It may not be the first thing you think about when it comes toimproving asset values, but improving air quality can be a greatway to optimize returns from a commercial real estateinvestment.

Indoor air quality (IAQ) has been identified bythe Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as one of the top five"most urgent environmental risks to public health". Poor airquality can create health risks such as irritation of the eyes,nose, and throat; dizziness or headaches; rashes; breathingdifficulty and even chronic asthma. Of course, allowingbuilding tenants to be exposed to hazardous indoor air creates riskof liability and significant lawsuits. This puts greatemphasis on building owners, managers, and employers to take aproactive approach to improving air quality. Considering that theaverage American spends up to 90% of their time indoors, OSHA acknowledges that "indoor air quality is amajor concern to businesses, schools, building managers, tenants,and workers because it can impact the health, comfort, well-being,and productivity of the building occupants."

Additionally, tenants are increasingly demandinghealthier living and working spaces: there is greater awareness ofthe impact of air quality on health and livability, evidenced bythe growing demand for tools that track IAQ. For example, SanFrancisco-based Bitfinder recently introduced a popular platform thatmonitors and reports on how humidity, dust particles andtemperature affect health. The company hopes it will set thestage for an IAQ health standard for buildings, much like LEED certification for energy efficiency.