Tracy Backus, Teknion’s Director of Sustainable Programs, interviews Paul Scialla, Founder of the International WELL Building Institute, about the human-centered approach of the WELL Building Standard, its relationship to LEED, and how architects, interior designers and furniture manufacturers can follow its guidelines to create a healthier built environment.

A.

When the International WELL Building Institute was first launched several years ago, green building certifications like LEED had set out a baseline for how green building practices could impact human health. But there was no certification devoted specifically to the impact a building would have on the people who use buildings every day. WELL therefore takes a much deeper dive into these impacts. WELL consists of 100 features within the seven concepts of air, water, nourishment, light, fitness, comfort and mind, requiring projects to incorporate features from lighting that supports the body’s sleep/wake cycles to designs that promote physical activity by enhancing the walkability of a space.

A.

A.

A.

A.

Environmental sustainability and health and wellness go hand-in-hand. The health of the planet is as important as the health of building occupants, and for this reason the WELL Building Standard is inherently in close alignment with leading sustainability standards. Where there are synergies, WELL has purposefully aimed to overlap with sustainability standards like LEED. In order to promote both environmental sustainability and human health, WELL was designed to work harmoniously with LEED at its inception. Additionally, both systems are third-party certified by GBCI, which further streamlines the way in which the systems work together. Just recently, The International WELL Building Institute (IWBI) announced alignments between the WELL Building Standard and LEED to make it easier for green building projects pursuing dual certification. Through this crosswalk, IWBI and U.S. Green Building Council have identified specific credits whereby submitted documentation will be recognized by Green Business Certification, Inc. (GBCI), the certifying body for both LEED and WELL. This alignment saves project teams the time and costs, and reduces documentation. We are making it easier for project teams to incorporate both LEED and WELL Certification in their buildings through this credit crosswalk. If every story about a green building is a story about people, it’s essential that we bring greater focus on the positive human impacts our buildings can have and explore ways to incorporate them into every office, classroom, store, stadium and other places that make up our built environment.

A.

We spend more than 90% of our time indoors, which means that buildings can have a profound impact on human health and wellness. It is therefore imperative that we harness the built environment to promote biological sustainability. Real estate is the largest asset class in the world at about $180 trillion in value globally. Health and wellness is the fastest growing industry in the world at more than $4 trillion per year. By bringing the two together through innovative design and building solutions, we are creating new opportunities for the marketplace and giving people the tools to build and foster healthy, restorative and forward-thinking offices and communities that will further drive adoption and establish a renewed vanguard of global leaders in sustainability.