Traditionally, cleanliness in facilities, whether it’s a workplace, school, hospital, or senior living facility, has been associated with visible standards—gleaming floors, clear windows, and surfaces free from visible dirt. However, the understanding of what constitutes a healthy indoor environment has expanded significantly. Today’s definition of health and safety includes the quality of the air occupants breathe, calling for a comprehensive strategy that integrates cleaning practices, air quality management, and regulatory compliance to support occupant health, well-being, and productivity. Understanding the indoor environment Buildings operate like complex ecosystems, with multiple interconnected factors influencing indoor air quality (IAQ). Building materials, ventilation systems, cleaning products and practices, occupant behaviors, and even furnishings all play a role in the indoor environment. Each of these elements can introduce or mitigate exposure to invisible pollutants, including allergens (e.g., pollen, dust mites, and mold), volatile organic compounds (VOCs), particulate matter, and airborne pathogens. The National Institutes of Health reports that 50% of illnesses are either caused or worsened by poor IAQ. Individuals with respiratory conditions such as asthma, or vulnerable sectors of society like children, are especially susceptible. Over 50% of U.S. homes contain at least one elevated indoor allergen, and buildings designed for energy efficiency without proper ventilation can trap hundreds of chemicals indoors, contributing to sick building syndrome (SBS). A term coined in the 1970s, SBS described the health problems caused by inadequate ventilation and pollutant buildup in tightly sealed office buildings. Though the term is less commonly used today, the underlying issues remain, manifesting in symptoms such as eye irritation, dizziness, and respiratory symptoms, which often resolve once a person leaves the affected building. The consequences of poor IAQ go beyond physical health. Occupants in buildings with high levels of VOCs often have lower performance scores on cognitive tests, up to 61% lower compared to occupants in low-VOC environments, according to a study in the journal Building and Environment. In contrast, occupants in green-certified buildings, which typically feature superior ventilation and material choices, have shown a 26.4% improvement in cognitive test performance, another study in the same journal reported. Emerging regulations, such as the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers’ (ASHRAE) Standard 241, emphasize the importance of managing infectious aerosols and enhancing ventilation strategies, guiding facility managers toward healthier indoor environments. Standards such as this encourage facility managers to adopt evidence-based approaches to improve IAQ proactively. Interestingly, ASHRAE 241 is the first consensus-based, code-enforceable standard to address building preparedness and airborne infection risk reduction directly. Cleaning for air quality Traditional cleaning routines often fall short of addressing the root causes of poor IAQ, or worse, may contribute to poor IAQ. Many products and practices redistribute allergens into the breathing zone and release VOCs, negatively affecting air quality. Effective cleaning requires the selection of products that minimize chemical emissions and actively remove allergens. Low-VOC cleaning products, scientifically tested and independently verified through credible third-party programs like the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America’s Asthma & Allergy Friendly® Certification Program, offer reliable solutions while supporting better IAQ. Effective ventilation, filtration, and humidity control are also essential considerations. Simple steps, such as regular maintenance of HVAC systems and timely replacement of HVAC filters, can greatly influence indoor environments. Choosing certified HVAC filters and air purification systems also can play a key role in reducing indoor pollutants. The use of verified systems ensures products have undergone rigorous, independent testing proving that they effectively remove allergens and particles without introducing harmful by-products, ensuring real-world performance and subsequent health benefits. Differentiating between certifications and selfie seals In today’s crowded marketplace, health claims, certifications, and seals are everywhere, but not all are created equal. Amid a sea of marketing claims and loosely defined standards, it’s essential to recognize the programs that go beyond surface-level messaging to deliver real, evidence-based assurance. Genuine third-party certifications provide transparency, accountability, and confidence. Programs like the Asthma & Allergy Friendly® Certification Program, the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) rating system, and the International Well Building Institute’s WELL Building Standard® (WELL) set high standards, supporting informed decision-making for facility managers who seek products that are proven to contribute positively to occupant health. Backed by accredited laboratories like Airmid Healthgroup, these programs help facility managers make informed choices that align with both health goals and regulatory expectations. Certified products must pass scientifically validated protocols that assess performance in real-world conditions, not just ideal scenarios. This level of scrutiny stands in contrast to what are often referred to as “selfie seals”—unverified labels that appear to suggest third-party verification, but lack substantiated evidence, leading to consumer confusion and potential regulatory pushback. Regulatory bodies, including the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the European Commission, increasingly target these misleading claims, resulting in significant fines and consequential reputational damage for companies. Educating for action Despite growing awareness around IAQ, there remains a significant knowledge gap among cleaning and maintenance professionals, perhaps due to limited access to specific training. Tailored education programs are a fundamental tool in bridging this gap. One notable initiative is the Healthier Buildings Awareness training course, developed by the iAIR Academy in partnership with ISSA’s Global Biorisk Advisory Council (GBAC). Specifically designed for facility management professionals, the course addresses a broad array of factors relating to IAQ, including the impact of pollutants on respiratory health, the science behind pathogen control, and the opportunity for becoming an indoor air specialist. This educational support means professionals are equipped with practical knowledge, empowering them to implement efficient cleaning routines and select appropriate products that support a healthier indoor environment. For organizations that adhere to environmental, social, and governance (ESG) guidelines, the use of certified products contributes positively to their objectives, highlighting a commitment to occupant well-being and sustainability. Rethinking clean A genuinely effective approach to healthy buildings requires integrating building science, medical insights, and operational best practices. Implementing a holistic IAQ strategy involves careful selection of certified cleaning products and green building materials, rigorous adherence to improved cleaning protocols, and comprehensive staff training. Regular IAQ
Proactive facility managers, custodial teams, and building service contractors are gearing up for that time of year again: cold and flu season. The season usually runs from October through May—peaking December through February. The sooner you implement enhanced cleaning and disinfection protocols, the more successful you’ll be in reducing absenteeism, maintaining healthier indoor environments, and reassuring occupants that their well-being is a top priority. Why disinfecting matters Cold and flu viruses can survive on surfaces for hours or even days, making shared spaces a major factor in spreading illness. High-traffic facilities, such as schools, offices, and healthcare centers, are especially at risk. Ensuring these facilities are stocked with high-quality products, such as hospital-grade disinfectants, can help prevent the spread of germs and keep building inhabitants safe and productive. Effective disinfection is not about appearance; it’s about stopping the spread of germs. The lifespan of flu viruses varies from surface to surface. For hard, nonporous surfaces (like metal door handles, stainless steel, plastic): Influenza viruses can survive for 24 to 48 hours in measurable amounts. Infectious particles are strongest in the first two to eight hours, but traces can linger up to two days. The virus typically survives for only eight to 12 hours, sometimes less, on porous surfaces like fabric, paper, or tissues. Flu viruses can live on hands for up to five minutes after contact with a contaminated surface, which is why handwashing is critical. Unfortunately, common disinfection practices, like “spray and wipe,” often fall short. For disinfectants to work effectively, surfaces must stay visibly wet for the product’s required dwell time—usually between 30 seconds and five minutes, depending on the Environmental Protection Agency- (EPA) registered, hospital-grade List N disinfectant. Disinfectant wipes often offer better coverage because they naturally keep the contact time needed to kill pathogens. Best practices for high-touch surfaces Since restrooms receive most of the attention when it comes to cleaning and disinfecting, other common high-touch and high-use areas are often overlooked. These include: Door handles and push bars Light switches Water fountains and hydration stations Product dispensers Shared equipment and communal surfaces Be sure to disinfect these areas more frequently throughout the day during the cold and flu season. Posting signs and providing hand sanitizer at entrances or throughout buildings can help remind and motivate everyone to do their part in reducing the spread of illness. Partnering with your cleaning staff Whether working with in-house custodial teams or outside contractors, it’s essential to establish clear expectations about disinfection priorities. Consider increasing cleaning schedules and frequency during peak months, and communicate which areas require extra attention. At the same time, encourage personal responsibility. Simple messages like “If you’re sick, stay home” and reminders to wash hands regularly can have a measurable impact. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), proper handwashing can reduce respiratory illnesses by 16 to 21%, while the World Health Organization (WHO) reports that hand hygiene can reduce the spread of infections by up to 50% in healthcare settings. Ultimately, minimizing the impact of cold and flu season requires a multi-layered strategy: using appropriate products, applying them correctly, concentrating on high-touch surfaces, and encouraging personal hygiene. When all these elements work together, facilities can protect occupants, lower absenteeism, and show a clear commitment to health and safety.
What has the cleaning industry learned as it transitioned from the first pandemic year to the second? In this episode of BioTalk, a GBACtv production, learn the details about what went well and what didn't in 2021, and what we as an industry need to know right now. Infection prevention experts Patty Olinger, the executive director of the Global Biorisk Advisory Council (GBAC), a division of ISSA, and Dr. Paul Meechan, the former head of safety with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and who now serves on the GBAC scientific advisory board, discuss these topics with ISSA Media Director Jeff Cross. This webcast also digs into the science and the layered support when it comes to cleaning, disinfection, and air purification, and how the omicron variant shouldn’t be considered just another type of “cold”. Olinger and Meechan also discuss the possibility of the end of the pandemic. This webcast is brought to you by our sponsor Breezy.
Employers and workers are facing a new reality as health insurance premiums soar heading into 2026. Insurance companies on the Affordable Care Act marketplace are requesting premium increases of around 26%, and in some states, the jump could be closer to 30%. Employer plans are rising, too. Family coverage now costs about US$27,000 a year, which is up 6% from last year and the highest it has been in decades. “Continuing with business-as-usual will leave many employers vulnerable to rising costs amid growing demand for expensive care and new treatments,” said Rob Wilson, Employco USA president. Wilson offered these strategies for employers: Reevaluate plan structure—Switching to a high-deductible health plan (HDHP) paired with a Health Savings Account (HSA) can lower premiums for both employers and employees, offering tax-advantaged savings on out-of-pocket medical costs. Promote preventive care and wellness—Encouraging employees to take advantage of preventive services, regular screenings, healthy lifestyle programs, and wellness-incentive initiatives can reduce long-term claims and slow cost growth. Educate employees—Offer seminars, informational materials, and regular communication so employees understand their benefits, when to use telehealth, how to compare costs, and when generic medications or lower-cost providers make sense. Negotiate and review vendor/provider agreements regularly—Use contractual leverage or explore self-funded or value-based care options to keep premium increases and provider costs under control. Use data to drive decisions—Analyze claims and utilization patterns to identify high-cost areas, then tailor interventions (wellness, care management, network changes) to address them. Communicate transparently with your workforce—Open dialogue about plan changes, cost pressures, and trade-offs builds trust. This helps employees understand the value of benefits rather than viewing increases as sudden price hikes. Wilson warns human resource leaders to avoid heavy-handed cost shifting—e.g., large premium spikes and surprise deductibles—without clear communication, which can hurt morale or retention. “As costs rise, we have two choices,” Wilson said. “We can react by raising premiums and cutting benefits, or we can act by redesigning health coverage in a way that is sustainable, fair, and easy for employees to understand.”
The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) in London recently published its 2025 Sustainability Report, and the picture for green buildings is getting weaker. Demand for sustainable real estate is cooling in most European regions, many projects are stalling over high upfront costs and uncertain payback, and almost half of construction professionals still don’t measure carbon on their projects—a share that has actually grown over the past year. Energy-efficiency experts from Exergio, a company developing artificial intelligence (AI) tools for energy efficiency in real estate, said the sector is stuck not for lack of ambition but because three systemic failures—stalled demand, unclear financial value, and weak operational follow-through— remain unresolved. Global demand for sustainable buildings has been sliding for several years now, with the latest RICS report showing another drop from 41% to 30%. Investors and developers mostly blame unclear returns: 35-46% cite uncertain return on investment, payback periods, or operational savings as their main barrier to investing. “Investors aren’t against building sustainably—they just need proof it pays back,” said Donatas Karčiauskas, Exergio CEO. “If a project requires expensive materials, equipment and certifications but the real-world performance doesn’t translate into measurable savings, why would anyone scale it? Until buildings can demonstrate clear, verifiable returns, demand will keep sliding.” RICS data reveals a growing split between what building owners value and what investors prioritize. Building inhabitants favor performance—94% cite indoor environmental quality and 88% name energy efficiency as top priorities—while investors still focus on certification (86%) and resilience features (78%). “Occupiers care about how a building works; investors care about how it’s labeled,” Karčiauskas said. “Until performance and certification point in the same direction, we’ll keep building assets that look sustainable on paper but don’t deliver it in practice. The real solution is to measure what happens inside the building, every day— that’s when both groups finally get what they’re paying for.” The RICS report showed that this kind of measurement is still the exception, not the rule. Across regions, roughly half of respondents don’t measure embodied carbon at all, and only about 16% say their assessments change design choices. Just 17% believe the industry has enough sustainability knowledge, and only 10% are very familiar with whole-life carbon methods. Karčiauskas believes this is because the respondents do not know how to measure the emissions: “You can’t improve what you don’t measure, and you can’t measure what you don’t have the skills to assess,” he explained. “Right now, most carbon decisions are built on assumptions instead of real evidence.”
As of Dec. 16, a total of 1,958 confirmed measles cases were reported in the U.S., according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). (The CDC numbers do not include probable measles cases reported by jurisdictions that have not been confirmed yet.) Among these, 1,934 measles cases were reported by 43 states, and 24 cases were reported among international visitors to the U.S. As measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccination rates dwindle, the U.S. is experiencing the highest number of cases in more than 30 years. The CDC confirmed 49 outbreaks in 2025, and 88% of confirmed cases (1,713 of 1,958) are outbreak-associated. For comparison, 16 outbreaks were reported during 2024 and 69% of cases (198 of 285) were outbreak-associated. Currently, the largest U.S. outbreak is in South Carolina. As of Dec. 16, the South Carolina Department of Public Health has reported 138 cases of measles since July 9, most centered in Upstate South Carolina, which includes Greenville and Spartanburg. Another of the largest measles outbreaks in the U.S. has been confirmed in the bordering areas between Utah and Arizona. According to state health departments as of Dec. 16, 125 cases have been confirmed in Utah while 190 cases have been confirmed in Arizona. Earlier this year, CMM reported the end of this year’s largest measles outbreak centered in West Texas. As of Dec. 16, the CDC has confirmed 803 cases of measles in Texas since January—the most of any state this year. In September, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) voted to change national guidelines on the measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine. In November, the Americas arm of the World Health Organization (WHO) said the continued measles spread in Canada, Mexico, and the U.S. caused the countries to lose their measles-free status. The Americas was the first region in the world to eliminate measles twice. However, as of October, endemic transmission of measles has been reestablished in Canada, where the virus has circulated for at least 12 months. The U.S. is set to lose its measles-free status in January. As of Nov. 7, 12,596 confirmed measles cases have been reported across ten countries (approximately 95% of the region’s cases in Canada, Mexico, and U.S.), a 30-fold increase compared to 2024. Twenty-eight deaths have been recorded: 23 in Mexico, three in the U.S., and two in Canada. Active outbreaks are ongoing in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay, and Belize. “This loss represents a setback—but it is also reversible,” said Dr. Jarbas Barbosa, Pan American Health Organization director, “Until measles is eliminated worldwide, our region will continue to face the risk of reintroduction and spread of the virus among unvaccinated or under-vaccinated populations. However, as we have demonstrated before, with political commitment, regional cooperation, and sustained vaccination, the region can once again interrupt transmission and reclaim this collective achievement.”
According to the delayed release of the October/November 2025 U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Employment Situation report, total nonfarm payroll employment decreased by 105,000 in October and increased by 64,000 in November. The unemployment rate rose to a four-year high of 4.6% in November. The BLS jobs report tracks full-time and part-time payroll jobs on employer payrolls. However, it does not measure the extended workforce—contractors, independent professionals, statement-of-work (SOW) consultants, and project-based talent—who power critical work across industries and operate outside the BLS methodology, today accounting for approximately 40% of the total U.S. workforce. Workforce solution provider Beeline data from Oct. 1 to Nov. 30 shows nonpayroll workers still remain active and expanding: Hours billed by extended workforce talent increased 3.5% in October and 5.1% in November versus prior year. Assignment activity shows forward momentum. Assignment starts rose 4.9%, while ends declined by 0.5%. Growth is global, with assignments increasing in 45 countries, led by the U.S. Spend on flexible talent is up 6.2% year over year, as organizations channel budgets into external workforce strategies. These trends align with the broader rise of independent work. According to the 2025 MBO Partners State of Independence report, 72.9 million Americans now work independently, and full-time independents have nearly doubled since 2020—from roughly 13.6 million to 27.6 million—contributing more than $1 trillion annually to the U.S. economy. "The reality is that work is not slowing, it is shifting,” said Doug Leeby, Beeline CEO. “Companies are investing in flexible, high-skill talent to remain competitive, and millions of Americans are choosing independent work as their primary career path. If we want an accurate picture of the labor economy, we must look beyond payroll jobs and recognize the critical role of the extended workforce. By taking this segment into consideration, organizations, policymakers, and analysts can better align workforce strategies with how the labor market is actually evolving.”