WELL Certification Guide: Benefits & Steps to Achieve It
Whether you operate a commercial office building or a multi-family residential unit, you want to create a healthy, vibrant space for occupants. Potential tenants who step into a clean, well-ventilated building can picture themselves thriving within it. Organizations that have achieved WELL Certification prove their commitment to creating a happy, productive workforce. These organizations have higher-performing staff than companies operating in non-certified buildings. Learn how WELL certification can help you attract tenants through your commitment to indoor environmental quality.
What is the WELL Building Standard?
The WELL Building Standard is one of two central certification systems that evaluate building features that contribute to human health.
The WELL certification marks are based on seven core principles:
Air: Measures building factors that contribute to air quality, such as set interior air quality (IAQ) standards, smoking bans, and adequate ventilation. WELL’s impact on IAQ includes limiting contaminants and enhancing indoor air quality.
Water: Measures the water quality throughout the building, as well as management and monitoring practices.
Nourishment: Considers how a building makes it easier for people to access healthy food.
Light: Measures how buildings manage natural and artificial light to improve well-being.
Fitness: Considers how a building’s features promote physical activity through the built environment, policies, and procedures.
Mind: Evaluates how a building’s design promotes mental health and emotional well-being.
Comfort: Assesses factors that make building occupants more comfortable, such as improved HVAC systems, physical barriers to excessive noise, and the ability to create community.
What is a WELL Certification?
Administered by the International WELL Building Institute (IWBI), WELL certification is a performance verification you can earn by proving that your building positively impacts human health. If your building contains the required wellness features, you can get a WELL certification.
WELL certification is often compared to two other building certification standards: the Fitwell certification and LEED certification.
The Fitwell certification was created by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the U.S. General Services Administration and focuses on creating healthy communities. The primary difference between Fitwel and WELL certifications is the stringency of the WELL certification requirements and the ease of reaching them.
The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) administers LEED certification, which focuses on the environmental sustainability of a building. Though the WELL and LEED certifications have different primary goals, USGBC and the IWBI recognize that many of the certification standards overlap, and have created a streamlined certification process that lets you apply relevant LEED credits in your pursuit of WELL certification.
For example, if you install a high-quality HVAC system, you'll receive WELL credit because it helps improve indoor air quality (IAQ) and LEED credit because it reduces energy consumption.
Why is the WELL Certification Worth It?
WELL certification can improve your organization's brand reputation by highlighting your commitment to employee well-being. Your employees will benefit from working in an environment that stimulates their mental health and makes them more productive.
As a building owner, WELL certification helps you attract high-quality tenants who want to occupy a building that contributes to health and wellness. You can also help your tenants attract employees who want to work for businesses that value sustainability.
4 WELL Certification Levels
To achieve WELL certification, you are awarded points based on how you meet specific criteria based on policy, design, and operational strategies. You earn points overall, along with points per concept, which refers to the seven core principles listed above.
The more points you earn, the higher your certification level:
Bronze: 40 points, no minimum points per concept
Silver: 50 points, minimum of 1 point per concept
Gold: 60 points, minimum of 2 points per concept
Platinum: 80 points, minimum of 3 points per concept
This means that if your building earns 80 points, but you only have 1 point for comfort, for example, you could only qualify for silver certification.
How to Get WELL Certified in 5 Steps
Attract the best tenants in your area by taking these steps to achieve WELL certification and promoting your healthy approach to buildings.
1. Registration
Start by registering with the IWBI. If you want to obtain full WELL certification, you will pay a $3,000 enrollment fee and a square feet program fee of $0.16 per square foot that starts at $8,000 and is capped at $98,000.
Your registration includes access to resources that will help you get certified. You can access coaches, webcasts, guide projects, and a network of people who have been through the process. WELL certification requires a lot of documentation. These coaches will help you make sure you’re not missing anything so you don’t have to resubmit the same project multiple times.
2. Required Documentation
Prepping for WELL certification doesn’t have to feel like getting ready for a tax audit, although you do need to submit a stack of information. The documents you'll need to prepare may include:
Design documents
Construction documents or as-built drawings
Operating schedules and time log templates
Mechanical drawings
Educational materials
Signage
Maintenance reports
Remediation reports
Annotated policy documents that highlight your WELL standard compliance
Letters of assurance from your project team
Signed statements from experts that verify that WELL features have been installed properly
When you register with IWBI, you'll receive templates of the required documentation so your project team doesn’t have to produce them from scratch.
3. Performance Tests
WELL certification hinges on proof that your building operates the way you say it does. Depending on your desired certification, you’ll need to test your air and water quality, energy consumption, noise levels, and lighting and temperature performance. Once you’ve done these tests, you can submit the results with your other documentation.
4. Certification
After you’ve submitted your application, WELL will create a report detailing whether you’ve been approved.
Whether you pass or fail, the report details each of the credits you received. This way, you can see the credits that you missed so that you don't need to inspect your whole building again if you fail to receive certification.
5. Recertification
A WELL certification is valid for three years. During this time, you need to report on your building’s performance annually. After your certification expires, you can submit for a recertification. At this stage, you would resubmit your required documentation and current performance verification results.
Improve Your Chances to Get WELL Certified With Attune
Attune’s Internet of Things (IoT) monitoring solutions allow you to collect data on air and water quality in real time. You get visibility into critical building assets, along with dashboards that serve as required documentation for the WELL certification process.
The role of IAQ in WELL certification is crucial. Exceptional IAQ helps you earn points and stay compliant with WELL building standards. Attune also lets you monitor water and air quality and energy consumption after you’ve been certified. You can detect anomalies in your HVAC and other critical systems and fix the issue before they impact human health.
Schedule a demo today to learn how we can help you stay committed to maintaining a healthy building.
