Combining BREEAM and WELL building standards to boost workplace productivity

How WELL building design and new standards can improve the health and welfare of people to significantly increase productivity and profitability in the workplace.

WELL Building Standard and BREEAM

BRE and the International WELL Building Institute (IWBI) announced in London today that the two organizations are, from January, to bring together significant aspects of the WELL Building Standard (WELL) and BREEAM to make it easier for projects to pursue both standards.

WELL Building Standard is an evidence-based system for measuring, certifying and monitoring the performance of building features that impact health and well-being.

BREEAM is the world’s leading sustainability assessment method for masterplanning projects, infrastructure and buildings.

Together they will identify specific credits whereby submitted documentation will be recognized by both organizations, saving project teams the time and costs associated with submitting the documentation twice.

Gavin Dunn, Director of Building Performance Group at BRE said this was an opportunity BREEAM and WELL, both evidence-based systems, to join forces in a way that will advance the inclusion of health and well-being considerations in the built environment around the world.

90% of people’s lives spent in buildings

There is a growing focus on the impact buildings have on the health and welfare of their occupants and how this affects productivity and profitability of the workplace.

With 90% of peoples lives in the UK spent inside buildings, architects and designers are looking at how changes, some driven by Smart building technology, can enhance impact buildings and enhance the welfare of their occupants, creating new standards for a healthier and more productive environment.

90% of buildings costs are the people inside

Just 3% of the ongoing cost of buildings are for energy and water but the search for sustainability improvements has created a ‘$4 trillion industry’ in green building.

However, 90% of any ongoing costs for buildings are for the people inside of it. So building owners and developers are now looking more closely on ‘WELL building’ factors and how new standards can bring significant financial improvements from productivity and health gains. Many believe that combining Green building and wellbeing enhancements can offer cost free gains to both the environment and workers health.

Paul Scialla from the International WELL Building Institute (IWBI), talked about the WELL Building Standard, the world’s first building standard focused exclusively on human health and wellness. He said that IWBI will work with BREEAM, one of the leading sustainable building standards, to combine sustainability and health.

Partnering with BRE will enable project teams who are using both BREEAM and WELL to deliver a more sustainable and healthier built environment as efficiently as possible.