The US Green Building Council (USGBC) and the International WELL Building Institute (IWBI) have announced a partnership to streamline the process for achieving dual WELL and LEED certifications.
WELL, a performance-based system for measuring, certifying and monitoring buildings has seen a fourfold increase over the past 18 months, which could be attributed to the push to attract more staff back to offices after the pandemic. LEED is the US rating standard for green buildings.
From 2023 a LEED-WELL dual certification will facilitate the adoption of socially and environmentally sustainable buildings.
This will be facilitated by a two-way “crosswalk” – a term which refers to identifying equivalent standards between WELL and other building rating tools.
A coordinated third-party review will be overseen by Green Business Certification Inc (GBCI), an organisation that provides independent third-party credentialing and verification for rating systems relating to the built environment globally.
Rachel Hodgdon, president and chief executive of IWBI said the partnership will unlock innovation towards a more sustainable built environment.
“By forging this stronger alliance with USGBC, we’re not only taking substantial steps to better support the uptake of WELL and LEED together, we’re also sending a powerful market signal that sustainability and health must go hand-in-hand,” she said.
Peter Templeton, president and chief executive of both USGBC and GBCI said USGBC and IWBI will extend its priorities to cover social equity, sustainable finance and advocacy..
“This is the next chapter in our partnership with IWBI, which has brought global attention and leadership to improving health and well-being in buildings and organisations around the world,” he said.
“Not only are we doing more to bridge LEED and WELL in the market, we’re also coordinating across shared organisational objectives, such as elevating equity in the built environment, opening up new sources of capital for green and healthy buildings and bringing a unified voice to our shared priorities.”
Rise in WELL could be due to office occupancy push
Approximately 25 per cent of all commercial office space in Australia is engaged in the WELL program, with a fourfold global increase seen over the past 18 months and 371.6 million square metres of space now WELL Certified globally.
This increase could be attributed to a push from property companies to entice staff back to the workplace in the aftermath of pandemic lockdowns as building owners are staring down low occupancy rates and face an uncertain economic outlook.
The head of the World Health Organization stated in September that the end of the Covid-19 Pandemic “is in sight”, but that it still poses an “acute global emergency”.
In August office occupancy in Melbourne and Sydney rose from 38 per cent to 39 per cent and 52 per cent to 53 per cent, respectively, the Property Council of Australia’s latest survey revealed.
A recently released research report found that WELL Certification could hold the key to enticing staff back to the office.
The study reveals that the certification boosts occupant satisfaction, perceived health and wellbeing, and productivity.
The peer-reviewed study published in the Building and Environment Journal found that occupants in WELL Certified spaces report improved workplace satisfaction, increased productivity, and better health and well-being.
The study found that in WELL Certified workplaces:
- overall workplace satisfaction jumped from 42 per cent to 70 per cent – a near 30 per cent improvement
- wellbeing scores rose by 26 per cent
- mental health scores improved by 10 per cent, and perceived physical health by 2 per cent
- productivity improved 10 points