A possible approach was defined to address the question ’What can/should be done to reach the next level?’ This includes actions and methods to improve indoor air quality (IAQ) ranging from education to regulation and research opportunities.
From the information gathered in the state of the art, the workshop, the interviews and the forum can be distilled that the approach required to improve IAQ (with the focus on construction products) comprises of at least three clearly intertwined levels: Education and awareness, regulation and policies and research and development.
Education and awareness using a “push & pull” approach is required to make society as a whole realise the importance of IAQ, ranging from educating school children applying new ways (perhaps a computer based game) to educating building professionals and practising architects with hands-on examples of best practice.
At the same time, regulation and policies for IAQ should be intertwined or at least linked to sustainability and health issues. And last but not least, research and development should focus on multi-exposure situations rather than single compounds and events, using the human being as the ultimate sensor. A multi-disciplinary approach is therefore required to achieve the necessary actions for improving IAQ and for managing future risks to IAQ such as the possible implications of climate change.