ILFI and the International WELL Building Institute™ Partner on “Crosswalk” to Align Two Ratings Systems

May 24, 2017 /3BL Media/ -- The International Living Future Institute (ILFI) and the International WELL Building Institute™ (IWBI™), have agreed to work collaboratively to promote the design, construction and operation of healthy and restorative buildings. The two organizations will work together to identify opportunities to align the two rating systems, coordinate events and education offerings, and promote building practices that significantly raise the standard of what buildings should be.

“The Living Building Challenge – our flagship program that reimagines buildings to work as elegantly as nature, and within the water and energy balance of their settings – seeks ultimately to improve human health and wellbeing,” said Amanda Sturgeon FAIA, CEO of ILFI. “LBC and WELL are incredibly complementary and we want to support projects that pursue dual certification.”

Typically, Living Building Challenge Imperatives are broader, and WELL features are more specific in their focus. As a collaboration of the two organizations, the Crosswalk details the ways in which Imperatives and Features might be equivalent, streamlining the process for projects that aim to offer superior benefit to human health and wellbeing and to recognize them for those efforts.

“IWBI and ILFI share a vision for healthy people through better buildings,” said IWBI Chairman and CEO Rick Fedrizzi. “Providing this clear guide for project teams helps them more efficiently deliver the kinds of buildings we want for our world.”

To simplify the process for projects pursuing both programs, ILFI and IWBI have developed a document to show how Living Building Challenge can assist in meeting WELL features, and to show how WELL features can assist in meeting the Living Building Challenge.

That guidance can be found here.

About the International Living Future Institute
The International Living Future Institute is a hub for visionary programs. The Institute offers global strategies for lasting sustainability, partnering with local communities to create grounded and relevant solutions, including green building and infrastructure solutions on scales ranging from single room renovations to neighborhoods or whole cities.  The Institute administers the Living Building Challenge, the most rigorous and ambitious building performance standard. It is the parent organization for Cascadia Green Building Council. It is also home to Ecotone Publishing, a unique publishing house dedicated to telling the story of the green building movement's pioneering thinkers and practitioners. www.living-future.org

About the WELL Building Standard™
The WELL Building Standard™ (WELL) is a performance-based system for measuring, certifying, and monitoring features of the built environment that impact the health and wellness of the people who live, work, and learn in the buildings. WELL focuses on seven categories of building performance: air, water, nourishment, light, fitness, comfort, and mind. The WELL Building Standard is grounded in evidence-based research that demonstrates the connection between the buildings where people spend approximately 90 percent of their time and those buildings’ health and wellness impacts on those who use them. The WELL Building Standard is administered by the International WELL Building Institute™ and thirdparty certified by Green Business Certification Inc. (GBCI). www.wellcertified.com

About the International WELL Building Institute™
The International WELL Building Institute™ (IWBI™) is a public benefit corporation whose mission is to improve human health and wellness through the built environment. Public benefit corporations like IWBI are an emerging U.S. structure for corporations committed to balancing public benefits with profitability – harnessing the power of private capital for greater good. IWBI administers the WELL Building Standard™ (WELL) – a performance-based system for measuring, certifying, and monitoring features of buildings that impact the health and wellness of the people who live, work, and learn in them. It also supports the growing number of professionals who seek WELL accreditation, as administered by GBCI. www.wellcertified.com