation, business development, and the design of smarter, healthier and more sustainable buildings.
The IDEAL Cluster, bringing together seven Horizon Europe research and innovation projects, over 120 organisations, and more than 50 million in investment, will convene policymakers, researchers, industry leaders and public authorities to present:
• Key scientific findings
• Emerging evidence on health and socio-economic impacts
• Innovative technologies and solutions
• Policy recommendations and standards
• A shared roadmap towards clean indoor air across Europe and beyond
Join us in Brussels for the IDEAL Cluster Summit as we translate science into concrete action and chart the path to healthier indoor environments for all.
