Master thesis: An exploration of stakeholder perceptions of air quality in Rotterdam offices and assignment of responsibility in its attainment
By Gavid Steel
Rotterdam School of Management - Erasmus University
MSc. Global Business & Sustainability
Supervisor: Prof. Dr. L. C. P. M. Meijs
The air inside a building can be up to five times more polluted than outdoor air (Wallace et al., 1986). Modern European citizens spend an inordinate amount of time indoors, including the office. Literature shows that occupants are exposed to health risks ranging from headaches to cardiovascular disease (Bell et al., 2009; Jones, 1999; Koistinen et al., 2008; RCP, 2016). Occupants perceive IAQ to affect comfort, in temperature, humidity and ventilation (Huizenga et al., 2006; Bluyssen, 2009; Sakellaris et al., 2016). Contemporary literature has exposed the economic benefits of improved air quality on absenteeism and productivity (Allen, 2016; Chang et al., 2016; MacNaughton et al., 2015). Despite the risks and benefits associated with IAQ, research in office environments is limited. Responsibility is conceived to be an important component in achieving good IAQ but research on responsibility for attaining and maintaining good IAQ is sorely lacking. This pilot study sets out to explore this field to upturn new insights or theoretical directions and catalyse derivative research in this underexplored field. Multiple stakeholders in office buildings are identified as a route to uncover holistic perceptions of IAQ and responsibility.
The study uses Rotterdam as the setting for the research. Key stakeholders in office air quality were identified in the context of the Netherlands. As an exploratory piece of research, grounded theory was selected as the methodological tool to gather and process data. Semi-structured interviews were held in Rotterdam with participants from key stakeholder groups to gather data, which was analysed using a constructivist grounded theory approach to produce theoretical categories and concepts.
Analysis of data elucidated the views of stakeholders on responsibility for IAQ in office environments. Comfort was of far greater significant to occupants than health concerns, with openable windows at centre of needs, conflicting with building manager concerns of cost, related to energy efficiency (Torcellini et al., 2006). Multiple regulations and bodies with interrelated effects put constraints on building managers and architects in understanding responsibility and making decisions that affect IAQ.
The perceptions of multiple stakeholders invoked theories around a relationship between awareness, the availability of IAQ information in the hands of stakeholders and responsibility, postulating that responsibility for good office air quality hinges on awareness. Responsibility was also shown to be contextual and fluid, for example differing between the design processes and existing buildings.