The global pledge for healthy indoor air

On Tuesday 23rd September, the Safer Air Project’s CEO and founder, Plum Stone, travelled to New York to speak at Healthy Indoor Air: A Global Call to Action – the inaugural high-level side event on indoor air quality (IAQ), held on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly.

Plum joined global leaders from government, the UN, public health, education, sustainability and the private sector to call for urgent action on IAQ – an issue that shapes how we access education, employment, healthcare and community life. Plum also signed the Global Pledge for Healthy Indoor Air on behalf of the Safer Air Project, the first international effort to formally recognise clean indoor air as a basic human right essential to health and well-being.

For too long, indoor air has been invisible – and so have the people most affected by it. People with chronic illness, disability or compromised immunity face barriers when air is unsafe - and these perspectives have been underrepresented when policy is made. The Safer Air Project has been glad to have been a part of changing that, highlighting that safer indoor air is a critical accessibility and inclusion issue.

It was the honour of my life to speak alongside world leaders, experts and advocates for safer indoor air at the launch of the Healthy Indoor Air Global Pledge, raising the voices of people living with chronic health conditions, who face a disproportionate risk of harm from exposure to airborne pathogens and other pollutants, and to bring IAQ as an accessibility issue to this incredible event.

- Plum Stone
CEO, The Safer Air Project

Additionally, during the UN event, International WELL Building Institute President and CEO, Rachel Hodgdon, announced the formation of the Global Commission on Healthy Indoor Air. Spanning nearly 170 leaders from over 30 countries, the Commission represents every corner of the health and buildings ecosystem, and we’re delighted to share that Plum has been appointed a Co-Chair of the Commission alongside leading global experts. For more information on other Co-Chairs and Commissiners, read the IWBI press release here.

“At The Safer Air Project, we’ve championed indoor air quality as an accessibility and inclusion issue, informed by the experiences of people with chronic health conditions who face increased risks from the air we share indoors,” said Plum. “I’m honoured that this issue has been recognised and will be included through the Global Commission, to help ensure clean air is treated as a human right, so everyone can breathe safely indoors.”

If you donated to or shared our fundraising campaign, or sent us words of encouragement – thank you. You helped take lived experience all the way to UN Headquarters. We’re incredibly grateful for your support.

The Healthy Indoor Air: A Global Call to Action family photo