Bundled expertise for healthy indoor air

Klinikum Karlsruhe © Elmar Witt

Infographic_Sustainability Educational Construction © nora

© Sentinel Haus Institute

© Sentinel House Institute

Breathing freely – good indoor air quality is essential for our health and well-being. This applies not only to private spaces but also to public buildings or the workplace. Only in September 2021 were new air quality guidelines published by the World Health Organization (WHO), which now also apply to indoor air. In Germany, the Committee for Indoor Air Quality Guidelines (AIR), based at the Federal Environment Agency, sets nationwide health-related reference and guideline values for indoor air, which are used as standards for assessing the indoor air quality of public and private buildings. The committee consists of experts from the federal government and the individual federal states, appointed by the Working Group of the Supreme State Health Authorities (AOLG). While indoor air quality is a hot topic today, it was still a niche issue ten years ago. However, as early as 2011, two strong partners, the rubber flooring manufacturer nora systems and the Sentinel House Institute (SHI), shared the goal of equipping healthy buildings and have since cooperated on various projects, such as the "Healthy Classroom" and "My Future Office." The collaboration has been further intensified over the years, with current focus on advising municipal decision-makers. The need is great – because especially during renovation, but also in new construction, the airtight building envelopes required today for energy reasons can lead to a concentration of pollutants in the indoor air.

Scientifically Based Consulting Concept

When procuring in public construction, health and sustainability aspects are becoming increasingly important, as a 2021 survey conducted by nora systems has shown, in which a total of 86 municipal decision-makers participated. 87 percent of respondents rated the use of products with the "Blue Angel" label as "important" or "very important" criterion when selecting flooring. Also, considerations such as sustainable circular economy, CO2 neutrality, and assessment systems for building sustainability like DGNB or BNB are becoming more important. "To create healthy indoor environments, the building materials used – especially the flooring due to their large surface area – should be tested for low emissions," says Martina Hoock, nora market segment specialist for health and education. "However, those responsible in municipalities often face an overwhelming range of products and advertising promises from various manufacturers, making it difficult for them to filter out products that demonstrably contribute to good indoor air quality."

Cooperation for Healthy Indoor Environments

Here, nora systems and the Sentinel House Institute, market leaders in concepts for healthier buildings, aim to make a difference. The SHI offers a scientifically based preventive concept: Emission tests of building products are carried out according to internationally standardized testing procedures by renowned, accredited testing institutes (SGS Fresenius, eco-INSTITUT Germany, TÜV Rheinland, and others) and follow the recommendations of the German Federal Environment Agency and WHO for long-term healthy living, learning, and working environments. The institute advises numerous public and private institutions and is also represented in several working groups of the Federal Environment Agency. "nora rubber flooring has been installed in many of our tested buildings and proves itself there time and again due to its excellent health properties," emphasizes Peter Bachmann, founder and managing director of SHI.

Better Air through Low-Emission Rubber Floors

Accordingly, nora floors are also listed on the SHI portal, the largest online platform for healthier building. But the collaboration goes far beyond listing in a database. The rubber floors were also used in two highly regarded research projects by SHI – the "Healthy Classroom" and the "My Future Office" initiative. In both projects, reference rooms were equipped with low-emission materials and compared with rooms where no specific attention was paid to the use of low-emission products. The result was clear: The low-emission nora rubber floors contribute to good indoor air quality. They are the first elastic flooring to be awarded the "Blue Angel" label. The durable coverings "Made in Germany" are free of PVC, phthalate plasticizers, and chlorinated polymers. They do not need to be coated and can be maintained with simple mopping and without aggressive cleaning chemicals. This is not only economical but also positively influences indoor air quality.

Consolidated expertise for healthy buildings – nora systems and the Sentinel House Institute are the ideal partners for private builders and municipal decision-makers in all construction projects where the highest health standards and comprehensive safety are required.

1 Source: Committee for Indoor Air Quality Guidelines (AIR) air_13_sitzung_protokoll_kurz.pdf (umweltbundesamt.de), 3.11.2021.
2 Source: https://www.sentinel-haus.de/de/Sentinel-Haus/Qualit%C3%A4ten/Qualitaeten-Pruefkriterien.