ABSTRACT

The theme of this chapter is that the great disparity between the economic loss society suffers from poor indoor environmental quality and the cost necessary to improve it is caused in large measure by an imbalance in the marketplace. Private entities that want improved environments have been unable to translate this desire into an overt expression of market demand that would justify the expenditure and risk that the improvements require. Public policies which facilitate the easy expression of market demand by occupants and which ease the response to that demand by building owners and developers are recommended. These policies include the establishment of protocols of good building practices; a rational integration of energy and indoor environmental policies; and guidance and software packages for building owners and others that assist in calculating bottom-line impacts of indoor environmental quality projects.