A Novel Method for Calculating Health and Climate Impacts of Building Energy Savings – 3 Key Takeaways from the CoBE Tool
Climate, Healthy BuildingsThe CoBE team – with researchers from Harvard Healthy Buildings program, Oregon State University College of Engineering, and Boston University School of Public Health – reports on a novel method for calculating health and climate impacts of building energy savings. Here are three key takeaways from our study.
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Protecting your Health from Wildfire Smoke – Spotlight on Filters
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Behind Office Doors: Uncovering Hormone-Disrupting Chemical Mixtures in the Workplace
Healthy Buildings, Healthy Materials, Healthy Workplaces Read More
The Business Case for Better Air Quality
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Opinion: The CDC’s new indoor air guidelines are a monumental victory for health
9 Foundations, COVID-19, Healthy Buildings, Healthy Homes, Healthy Schools View Article
How building design can improve people’s well-being
Healthy Buildings, Healthy Homes View Article
Is Staying in Staying Safe?
9 Foundations, COVID-19, Healthy Buildings, Healthy Homes View Article
How PFAS were cleverly rebranded as ‘forever chemicals’
Healthy Buildings, Healthy Homes View ArticleWhat is a Healthy Building?
In the simplest of terms, a healthy building is one with an indoor environment that is optimized to positively impact the health, well-being and productivity of its occupants. To achieve this, buildings must strive to meet a number of foundational criteria – nine, to be specific, – which cover everything from ventilation and air quality to lighting, views and physical security.
But ultimately, the bigger question isn’t around what makes a building healthy – it’s about the impact healthy buildings can have on the world. Whether in homes, schools or offices, the way we design, maintain and operate buildings can either aid or harm our health. The concept of healthy buildings focuses on the effects of built environments on both individual and public health, and the role they can play in addressing some of our most pressing global challenges.
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The Healthy Buildings Movement
Our program aims to harness the power of research, business collaboration, and commonsense messaging to advance solutions for human health within the built environment. The team creates user-friendly tools, resources, guides, and calculators to empower people to apply the latest research on healthy building solutions to their everyday lives.
Learn More About our Research and Explore the Latest Tools at forhealth.org
The 9 Foundations of a Healthy Building
Wondering what it takes to make a healthy building? It starts with a few simple criteria. Created by Harvard’s healthy building experts, the 9 Foundations of a Healthy Building outlines health performance indicators, offering a clear and actionable distillation of the core elements of healthy indoor environments.
