- ABOUT THE LABEL
Making Invisible Air and Water Quality Understandable
The Clean Label focuses on spaces that are actively occupied and used, as well as the air people breathe and the water they come into contact with. Through professional testing, data interpretation, and a structured certification scheme, invisible environmental conditions are transformed into quality information that can be understood, reviewed, and continuously managed.
- 01｜BASIC DEFINITION
What Is the EU AA IEQ Clean Label?
| The EU AA IEQ Clean Label is an environmental quality certification scheme developed for spaces in actual use.
It focuses primarily on indoor air quality and point-of-use water quality. Appropriate testing parameters and sampling locations are determined according to the type of premises, its users, installed equipment, and environmental conditions.
Certification represents more than simply displaying a label.
- FROM BUILDING TO USE
Beyond Building Completion: Focusing on Environmental Quality During Occupancy
The EU AA IEQ Clean Label is an environmental quality certification scheme developed for spaces that are actively occupied and used. It focuses primarily on the air people breathe and the quality of water delivered at the point of use.
Some conventional building certification and assessment schemes focus mainly on design, materials, construction, or building completion. The Clean Label goes a step further by examining the environmental quality actually experienced after people begin living, working, studying, shopping, or spending time in a space.
A space that looks clean and bright or smells fresh does not necessarily provide a complete picture of its air and water quality. Many environmental conditions cannot be assessed through the senses alone. Appropriate testing, systematic data analysis, and evaluation against defined criteria are required to provide more specific and meaningful information about environmental quality.
- 02｜WHY IT MATTERS
Why Is the Clean Label Needed?
01 A Clean Appearance Does Not Mean Environmental Quality Is Understood
Indoor environmental conditions change with the use of a space, occupant activities, equipment operation, fit-outs, ventilation, and maintenance practices. Appearance, odour, or a single measurement alone cannot provide a complete understanding of conditions during actual use.
02 Appearance Cannot Replace Testing
A space may look clean, but this does not mean that indicators such as PM2.5, formaldehyde, total volatile organic compounds (TVOC), or carbon dioxide (CO₂) are necessarily within appropriate ranges.
03 Conditions May Vary Within the Same Building
Different rooms or areas may present different environmental conditions due to air-conditioning, finishing materials, occupant density, occupancy rates, and patterns of use.
04 Water Quality at the Building Entry Point Is Not the Same as at the Point of Use
The quality of water entering a building may not remain the same after it passes through storage tanks, piping, and equipment before reaching the final point of use.
05 Sensors Require Proper Management
Sensors can indicate trends in environmental conditions, but device drift, calibration status, installation location, and the representativeness of sampling still require appropriate professional management and interpretation.
06 One Test Does Not Represent Permanent Conditions
Environmental conditions change over time and with patterns of use. A single test reflects conditions at a particular time and under specific circumstances. Periodic retesting, record-keeping, and follow-up improvements are therefore still required in accordance with the certification scheme.
Actual testing parameters, testing frequency, and retesting requirements are governed by the officially issued certification criteria and related documents.
- 03｜Three focus areas
Three Core Areas of Focus
Testing and certification information is not based on a fixed checklist applied identically to every premises. It corresponds to what people actually breathe, come into contact with, and use.
The Air People Actually Breathe
Conditions such as ventilation, airborne particles, chemical pollutants, biological contaminants, temperature, and humidity are evaluated. Parameters are selected according to the use of the space, installed equipment, number of occupants, and potential risks.
Learn About Air Quality →
The Water People Actually Use
Water quality is evaluated after water has passed through storage, piping, and equipment and reaches taps, drinking-water dispensers, ice-making equipment, or other designated points of use. Results are understood according to the intended use of the water.
Learn About Water Quality →
Clearly Defined Spaces, Parameters, and Dates
Certification information must correspond to clearly identified premises, areas, sampling locations, testing parameters, and dates. Results from a limited area or a single point of use should not be interpreted more broadly than their defined scope.
Learn About Testing Parameters and Scope →
- WHAT IT IS NOT
What the Clean Label Focuses On
Cleanliness should not be understood solely through appearance, equipment, or a single test result.
It Is Not Based Solely on Whether Cleaning Has Been Completed
The Clean Label does not merely confirm that cleaning staff have completed surface cleaning, nor does it rely primarily on whether a space appears tidy.
It Does Not Rely Solely on Odour or Subjective Impressions
A space that smells fresh or feels comfortable has not necessarily had every air- and water-quality parameter tested.
Installing Sensors Does Not, by Itself, Constitute Certification
Sensing equipment can help identify trends, but appropriate equipment management, calibration, sampling design, and professional interpretation are still required.
It Does Not Treat a Single Test as Permanent Assurance
A single test reflects conditions at a specific time, in a specific space, and under specific circumstances. It cannot be extended to assume that the same results will apply at all times in the future.
It Does Not Replace Government Regulations or Competent Authorities
The Clean Label does not replace government regulations, inspections by competent authorities, or building and public-health management requirements.
It Does Not Replace Professional Medical Advice
The Clean Label provides environmental quality information. It is not a personal health diagnosis and cannot replace advice from a physician or other qualified healthcare professional.
Cleaning and disinfection are space-management practices. The Clean Label presents environmental quality information that has been tested and interpreted within a defined scope.
-04｜How information is formed
How Is Certification Information Established?
The Clean Label is not based on a single value, nor can a space claim certification simply by installing a sensor. Certification information is established through a combination of defined scope, testing, assessment, and ongoing management.
- 05｜Meaning and boundary
What Does It Mean When You See the Clean Label?
When a space displays the AA IEQ Clean Label, it means that the specific space and quality information identified by the label have undergone data review and assessment in accordance with the testing and certification requirements applicable at that time.
01｜Define the Space and Certification Scope
Identify the premises, areas, conditions of use, and testing content covered by the certification to establish clear boundaries of applicability.
02｜Plan the Sampling and Testing Approach
Select appropriate sampling locations, testing methods, and implementation procedures according to the conditions of the space and the parameters being tested.
03｜Conduct Measurements, Sampling, and Analysis
Perform the relevant testing of indoor air and point-of-use water within the certification scope to obtain data for subsequent evaluation.
04｜Compile and Interpret the Results
Organise and interpret the test results in accordance with applicable regulations, standards, technical methods, and certification requirements.
05｜Present the Certification Information
Use the Clean Label and related information to explain the certified space, quality content, assessment basis, and applicable date.
06｜Retesting, Records, and Improvement
Conduct follow-up retesting, maintain records, or track improvements as required by the certification scheme, avoiding the interpretation of a single test as evidence of permanently unchanged conditions.
Actual procedures, testing methods, certification requirements, and retesting cycles are governed by the officially issued certification criteria and related documents.
The Label Can Help Explain
- The premises, floor, room, or area covered by the certification
- The indoor air and point-of-use water content included in the certification
- The testing methods and assessment criteria used
- The dates to which the testing and certification information applies
- Whether retesting, record-keeping, or improvement-tracking requirements apply
The Label Does Not Mean
- A comprehensive guarantee against every environmental or personal health risk
- That parameters not included in testing are free from risk
- That spaces outside the certification scope have the same results
- That the space will maintain the same conditions under every future circumstance
- That cleaning, ventilation, equipment maintenance, or pipework maintenance can be discontinued
- Statutory approval of the space by a government authority
- A personal medical diagnosis or medical advice
| Certification results should be understood within the identified space, scope, parameters, conditions, and period. They should not be extended or interpreted as a guarantee of absolute safety, permanent safety, or zero risk.
- 06｜STANDARDS & SOURCES
Standards and Sources
Testing Methods Can Be Explained and Assessment Criteria Traced
The testing content, data interpretation, and certification requirements used by the Clean Label should be supported by professional or regulatory references that can be consulted.
This website will organise the relevant regulations, standards, testing methods, and scheme documents. Wherever possible, it will identify the title of each source, the issuing body, the version, or the date of the latest update, helping users understand where the information comes from.
External regulations, standards, and professional references may be revised by their issuing bodies. The official version published by the original issuing body shall prevail.
