United States. Ashrae and the Association for Indoor Air Quality (IAQA) have agreed in principle to join forces through the combination of resources to improve indoor air quality (IAQ) in the built environment.
Pending a period of three to six months of due diligence, IAQA will become part of the Ashrae organization, maintaining its own brand and board of directors. IAQA will operate independently within Ashrae's organizational structure. Plans for the IAQA headquarters are to move from Rockville, Maryland, to Atlanta, home to Ashrae's international headquarters.
"This merger is beneficial to both Ashrae and IAQA as it strengthens the programs and services of both organizations," said Tom Phoenix, President of Ashrae. "IAQA's work complements Ashrae's work in its standards, research, publications, and educational offerings. We now combine our resources to ensure the industry receives the best technical IAQ guidance and education programs possible, which means better indoor air quality for the world around us."
Ashrae also recently announced the formation of the Global Indoor Environmental Quality Alliance, which included IAQA as a founding member. Ashrae also has a strong research program related to indoor air quality, with 10 ongoing projects and a total of US$2.8 million, representing 23% of Ashrae's research budget.
