IWBI and The Instant Group Launch the WELL Coworking Rating To Accelerate Health Leadership for Coworking and Flexible Workspaces
WELL Coworking Rating, which will be administered by The Instant Group and searchable on their platform, responds to growing demand for healthier workspaces that support workplace satisfaction, employee retention and productivity
NEW YORK and LONDON, October 15, 2024 /3BL/ - The International WELL Building Institute (IWBI), the global authority on advancing healthy buildings, organizations and communities, together with The Instant Group, the largest global marketplace for flexible workspace, launch the WELL Coworking Rating, a pioneering health leadership benchmark designed for coworking and flexible spaces. Since announcing their partnership in April, The Instant Group has worked with IWBI to inform the development of the rating.
The new rating, derived from the health strategies in the WELL Building Standard, includes over 50 features spanning all 10 concepts in WELL, such as air and water quality, light and thermal comfort; and physical fitness and nourishment. With a public-facing seal upon achievement, the WELL Coworking Rating serves to validate and showcase how coworking and flexible workspaces meet evidence-based health and well-being measures, while also being integrated with The Instant Group’s platform to help occupiers and all those that enter the space know that the leadership benchmark has been met.
“After introducing Instant’s Sustainability Index last year, shifting our focus to health was a natural next step. Noticing the absence of a well-being benchmark specific to the co-working and flexible office market, we sought to partner with IWBI, the foremost authority on healthy buildings, to create an offering that landlords, operators and occupiers could all embrace,” said Sam Pickering, Executive Director, Head of Sustainability at The Instant Group. “By working with IWBI to develop the WELL Coworking Rating, Instant was able to leverage the science and evidence behind WELL, the world’s largest certification and ratings platform for healthy buildings, and introduce the first rating tailored specifically to the co-working and flex office market.”
Today, at the WELL Regional Summit in London, IWBI and Instant will officially unveil the WELL Coworking Rating alongside a special leadership cohort of organizations that have committed to being the first to use the new offering, including Koba, Landmark, Clockwise and Iconic Offices. With the launch of the rating, Instant will now be able to recognize operators of coworking and flexible workspaces for their health and well-being leadership, while giving occupiers of these workspaces crucial information about well-being attributes before booking or signing onto coworking space.
“The WELL Coworking Rating will help deliver the innovative health and productivity benefits of WELL to users of coworking and flexible workspaces," said IWBI President and CEO Rachel Hodgdon. "Everyone deserves a healthy workplace that supports their physical and mental well-being, and we couldn't be more excited to collaborate with The Instant Group to expand the reach of WELL's science-backed strategies alongside our first cohort of dedicated market leaders."
To recognize market leaders and spur uptake, the WELL Coworking Rating will be integrated into The Instant Group’s platform, which is the world’s largest marketplace for flexible workspace offerings and used by more than 20,000 landlords, flex operators and investors. Prospective coworking and flexible workspace users will be able to search for the new rating and its associated data as they access more than 350,000 flexible workplaces on Instant’s digital platforms.
Earlier this year, building on the success of their Sustainability Index launched in 2023, The Instant Group decided to expand its offering to focus on health and well-being. Recognizing IWBI as the global leader in healthy buildings, the two organizations formed a strategic partnership to explore opportunities, ultimately coming together to inform IWBI’s development of the WELL Coworking Rating.
Aligned with the growing demand for healthier places and spaces, research shows evidence-based health interventions in buildings help support workplace satisfaction, comfort and productivity, while also helping organizations better attract and retain talent. A 2022 study found that WELL Certified offices increase overall employee satisfaction by 28% and support a 10-point jump in median productivity. In addition, the growing research behind the business case for healthy buildings shows that these strategies help drive several economic benefits, including higher rents and longer lease terms.
Alexandra Livesey, Chief Operating Officer at Clockwise, commented, “Well-being is a core pillar of the Clockwise brand, the design of our workspaces and our member experience are centered around contributing positively to people’s mental and physical health. Establishing a formalised process and rating to recognize the elements that are within an operators' control is really motivating, a step in the right direction for our industry and a positive contribution to the ESG agenda as a whole.”
Rob Stewart, Director of Strategy and Sustainability at Koba, added, “Helping push industry standards forward is central to our mission, so working with Instant and IWBI on developing the rating was a really valuable experience. It's also an important tool for co-working occupiers looking to attract the type of 'grown-up' companies the industry is well placed to serve.”
For more information or if your organization is interested in using the WELL Coworking Rating, please contact us at sustainability@theinstantgroup.com to learn more.
-ends-
About the International WELL Building Institute
The International WELL Building Institute (IWBI) is a public benefit corporation and the global authority for transforming health and well-being in buildings, organizations and communities. In pursuit of its public-health mission, IWBI mobilizes its community through the development and administration of the WELL Building Standard (WELL), WELL for residential, WELL Community Standard, its WELL ratings and management of the WELL AP credential. IWBI also translates research into practice, develops educational resources and advocates for policies that promote people-first places for everyone, 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. More information on WELL can be found here.
International WELL Building Institute, IWBI, the WELL Building Standard, WELL v2, WELL Certified, WELL AP, WELL EP, WELL Score, The WELL Conference, We Are WELL, the WELL Community Standard, WELL Health-Safety Rated, WELL Performance Rated, WELL Equity Rated, WELL Equity, WELL Residence, Works with WELL, 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.
About The Instant Group
The Instant Group has been rethinking workspace since 1999 with over 500 experts working globally across more than 175 countries. Instant’s digital platforms constitute the world’s largest digital marketplace for flexible workspace listing meeting rooms, virtual offices, flexible office space and coworking memberships. Its global team advises on commercial real estate solutions from serviced offices to fully customised managed offices, and consulting services for portfolio and net zero strategies. Instant’s approach enables agility, hybrid working solutions and improved operational resilience for more than 250,000 businesses every year. Clients include Amex, Prudential, Booking.com, Shell, Jaguar Land Rover and Worldpay. Instant has global offices including London, Paris, New York, Hong Kong, Singapore and Sydney.
For further information:
instantgroup@fticonsulting.com
media@wellcertified.com
