- Standards & regulations
Every Assessment Should Have a Traceable Basis
The Clean Label’s testing parameters, sampling methods, and assessment conditions should be supported by verifiable regulations, method standards, health guidelines, and professional references.
01 Laws and Statutory Standards
Local legal obligations and applicable conditions
02 Testing and Sampling Methods
Procedures for sampling, instruments, preservation, and analysis
03 Health and Risk Guidelines
Health-based evidence and risk context
04 Building and Industry Frameworks
Environmental quality, building performance, materials, and equipment management
Different documents have different legal status, geographic scope, and intended uses. Citing an international document does not mean that it replaces local regulations. Testing methods, equipment, and data used in one country or region do not automatically apply everywhere.
AA IEQ first confirms the regulations in force at the applicable location, then selects methods or reference materials according to the use of the premises, testing parameters, and risks. The website and reports should identify the document title, issuer, version, scope of application, and how the source was used.
These four source types complement one another but should not be treated as equivalent.
TYPE 01
Laws and Statutory Standards
Issued by competent authorities and legally binding within their jurisdiction and defined scope of application.
TYPE 02
Testing and Sampling Methods
Describe sampling, instruments, preservation, and analytical procedures; they do not necessarily provide compliance limits.
TYPE 03
Health and Risk Guidelines
Provide a health-based perspective on risk and are generally not equivalent to mandatory local standards.
TYPE 04
Building and Industry Frameworks
Provide additional context for environmental quality, building performance, materials, equipment, and quality management.
- How sources are selected
Grounded in EU Requirements and Beginning with the Regulations That Apply Locally
01 Confirm the laws and requirements of competent authorities currently in force at the applicable location
02 Confirm that the premises, intended use, users, and assessment conditions fall within the applicable scope
03 Select methods appropriate to the testing parameter and sampling conditions
04 Use international guidelines to provide additional health-risk and professional context
05 Record the version, date, scope, and manner of use in the report
01
Health Guidelines and Testing Methods
Health guidelines address which exposures warrant attention; method standards explain how sampling and analysis should be conducted. They serve different purposes.
WHO Global Air Quality Guidelines (2021)
Use within AA IEQ: Provides health-risk context for particulate matter, ozone, nitrogen dioxide, sulfur dioxide, and carbon monoxide.
It is not local law and does not constitute a complete set of indoor-air regulations.
WHO Guidelines for Drinking-water Quality
Use within AA IEQ: Provides scientific background for drinking-water risk management and Water Safety Plans.
Fourth edition incorporating the first, second and third addenda (2026)
ISO 16000 Series｜Indoor Air
Use within AA IEQ: Applicable parts may be selected for sampling and analysis of parameters such as formaldehyde, VOCs, fungi, and carbon-dioxide sampling strategies.
Example: ISO 16000-6:2021 (VOC). A method standard does not itself provide a universal pass concentration.
Principle for Selecting Methods
Where local regulations specify an official testing method, legal assessment should give priority to that method.
02
Building, Equipment, and International Comparison Frameworks
These references help explain environmental quality, building performance, products, and materials. They do not imply that the organisations are AA IEQ partners, nor do they automatically become local testing or compliance standards.
REFERENCE STANDARD
ANSI/ASHRAE Standard 62.1-2025
Minimum ventilation and acceptable indoor-air-quality requirements for the design, operation, and maintenance of non-residential buildings. It is not a universal set of statutory pollutant limits.
REFERENCE FRAMEWORK
WELL Building Standard v2
A building health and performance framework used for comparison and background. Reference to it does not imply partnership, authorisation, endorsement, or mutual certification with AA IEQ.
METHOD AND PRODUCT STANDARDS
NSF/ANSI/CAN 60 and 61
Address health effects associated with drinking-water treatment chemicals and drinking-water system components. They are not water-quality limits for drinking water at building points of use.
REGULATORY REFERENCES
EU and United States Frameworks
Relevant EU air-quality and drinking-water legislation and the United States Safe Drinking Water Act.
- ｜REGULATORY DETAILS
Using WHO Guidance and EU Requirements as Important Reference Foundations
- Beverage-flavour recommendations do not replace drinking-water requirements, food-safety requirements, or local law. Water for everyday use remains an important certification area.
- No AA IEQ-related organisation should claim that a space or premises meets certification requirements without supporting formal documentation and data.
- EU-wide ambient-air legislation may provide relevant background for certain pollutants, but it does not constitute a complete indoor-air standard.
- Acoustics, lighting, electromagnetic conditions, and thermal comfort are outside the AA IEQ certification scope.
- A single regulatory source cannot represent every premises, use, or condition.
i
- Important statement
Authorisation, Endorsement, and Other Forms of Recognition
AA IEQ Clean Label is an independent certification label. Government requirements and materials from WHO, ISO, ASHRAE, WELL, NSF, and relevant EU legislation may be used for purposes such as confirming legal applicability, selecting testing methods, explaining health context, comparing schemes, or understanding building environmental quality. AA IEQ remains responsible for determining how these sources are used within its own certification process.
Unless supported by formal evidence, no organisation may claim AA IEQ authorisation, certification, partnership, endorsement, or mutual recognition. AA IEQ certification data do not replace local regulations. Actual assessment is governed by the country or region of the individual report and by the premises, parameters, methods, document versions, and applicable basis recorded in that report.
Appendix
EU indoor-air-quality references and standards
Codex Alimentarius Commission and relevant WHO water-quality guidance
Tables of applicable regulatory values by parameter (contact the relevant country or regional office)
Updates to EU standards, based on official EU publications and AA IEQ notices
Acoustics, electromagnetic fields, and other subjective-comfort categories are not included as testing parameters, although applicable legal requirements must still be followed
International Regulatory References, Guidelines, and Method Standards
Air Quality and Indoor Environments
WHO Global Air Quality Guidelines 2021
International health guidance
Provides health-protection context and background for the selection of pollutant indicators.
ISO 16000 Series
Indoor-air sampling and measurement method standards
An important reference for methods used to measure and analyse different pollutants.
WELL Building Standard v2
Building health and performance framework
Provides concepts relating to healthy spaces, management, and occupant well-being.
ASHRAE Standard 62.1
Ventilation and acceptable indoor-air-quality standard
Provides technical references for ventilation design and ventilation management.
Applicable EN Ventilation and Gas-Measurement Standards
European technical standards
May provide supplementary references for ventilation or measurement methods where applicable.
Water Quality
WHO Guidelines for Drinking-water Quality
International health guidance for drinking water
Provides reference principles for drinking-water health risks and management.
US EPA Safe Drinking Water Act and Related Standards
United States drinking-water regulatory framework
Provides comparative reference for regulatory systems, contaminants, and standards; it does not replace local regulations.
NSF/ANSI 60
Standard for drinking-water treatment chemicals
Provides reference for the safety and product review of treatment chemicals.
NSF/ANSI 61
Standard for drinking-water system components and materials
Provides product-level reference for materials and equipment that come into contact with drinking water.
UNEP Freshwater and Water-Environment Resources
International environmental background information
Provides context for water environments and resource protection; it is not used as a single direct assessment standard.
Testing Basis and Related Standards
AA IEQ testing criteria are not intended to be defined without reference to external evidence. Applicable international health, environmental-protection, and method frameworks are used to support traceability and confidence in certification results.
International health and hygiene guidance: Relevant WHO guidance on air quality and drinking-water safety, together with appropriate UNEP and US EPA water references, may provide health and environmental context.
International measurement-method standards: Applicable parts of the ISO 16000 series and relevant European EN standards may be selected according to the parameter and local requirements.
Space-performance and management frameworks: WELL Building Standard and ASHRAE ventilation standards may provide comparative concepts and technical background.
Flavour-related water-quality references: Tasty Water may refer to water-quality parameters for beverage extraction published by SCA, CQI, and JTA, subject to verification of the applicable source documents.