Advancing Human Health Through the WELL Portfolio program

NEW YORK, July 9, 2019 /3BL Media/ – The International WELL Building Institute (IWBI) today celebrated the leading companies who have been involved in developing the WELL Portfolio program, which enables organizations to enhance their spaces and improve human well-being at scale by applying the WELL Building Standard (WELL), the world’s leading health-focused building standard. These early participants were involved in the WELL Portfolio pilot, working to develop and evolve the program alongside IWBI. Today marks the launch of WELL Portfolio as it is transitioned out of the pilot phase.

The WELL Portfolio program was designed with significant input from the pilot participants to help owners, developers and tenants streamline and scale the health and wellness strategies found in WELL across multiple spaces in their real estate portfolios. Organizations can benefit from more efficient pathways to implement WELL’s design, operations and policy-based strategies across multiple properties, with the option to pursue WELL D&O (Design & Operations) and WELL Certification for individual properties within their portfolios. The program offers flexibility to meet portfolio-wide needs and provides solutions for a variety of new and existing projects and space types. 

“We know that properties are diverse, but that portfolio-wide policies can significantly streamline how quickly companies can take forward the many benefits that come with using WELL,” said IWBI President Rachel Gutter. “Whether their goal is to increase revenue by attracting and retaining employees and tenants, reduce costs and identify efficiencies by applying health and wellness strategies at scale, or demonstrate to investors an increased long-term value of properties, this new pathway encourages owners to treat WELL as a journey with milestones to celebrate along the way.”

As of the end of June 2019, 3,431 projects encompassing over 413 million square feet are applying WELL across 55 countries, marking an incredible phase of growth that saw the square footage of project registrations nearly double over the last three quarters, with the number of registered projects tripling since the beginning of the year. In addition, 8,441 people in 82 countries have become or are working toward becoming WELL APs (Accredited Professionals) to further expand the movement.  A select group of 36 global companies across the United States, Asia, Europe and Australia have begun signing on to WELL Portfolio with assets spanning 26 countries, underscoring that the mission to advance buildings that protect, support and enhance human health is growing across the world.

“Our WELL Portfolio pilot participants are leading the movement for better buildings and helping us redefine best practices in real estate and employee health and well-being,” continued Gutter. “This program will serve as a catalyst at the leading edge of the movement to improve global health, and it is these early adopters who have positioned themselves as leaders by assessing their progress and identifying opportunities for improvement across their assets.”

WELL Portfolio pilot participants that have helped to inform development of the WELL Portfolio program include Adventist Health; Anthology Real Estate; Barclays; Bellevue College; BNP Paribas; Brandywine Realty Trust; The Cadillac Fairview Corporation Limited; CBRE; CBRE Dutch Office Fund, managed by CBRE Global Investors; Charter Hall; CR Land; Enel; Gmp Property SOCIMI; Investa; JLL Asia Pacific; the Lendlease Managed Australian Prime Property Fund (APPF) Commercial; Milliken & Company; Miron Construction Co., Inc.; MQDC Town Corporation Limited; National University of Singapore; Prologis, Inc.; RMZ Corp and SL Green Realty Corp.

Participation in the WELL Portfolio program will unlock tools and hands-on support that can help companies measure progress and improve outcomes over time – enabling the greatest possible impact on an entire portfolio’s value and the well-being of the people who work, live and learn in the individual spaces. IWBI is currently building ongoing functionality into the WELL Portfolio program and its accompanying digital portal that will help enable organizations in advancing their environmental, social and governance (ESG) goals. 

To express interest in joining the program, please visit wellcertified.com/portfolio or contact portfolio@wellcertified.com.  IWBI looks forward to sharing additional enhancements to the WELL Portfolio program as they become available. 

About the International WELL Building Institute
The International WELL Building Institute (IWBI) is leading the global movement to transform our buildings and communities in ways that help people thrive.  The WELL v2 pilot is a recently launched version of its popular WELL Building Standard, and the WELL Community Standard pilot is a district scale rating system that sets a new global benchmark for healthy communities.  WELL is focused exclusively on the ways that buildings and communities, and everything in them, can improve our comfort, drive better choices, and generally enhance, not compromise, our health and wellness. IWBI convenes and mobilizes the wellness community through management of the WELL AP credential, the pursuit of applicable research, the development of educational resources, and advocacy for policies that promote health and wellness everywhere IWBI is a participant of the United Nations Global Compact, the world’s largest corporate citizenship initiative, and helps companies advance the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through the use of WELL. For more information, please visit us here. 

Media contact
Jamie Matos
Jamie.matos@wellcertified.com

International WELL Building Institute, IWBI, the WELL Building Standard, WELL v2, WELL Certified, WELL AP, WELL Portfolio, WELL Portfolio Score, WELL and others, and their related logos are trademarks or certification marks of International WELL Building Institute pbc in the United States and other countries.