Good indoor air quality is crucial. Not only for our general health, but also to prevent infections - such as Covid-19 and the flu - from spreading by aerosols in an insufficiently ventilated room.
At the request of the Metal Industry Federation Agoria, the Flemish Construction Federation and the Flemish network of entrepreneurs VOKA, VITO has drawn up a memorandum for employers to get an insight into what good indoor air quality is, and to give them advice on how to keep the indoor air in their companies healthy.
The memorandum consists of several parts. First, it explains the differences between ventilation, aeration and air purification. It then explains why measuring CO2 is a good measure of indoor air quality.
Companies are legally obliged to provide a healthy working environment for their employees. The requirements are contained in the Codex for Wellbeing at Work. The employer - and the employees themselves - benefit greatly from providing a healthy indoor climate. After all, a sick employee is not able to perform his or her job properly.
That’s why the document goes into more detail about the causes of poorer indoor air quality. Many employers are not aware of the fact that building materials, furniture, cleaning products - basically the entire interior - also contribute to this (poor) quality. The document also provides guidance on how an office or a company can guarantee healthy indoor air for its employees.
The full document can be found here (Dutch).
