Author: sHq_LoGiNz

A Healthy Workplace Environment: What Does This Mean?

We spend nearly 90% of our lives indoors whether at work, at home, or in transit. Yet indoor air quality is often overlooked when discussing health and wellbeing. Elevated carbon dioxide (CO₂), volatile organic compounds (VOCs) released from furniture, finishes, cleaning products and fragrances, and pollutants entering buildings from traffic, energy generation, dust, agriculture, and waste activities all contribute to the air we breathe indoors.

Poor indoor air quality affects more than comfort. Short-term exposure can lead to eye irritation, headaches, fatigue, dizziness, and difficulty concentrating, symptoms often grouped under “Sick Building Syndrome”, and frequently misattributed to stress or workload. Over time, chronic exposure to air pollution, both indoors and outdoors, has been linked to more serious outcomes including cardiovascular disease, stroke, respiratory illness, certain cancers, and emerging evidence suggests possible associations with neurodegenerative conditions.

The World Health Organization has long highlighted that indoor air pollution remains a major but under-recognized public health issue. Globally, air pollution contributes to millions of premature deaths each year, with a significant proportion associated with indoor exposure. While access to clean drinking water is widely recognized as a basic right, access to clean air receives far less attention despite being equally fundamental.

Air quality also directly affects workplace performance. Research consistently shows that cognitive function, productivity, and decision-making decline in poorly ventilated environments. Even moderate improvements in ventilation and pollutant reduction have been associated with measurable gains in work performance, sometimes in the range of several percentage points.

Occupational Health and Exposure: What’s Safe?

Air contains a mixture of gases and microscopic particles known as particulate matter (PM). Among these, PM2.5, particles 2.5 micrometers or smaller, are of particular concern. These particles are small enough to penetrate deep into the lungs and enter the bloodstream, potentially affecting multiple organs. Because they are invisible to the naked eye, their presence often goes unnoticed without monitoring.

Many countries set legal limits for ambient air pollution. However, regulatory thresholds do not necessarily represent a “safe” level of exposure. For example, in several jurisdictions, legal limits for PM2.5 remain significantly higher than the guideline values recommended by the World Health Organization. Although overall trends may show improvement, exposure levels in many regions continue to exceed health-based recommendations.

Workplace regulations typically focus on ventilation and control of hazardous substances. In the UK, for example, the Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations require employers to provide sufficient fresh or purified air in enclosed workplaces. Guidance further states that supplied air should be free from impurities likely to cause ill health. Substances covered under COSHH regulations must be controlled where present, and Workplace Exposure Limits (WELs) apply to specific hazardous substances.

However, being below a regulatory limit does not automatically mean that exposure poses no risk, particularly when considering long-term, low-level exposure or cumulative effects. Moreover, offices and similar workplaces are often not formally classified as “sensitive receptors” in air quality planning guidance, and there is typically no explicit legal requirement to conduct routine indoor air quality assessments.

Despite this, increasing numbers of organizations are proactively assessing and improving their indoor environments. Motivations vary: reducing absenteeism, enhancing employee wellbeing, meeting ESG commitments, improving productivity, mitigating potential legal liability, or aligning with broader sustainability goals.

At its core, the issue is straightforward. Employers have a duty of care to provide a safe and healthy working environment. As scientific understanding of air quality evolves, expectations around what constitutes a “healthy” indoor environment are evolving too.

Practical Steps to Improve Indoor Air Quality

While awareness of indoor air quality (IAQ) has grown significantly, many organizations struggle with the how! Improving IAQ does not always require large-scale investment. Targeted, practical measures can deliver measurable benefits for both employee well-being and operational performance.

Starting with a strong baseline ensures interventions are driven by the data, not emotion. Spot measurements or continuous monitoring can reveal elevated CO₂, particulate matter, and volatile organic compounds (VOCs). A foundation based on data matters and without it, organizations risk spending time and capital on fixes that feel good but don’t address the actual problem (if one exists at all!).

Ventilation remains one of the most effective levers available. Verify that HVAC systems are operating as designed and align practices with current ASHRAE (The American Society of Heating, Refrigeration, and Air Conditioning Engineers) standards for occupancy-based ventilation which includes controlling airflow volume, outside air intake, temperature, humidity, and filtration.

Routine maintenance is equally important. Poorly maintained systems can become a source of contamination. Regular inspection and cleaning of HVAC components, including ducts, coils, and filters, helps maintain performance and prevents the buildup of dust, mold, and other contaminants. Routine inspection and cleaning is foundational, not optional.

Organizations should also focus on source control. This includes evaluating building materials, cleaning products, and workplace processes that may introduce pollutants into the indoor environment. Substituting lower-emission products and implementing proper storage and handling practices can reduce exposure risks at the source.

By taking a structured and proactive approach, organizations can move beyond compliance to create indoor environments that actively support health, productivity, and long-term resilience.

Check out how we can help multinational corporations with our air quality services in any location.

Inogen Alliance is a global network made up of over 70 of independent local businesses and over 6,000 consultants around the world who can help make your project a success. Our Associates collaborate closely to serve multinational corporations, government agencies, and nonprofit organizations, and we share knowledge and industry experience to provide the highest quality service to our clients. If you want to learn more about how you can work with Inogen Alliance, you can explore our Associates or Contact Us. Watch for more News & Blog updates, listen to our podcast and follow us on LinkedIn.

A Healthy Workplace Environment: What Does This Mean?

We spend nearly 90% of our lives indoors whether at work, at home, or in transit. Yet indoor air quality is often overlooked when discussing health and wellbeing. Elevated carbon dioxide (CO₂), volatile organic compounds (VOCs) released from furniture, finishes, cleaning products and fragrances, and pollutants entering buildings from traffic, energy generation, dust, agriculture, and waste activities all contribute to the air we breathe indoors.

Poor indoor air quality affects more than comfort. Short-term exposure can lead to eye irritation, headaches, fatigue, dizziness, and difficulty concentrating, symptoms often grouped under “Sick Building Syndrome”, and frequently misattributed to stress or workload. Over time, chronic exposure to air pollution, both indoors and outdoors, has been linked to more serious outcomes including cardiovascular disease, stroke, respiratory illness, certain cancers, and emerging evidence suggests possible associations with neurodegenerative conditions.

The World Health Organization has long highlighted that indoor air pollution remains a major but under-recognized public health issue. Globally, air pollution contributes to millions of premature deaths each year, with a significant proportion associated with indoor exposure. While access to clean drinking water is widely recognized as a basic right, access to clean air receives far less attention despite being equally fundamental.

Air quality also directly affects workplace performance. Research consistently shows that cognitive function, productivity, and decision-making decline in poorly ventilated environments. Even moderate improvements in ventilation and pollutant reduction have been associated with measurable gains in work performance, sometimes in the range of several percentage points.

Occupational Health and Exposure: What’s Safe?

Air contains a mixture of gases and microscopic particles known as particulate matter (PM). Among these, PM2.5, particles 2.5 micrometers or smaller, are of particular concern. These particles are small enough to penetrate deep into the lungs and enter the bloodstream, potentially affecting multiple organs. Because they are invisible to the naked eye, their presence often goes unnoticed without monitoring.

Many countries set legal limits for ambient air pollution. However, regulatory thresholds do not necessarily represent a “safe” level of exposure. For example, in several jurisdictions, legal limits for PM2.5 remain significantly higher than the guideline values recommended by the World Health Organization. Although overall trends may show improvement, exposure levels in many regions continue to exceed health-based recommendations.

Workplace regulations typically focus on ventilation and control of hazardous substances. In the UK, for example, the Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations require employers to provide sufficient fresh or purified air in enclosed workplaces. Guidance further states that supplied air should be free from impurities likely to cause ill health. Substances covered under COSHH regulations must be controlled where present, and Workplace Exposure Limits (WELs) apply to specific hazardous substances.

However, being below a regulatory limit does not automatically mean that exposure poses no risk, particularly when considering long-term, low-level exposure or cumulative effects. Moreover, offices and similar workplaces are often not formally classified as “sensitive receptors” in air quality planning guidance, and there is typically no explicit legal requirement to conduct routine indoor air quality assessments.

Despite this, increasing numbers of organizations are proactively assessing and improving their indoor environments. Motivations vary: reducing absenteeism, enhancing employee wellbeing, meeting ESG commitments, improving productivity, mitigating potential legal liability, or aligning with broader sustainability goals.

At its core, the issue is straightforward. Employers have a duty of care to provide a safe and healthy working environment. As scientific understanding of air quality evolves, expectations around what constitutes a “healthy” indoor environment are evolving too.

Practical Steps to Improve Indoor Air Quality

While awareness of indoor air quality (IAQ) has grown significantly, many organizations struggle with the how! Improving IAQ does not always require large-scale investment. Targeted, practical measures can deliver measurable benefits for both employee well-being and operational performance.

Starting with a strong baseline ensures interventions are driven by the data, not emotion. Spot measurements or continuous monitoring can reveal elevated CO₂, particulate matter, and volatile organic compounds (VOCs). A foundation based on data matters and without it, organizations risk spending time and capital on fixes that feel good but don’t address the actual problem (if one exists at all!).

Ventilation remains one of the most effective levers available. Verify that HVAC systems are operating as designed and align practices with current ASHRAE (The American Society of Heating, Refrigeration, and Air Conditioning Engineers) standards for occupancy-based ventilation which includes controlling airflow volume, outside air intake, temperature, humidity, and filtration.

Routine maintenance is equally important. Poorly maintained systems can become a source of contamination. Regular inspection and cleaning of HVAC components, including ducts, coils, and filters, helps maintain performance and prevents the buildup of dust, mold, and other contaminants. Routine inspection and cleaning is foundational, not optional.

Organizations should also focus on source control. This includes evaluating building materials, cleaning products, and workplace processes that may introduce pollutants into the indoor environment. Substituting lower-emission products and implementing proper storage and handling practices can reduce exposure risks at the source.

By taking a structured and proactive approach, organizations can move beyond compliance to create indoor environments that actively support health, productivity, and long-term resilience.

Check out how we can help multinational corporations with our air quality services in any location.

Inogen Alliance is a global network made up of over 70 of independent local businesses and over 6,000 consultants around the world who can help make your project a success. Our Associates collaborate closely to serve multinational corporations, government agencies, and nonprofit organizations, and we share knowledge and industry experience to provide the highest quality service to our clients. If you want to learn more about how you can work with Inogen Alliance, you can explore our Associates or Contact Us. Watch for more News & Blog updates, listen to our podcast and follow us on LinkedIn.

ATLANTA, May 8, 2026 /3BL/ – Georgia-Pacific announced that Nick Trainer has been named vice president, market sales of GP PRO. In this role, Trainer will lead market sales strategy and execution, strengthen customer partnerships, and drive growth across the business.

“I’m excited to have Nick rejoin the Georgia-Pacific family. His strong leadership experience and deep knowledge of our industry will help us continue to deliver superior value to our customers,” said Nate Medina, senior vice president and general sales manager, GP PRO.

Georgia-Pacific named Nick Trainer vice president, market sales of GP PRO. Trainer will lead market sales strategy and execution, strengthen customer partnerships, and drive growth across the business.

Prior to rejoining GP PRO, Trainer served as senior vice president of sales and marketing at Handgards, a manufacturer and supplier of foodservice disposable products focused on food safety and cross-contamination prevention.

During his 18-year tenure at Georgia-Pacific, Trainer held several leadership roles, including Southern regional sales manager and vice president and general manager of the GP PRO Tissue and Wiper business. In that role, he drove significant growth of the Compact tissue business, led the launch of multiple new products across categories, and advanced key investments in manufacturing. He also helped shape category strategy, strengthen customer engagement, and accelerate innovation across GP PRO.

Earlier in his career, Trainer held sales leadership roles at Unisource and Kimberly-Clark.

In addition, Ryan Elwart has been named senior vice president, sales and innovation for GP Foodservice Solutions, the company’s new business that includes Dixie® and Anchor Packaging. In this role, Elwart will lead transformation efforts for Georgia-Pacific’s away-from-home foodservice disposables — driving growth across categories and bringing together the Georgia-Pacific and Anchor sales teams.

Georgia-Pacific today named Ryan Elwart senior vice president, sales and innovation for GP Foodservice Solutions. Elwart will lead Georgia-Pacific’s away-from-home foodservice disposables initiatives.

“I’m delighted to have Ryan rejoin the GP family. His strong commercial leadership experience, deep understanding of our customers and industry, and proven ability to drive growth at scale position him to make an immediate impact,” said Chris Warburton, chief customer officer of Georgia-Pacific’s Consumer Products group. “He will play a key role in accelerating our foodservice business by strengthening customer partnerships and advancing innovative solutions to better serve a growing market.”

Prior to joining GP Foodservice Solutions, Elwart served as Group President at Mativ, where he oversaw multiple categories and segments across the business. He led efforts to strengthen company performance, build commercial capabilities, and unlock strategies to drive growth with customers across the marketplace. He also led the Sustainable & Adhesive Solutions business unit, driving alignment across sales, marketing, sales operations, and research and development to improve execution, drive innovation and scale best practices.

Elwart previously spent 16 years with Georgia-Pacific, including serving as chief customer officer for the Consumer Products Group. In that role, he led a combined sales and commercial capability organization spanning retail and B2B sales, eCommerce, training, customer planning, category management, and sales strategy across the company’s retail and commercial businesses.

Earlier in his career, Elwart held leadership roles at PepsiCo and Hormel Foods and has extensive experience across customer- and consumer-facing businesses.

About Georgia-Pacific 

Based in Atlanta, Georgia-Pacific and its subsidiaries are among the world’s leading manufacturers and marketers of bath tissue, paper towels and napkins, tableware, paper-based packaging, cellulose and building products. Our familiar consumer brands include Angel Soft®, Brawny®, Dixie®, enMotion®, Quilted Northern®, Sparkle® and Vanity Fair®.

Georgia-Pacific has long been a leading supplier of building products to lumber and building materials dealers and large do-it-yourself warehouse retailers. Its Georgia-Pacific Recycling subsidiary is among the world’s largest traders of paper, metal and plastics. The company operates more than 150 facilities and employs approximately 30,000 people directly and creates more than 80,000 jobs indirectly. For more information, visit: gp.com/about-us. For news, visit: news.gp.com. Follow Georgia-Pacific on LinkedIn, Meta, Instagram, X and YouTube.

About GP PRO

Based in Atlanta, Georgia-Pacific and its subsidiaries are among the world’s leading manufacturers and marketers of bath tissue, paper towels and napkins, tableware, paper-based packaging, cellulose and building products. The company operates approximately 150 facilities and employs approximately 30,000 people directly and creates nearly 80,000 jobs indirectly. GP PRO, a division of Georgia-Pacific, manufactures and sells well-known brands like enMotion^®, Compact^®, Angel Soft^® Professional Series, Brawny^®, Dixie^®, Pacific Blue™ and the KOLO^® Smart Monitoring System. GP PRO products meet restroom, foodservice, and break room needs for office buildings, healthcare, foodservice, high traffic, lodging, retail, and education facilities, plus a wide range of industrial and manufacturing facilities in North America. For more information, visit: gppro.com.

As the official bank of the Buffalo Sabres, KeyBank continued its longstanding partnership with the team by bringing excitement directly into the community ahead of the second round of playoffs. Through the HocKey Assists program, KeyBank and the Sabres hosted a high-energy pep rally at the Seneca Street Community Development Corporation, creating a shared moment of celebration for local families and young fans.

Sabretooth, along with Sabres alumni Rob Ray and Marty Biron, joined KeyBank and Sabres teammates to deliver an energetic experience filled with playoff spirit. Participants received rally towels and gameday items while interacting with the alumni and mascot, helping bring the excitement of postseason hockey to the next generation of Sabres fans.

For KeyBank, the pep rally reflects the purpose behind HocKey Assists: using the strength of collaboration to create meaningful, community-centered experiences. By meeting participants where they are and making the playoff atmosphere accessible beyond the arena, the program helps ensure that the energy of this moment is shared across the entire community.

KeyBank is proud to partner with the Buffalo Sabres to continue celebrating this playoff run and to support local organizations like the Seneca Street Community Development Corporation. As Buffalo rallies around its hometown team, initiatives like this help extend that momentum into neighborhoods across Western New York—strengthening connections, inspiring fans and reinforcing what makes the community so special.

• Learn more about KeyBank’s longstanding partnership with the Buffalo Sabres and commitment to the Western New York region.

This article is authored by Roland Duquesne, Director of Key Accounts, EMEA, Trane Technologies

Across transportation and the built environment, electrification is delivering real-world benefits. Electric cars are a familiar sight, while electric buses, delivery vehicles and bicycles are increasingly common. Yet long-range transport, a critical link that delivers everything from food to lifesaving medication, was viewed as too complex to electrify. Now, as innovative new electrification technologies shift the commercial transport industry, that is changing.

Transport electrification’s tipping point

Long-haul transportation is essential. Around the world, the freight transported by these vehicles, from food and fuel to vital healthcare supplies, keeps daily life moving. But long-haul trucking also generates a disproportionate share of overall transport emissions.

For decades, as electrification technologies became commonplace in other sectors, long-haul transport was left behind. Issues like battery size and weight, charging infrastructure availability and recharging time requirements conflicted with existing logistics processes and routes.

But now, new electrification technologies are available that can help decarbonize this critical sector while also reducing fuel costs. Trane Technologies is accelerating this shift with innovative electrification solutions that optimize energy use. For the leaders responsible for logistics networks, the question is no longer whether to decarbonize commercial transport, but how to do it in ways that support key business outcomes while also reducing emissions.

Scalable electrification strategies

The pace of technological innovation in the transport sector is accelerating. Rather than relying solely on larger batteries, new solutions are reducing energy demand across the entire vehicle system. Electrified trailers can actively support propulsion, reducing the load while extending operating range, lowering fossil fuel use and improving overall vehicle efficiency. Electric refrigerated transport solutions are already being deployed in commercial fleets. Systems that can capture and reuse the residual energy from commercial trucks’ braking systems and downhill momentum are now a reality.

At Trane Technologies, electrification is a central lever in our Climate Transition Plan and our goal of achieving net-zero by 2050. For long-haul commercial transport, that means looking at the system holistically, and asking how every component can consume less, waste less and ultimately operate with lower emissions.

“We’ve never seen as much innovation in the transport industry as we have today.”

Roland Duquesne
Director of Key Accounts, EMEA, Trane Technologies

Electrification innovation on the road

New electrification technologies are already making an impact on the road. Our Thermo King team has introduced electrified transport refrigeration solutions that can reduce diesel fuel use while maintaining reliable temperature control. Another innovation, Advancer AxlePower, uses generators located in the axle of the trailer that recuperate the energy lost when the truck’s braking system is activated or when the truck drives downhill. It then repurposes that energy to power a refrigeration unit.

Innovations like these are creating efficiencies across the transport sector. The AxlePower technology, which was co-developed by Thermo King and BPW Bergische Achsen, captures energy at the trailer axle and stores it in a high-voltage Thermo King Energ-e battery to continuously power refrigeration units while driving and at stops.

In a recent pilot, Thermo King EMEA worked with a partner in Holland to trial the AxlePower configuration side by side with traditional gas-powered transport systems. After two years, the AxlePower system had reduced fossil fuel use, demonstrating how hybrid systems can improve overall performance while decarbonizing.

In another pilot with logistics provider DP World and retailer Woolworths, the first electric refrigerated transport trailer to operate across the African continent delivered both fuel savings and emissions reductions of up to 20 tons of CO₂ per year compared with diesel-powered refrigerated transport. The trailer with the AxlePower technology logged 146,000 kilometers (over 90,000 miles) of all-electric operation, relying on gas backup just 3% of the time.

Trane Technologies is also collaborating with other ground-breaking pioneers in the electrification realm, such as Germany-based transport company Trailer Dynamics. Abdullah Jaber, a physicist and the company’s CEO, notes that Europe was making progress towards decarbonizing vehicles of almost all types except long-haul trucks.

That light bulb moment led to the company’s focus on decarbonizing long-haul transport, including a battery-powered trailer that reduces the energy needed by the trucks pulling it. Trailers like these have multiple benefits:

• when integrated with a diesel-powered vehicle, the trailer reduces the amount of fossil fuel needed, cutting both emissions and fuel costs.
• and, when paired with an electrified vehicle, the trailers increase the potential range of the truck before refueling or recharge is needed.

Solutions like these are creating practical pathways to integrate electrification into existing operations, reducing fuel costs and emissions without wholesale fleet overhauls.

Electrification innovations such as these demonstrate how the freight industry can move forward with fuel-saving, emission-reducing solutions while charging infrastructure continues to evolve.

The path to net-zero transport electrification

Long-haul transport sits at the center of both the global economy and the decarbonization challenge. Moving goods over vast distances was once seen as one of the hardest sustainability challenges to solve, but as technological innovation in the sector grows, that assumption is beginning to shift.

Infrastructure gaps, like the lack of appropriate chargers on some long-haul routes, remain a challenge for freight transport electrification. But it’s not a zero-sum choice between waiting and acting. Innovative solutions, like electrified refrigeration units, AxlePower and eTrailers, allow transport operators to upgrade in a modular, cost-effective way that can reduce fuel costs and emissions now without waiting for perfect infrastructure alignment.

As we look ahead at the future of the transport sector, the key question is how quickly we can scale these innovations. When energy optimization strategies are managed holistically across the long-haul transport system, electrification becomes a competitive advantage, impacting how energy is generated, recovered and conserved. That leads to measurable cost savings, improved performance and reduced emissions — proving that decarbonization can help create business value over the long haul.

Electrification of Transport – Listen to the Healthy Spaces podcast to discover how electrification of transport can reduce carbon emissions for long-haul trucking and transportation.

The future is ours to create. Explore careers that make an impact at Trane Technologies.