Bloomberg Tackles Air Pollution - Inside and Out

Breathe in, breathe out. The average human takes this subconscious action 20,000 times a day. It’s easy to take for granted that the air surrounds us is healthy and clean, but according to the World Health Organization (WHO) an estimated nine out of 10 people worldwide breathe dirty air.

Air pollution sits at the intersection of the critical issues of climate change and public health. The burning of fossil fuels is a primary contributor to poor air quality, creating and exacerbating respiratory conditions and other health issues for millions of people worldwide. To address this issue, Bloomberg Philanthropies launched an ambitious clean air effort that aims to improve air quality through support for pilot projects in cities including London, Jakarta, Paris, and Brussels, as well as partnerships with national governments and local organizations. Using data gathered through innovative new technologies, the program works to identify the sources of air pollution, educate communities on the impact of low air quality, and develop science-backed solutions to better manage air quality.  Read more here about Bloomberg Philanthropies’ various efforts to tackle air pollution.

The Clean Air Fund and the World Economic Forum, key partners of Bloomberg Philanthropies, recognizing the impact of air quality on businesses and the important role that the private sector can play to help improve air quality, joined forces to launch the Alliance for Clean Air at COP26 in Glasgow. The Alliance for Clean Air is the first global corporate initiative to bring together leading companies to tackle air pollution. Bloomberg is pleased to join in this effort as a founding member, along with nine other businesses who are committed to measuring their air pollution footprint and creating clear, actionable plans to help deliver clean air.  Read the press release here.

“Air pollution is one of the biggest threats to public health today. Through Bloomberg Philanthropies’ partnerships across the globe, we’re helping cities to measure exactly how much pollution there is, pinpoint its sources and understand the real-life impacts. And as a company, we’re applying those lessons to our own operations in order to minimize our environmental impact. We look forward to accelerating these efforts as part of the Alliance for Clean Air.” — Jemma Read, Global Head of Corporate Philanthropy, Bloomberg L.P.

With nearly 20,000 employees based in 167 locations around the world, air quality is an important issue for Bloomberg, as many of our offices are in regions with high levels of air pollution which could impact our employees’ health and productivity. Outdoor air quality, and solutions to improve it, were especially taken into consideration in the planning and design of our European headquarters in London, which minimizes its environmental impact through innovative features, including natural ventilation. The building’s intelligent systems measure when outside air quality and ambient weather conditions are temperate, allowing it to “breathe” by stopping our mechanical ventilation systems and operating in natural ventilation mode.

Within Bloomberg’s operations, managing indoor air quality is an important aspect of our sustainable approach to facilities management and helps to ensure occupant health and safety. Bloomberg’s sustainable operating guidelines ensure that the air that we breathe in our offices is not degraded by outdoor pollutants and off-gassing from building materials, surfaces, and indoor combustion sources. With this foundation already in place, we also enhanced our air purification systems to increase fresh air, clean and sanitize the air through bipolar ionization and other technologies to specifically address the risk posed by Covid-19.

Bloomberg seeks to measure and manage all aspects of our operations, not only looking to minimize the impact of air pollution within our operations, but also understanding how we can help to minimize air pollution. Bloomberg will contribute to the Alliance for Clean Air through sharing our expertise within our own operations, the lessons we’ve learned through research and philanthropic initiatives, and by continuing to develop and evolve our products to provide our clients with relevant air pollution-related data, research and tools on the Bloomberg Terminal.

For more information on Bloomberg’s sustainability efforts, view the 2020 Impact Report.