The closure of Kalvehave Kindergarten due to dangerously poor indoor climate underlines the urgent need to monitor and improve the indoor climate in all municipal institutions and schools. Children and staff in nurseries, kindergartens and schools should not be exposed to dangerous air pollutants such as CO2, mold and particles.
We are therefore calling for a systematic and national indoor climate labeling of municipal buildings that follows the same model as the energy labeling. Such labeling will give all actors – from technical services to politicians – a clear and easily understandable picture of the state of the indoor climate in each building. This tool can be used to prioritize renovations of the most needy buildings, ensuring that not only the loudest, but also the most damaging buildings are renovated first.
The indoor climate labeling must be nationally adjusted, state controlled and built around key parameters such as air quality, ventilation, humidity and temperature control. In the same way as the energy label, it will give a scale from A to G, where A means optimal indoor climate, and G signals an urgent need for intervention.
Why is it necessary?
Many municipalities already have massive maintenance backlogs on their building stock. In 2023, it was estimated that the municipalities overall need up to DKK 25.9 billion for renovations. But without systematic data collection and a uniform standard for indoor climate, the municipalities can only react to the symptoms when the problems have already reached a critical point – as we saw with the Kalvehave Kindergarten.
Real-time monitoring and data sharing
Along with the labelling, there must be a requirement for real-time monitoring of the indoor climate in all municipal buildings. Using sensors, the institutions' technical service managers can receive alerts directly on their phone or e-mail if there are elevated CO2 levels, moisture problems, energy waste or particle accumulation in a room. This approach will not only protect children and employees, but also save the municipalities large expenses for emergency maintenance and closed buildings.
Call to action
We call on Christiansborg's politicians to take responsibility and put forward legislative proposals for a national indoor climate labelling. It is time that we ensure healthier buildings for our children and young people - before more institutions are forced to close due to health hazards.
