About GREENIN

Indoor Greening for Climate-Ready Living

Led by the University of Surrey’s Global Centre for Clean Air Research (GCARE), in collaboration with the UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (UKCEH) and the Universities of Bath, Oxford, York, and Cranfield, GREENIN Micro-Network Plus is a groundbreaking initiative exploring how indoor plants can improve indoor environments. The project will assess the effectiveness of plants in purifying air, regulating temperature, and controlling humidity, while also examining how building design, construction materials, and human activity influence their impact.

Living room with large glass windows, green plants, beige sofa with colorful pillows, two brown chairs, a round wooden table, a lamp, and a green loset wall.
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Our Vision

As climate change increasingly affects indoor environments through rising temperatures, variable humidity, and changes in pollutant exposure, there is a pressing need to rethink how we design, occupy, and retrofit indoor spaces to support health and wellbeing.

While outdoor greening strategies such as green roofs and urban vegetation have been widely studied and implemented, the role of indoor nature-based solutions remains significantly underexplored. GREENIN seeks to address this critical gap by investigating how indoor plants and greening interventions can improve air quality, thermal comfort, and humidity control within diverse building types and use scenarios. Through a collaborative, interdisciplinary approach, the project envisions healthier, more adaptive, and climate-resilient indoor spaces that place human experience and sustainability at their core.

Indoor tropical garden with lush green plants on both sides, a water fountain in the center, a glass-domed ceiling overhead, and people walking around with luggage.

Our Objectives

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Build a network of multidisciplinary specialists

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Conduct collaborative studies to expand our knowledge of indoor greening

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Create practical guidelines for building design and management professionals

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Promote wider use of greening to enhance building environments and public health

Our Focus Areas

Our work is structured around four interlinked technical themes that address how indoor greening can improve environmental quality and human health in buildings. Each working group will meet regularly to explore current evidence, emerging challenges, and opportunities for research and real-world application. If you are interested in contributing to one of these focus areas, please contact us.

Focus Area 1: Understanding indoor environmental challenges

This group investigates the extent and nature of environmental stressors within indoor spaces under changing climate conditions. Research priorities include identifying and quantifying key pollutants, such as fine particulate matter (PM₂.₅) and volatile organic compounds (VOCs), in addition to monitoring indicators of thermal discomfort and humidity fluctuations. The group also examines how building design, ventilation practices, material properties, and occupant behaviour influence indoor environmental quality across different seasons and building types. Particular emphasis is placed on understanding the risks faced by vulnerable populations including children, the elderly, and low-income households.

Focus Area 2: Evaluating the potential of indoor greening

This group assesses how different indoor plant systems such as potted plants, vertical green walls, moss panels, and hydroponic units perform in improving air quality and moderating indoor temperature and humidity. The focus includes analysing pollutant absorption capacities, evapotranspiration rates, and species-specific performance under varying light, ventilation, and thermal conditions. Findings will be derived from a combination of laboratory testing, real-world deployment, and synthesis of existing scientific evidence. The goal is to identify effective, scalable, and low-maintenance plant-based interventions that align with diverse user needs and climate contexts.

Focus Area 3: Integrating greening strategies into building design, retrofit, and use

This group explores how indoor greening can be effectively integrated into building design, retrofit, and operational practices. It examines the interaction between plants and building elements such as thermal insulation, natural ventilation pathways, airtightness, surface materials, and solar gain. The group uses building energy simulation tools and material assessments to model the combined effects of greening and passive design strategies under current and future climate conditions. It also considers retrofit feasibility, cost-benefit trade-offs, maintenance requirements, and spatial constraints, aiming to produce adaptable design principles for different sectors including housing, education, and care facilities.

Focus Area 4: Engagement, co-production, and knowledge exchange

This group leads on participatory activities involving residents, housing associations, designers, educators, and policy-makers. Through stakeholder workshops, citizen science programmes, and public engagement events, it supports the co-production of practical resources such as design typologies, technical briefs, and decision-support tools. The group also ensures alignment with broader agendas including net-zero housing, environmental justice, and public health. Dissemination efforts will target a wide audience through sector networks, open-access platforms, and educational partnerships.

In collaboration with

University of Surrey logo with a dark blue circle containing a stag and a staff, accompanied by the text 'University of Surrey' in dark blue.
Cranfield University logo with a large navy blue 'C' and the words 'Cranfield University' inside the letter.
UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology logo
University of Bath logo featuring a stylized face of a man with flowing hair surrounded by a circular border, next to the text 'University of Bath' in bold font.
University of Oxford logo with text 'University of Oxford' and image of a shield with open book and three crowns.
The logo of University of York featuring a shield with three small crosses, a rose, and a royal crown, alongside stylized text "University of York."

Our Network

GREENIN brings together a multidisciplinary network of partners to explore these crucial questions:

  • 6 universities and centres: Surrey, UKCEH, Bath, Oxford, York, and Cranfield

  • 27 Partners from:

    • Private sector (3)

    • Charities (4)

    • UK universities (8)

    • International universities (5)

    • Local councils (2)

Collection of potted plants on a white windowsill, including a citrus tree with orange fruits and lush green leaves.