Southampton is one of the UK's busiest port cities — and that comes at a cost to its air. Between heavy road traffic across the city centre, diesel emissions from freight vehicles serving the docks, and the significant exhaust output of cruise ships and cargo vessels, Southampton's built environment is exposed to an unusually high concentration of airborne pollutants.

Much of that pollution doesn't stay outside. It infiltrates offices, schools, retail units, and commercial premises throughout the city, mixing with indoor-generated contaminants like VOCs, mould spores, and elevated CO₂ to create an indoor air quality (IAQ) problem that most building owners and managers aren't even aware they have.