FITWEL Healthy Building standard introduction
Fitwel is a healthy building certification system that aims to approach building health through an integrative lens.
It is deliberately user-friendly, manageable in scale, and of only moderate difficulty level, not least because there is no distinction between Prerequisites and Credits, as in LEED green building and WELL Certified for the same built environment.
As such, it can represent a less onerous step in accrediting both 'new construction' and 'existing buildings' (the two pathways on offer), rather than opting for the better known but also far more demanding WELL certification standard by the International Well Building Institute.
The New Construction pathway is available to projects pre-occupancy, via the Design Certification, and the post-occupancy Built Certification. Existing projects receive a Built Certification.
What are the key principles of FITWEL?
Fitwel is committed to advancing the cause of human health and social responsibility in both new and existing buildings through these fundamentals:
Impactful Design and Policies: it encourages impactful building design and comprehensive policies that enhance the health and wellbeing of building occupants.
Scientifically Supported Strategies: it is grounded in evidence-based research, with strategies and recommendations based on scientific data.
Customizable and Scalable: it is adaptable to various building types, sizes, and locations, allowing for scalability across diverse projects.
Transparent and Accountable: it provides a transparent and accountable process for building certification, with clear guidelines and measurement criteria.
User-Focused: it prioritizes the needs and preferences of building occupants and promotes features that improve their overall health and wellness while making us of those indoor spaces.
In this sense it is clearly distinguishing itself from the world of the US Green Building Council LEED standard, focusing instead on People rather than Planet.
It can therefore be neatly paired with a LEED certification, if needed. There is perhaps less medical research included in the FITWEL project overall, unlike WELL certification that deliberately weighs in on this with its own dedicates teams of category experts around the world.
What are the objectives of this performance based system?
The primary objective of this Healthy Building Standard is to create a built environment that supports the health and well-being of building occupants.
Specifically:
MOVEMENT: Promoting movement and activity through active design and amenities, especially in an office building or educational environment, via active stairwells, active workstations, promoting nearby fitness facilities and so on.
DIET: Encouraging a healthy and balanced diet by providing access to nutritious food options for building users at staff canteen and vending machines (this is more to do with building operations than interior design clearly).
INDOOR ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY: Enhancing indoor air quality with an Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) policy and access to natural light for its positive impact human health and mental cognition.
MENTAL HEALTH: Supporting mental health and stress reduction via wellness features via social interaction, a holistic approach to building design, biophilic design and restorative gardens, for example.
EQUITY: Fostering social equity and inclusivity in building design and policies.
SAFETY: Prioritizing occupant safety and emergency preparedness via trained First Air responders, defibrillators and emergency equipment.
FITWEL and its impact on human health
Investing in residents or employees' health has multiple benefits, including having healthier and more satisfied occupants, an increase in retention rates, and an increase in ROI.
Offering a pathway to tracking the health-related ESG impacts of the company through measurement tools and expert guidance, Fitwel pushes the building it certifies into being a leader in the industry.
What are the costs of pursuing this healthy building certification?
The certification process can be managed entirely through their portal, which means considerably less consultancy costs when working with an ambassador on the submission.
All projects start out with a $500 registration fee, with pricing varying depending on the type and size of the project.
One example of pricing is for workplaces up to 4645 m2, prices can start at around 6,000 EUR. Certificates are valid for three years.
There are then of course fees to pay to the appointed FITWEL Ambassador who acts as Project Manager and advisor, ensuring a project can achieve the highest score possible, within the constraints of budget, resource and time.
The Ambassador is also responsible for recording lessons learned from one project and monitoring ongoing performance, so that a subsequent healthy buildings in the same company portfolio and even more centred around health and wellbeing, preventing disease transmission and enhancing public health.
FITWEL's certification levels rewarding health and wellbeing initiatives
One Star (90-104 points)
Two Stars (105-124 points)
Three Stars (125-144 points)
What type of building use is FITWEL appropriate for?
As of v2.1 of this standard there are scorecards for:
Retail
Senior housing
Workplace
Multi-family residential
Commercial and industrial
Credit categories in the FITWEL standard
Fitwel certification is achieved through a scoring system, with credits distributed across various categories. The categories are as follows:
Location:
The aim here is to encourage real estate developments in areas that promote active transportation and access to healthy food options.
Here we're looking at the WalkScore of the building and access to public transport nearby.
Clearly, not a lot can be done to change that if we are dealing with an existing building but on the flip side, this means it is also an easy credit for buildings well connected to public transport and amenities.
Building Access:
Enhance accessibility and connectivity, including the promotion of stairwells via decision point signage, showers and lockers on-site for active travel to/from the building, and deliver an occupant commuter survey to monitor how workers are getting to work, with a view to identifying opportunities to car share, or switch from car journeys to active travel journeys.
Encourage physical activity through convenient access to walking paths and bicycle storage.
Outdoor Spaces:
Provide and maintain outdoor spaces that promote physical activity, relaxation, and connection to nature.
Here we want to introduce fitness rooms, garden areas, promotion of nearby walking trails or parks, and even bringing nature inside via a rooftop vegetable garden.
Integrated Pest Management is a standard for many larger buildings, as is a tobacco-free policy, here Fitwel insists on that being an outdoor ban however, not just indoor.
Entrances & Ground Floor
FITWEL are big on signage as a way to nudge building occupants into healthy habits, whether that be around no smoking, tobacco-free zones or promoting nearby amenities.
Equally, regularly maintained entryway walk-off areas are a way to control the amount of dust, dirt and toxins brought in from the street.
Stairwells
Simply having an accessible stairwell is one easy credit in this section, while point of decision signage near the elevator promoting said stairwell is another, relatively easy credit.
Active design strategies in the stairwell can be interpreted in a number of ways, there are no hard and fast rules for such things, the aim is simply to make them attractive and appealing in order to increase the likelihood of them being used instead of the elevator!
Indoor Environmental Quality:
Here is where we find the tobacco-free building policy, asbestos-free requirements and lead-safe property credits.
An IAQ policy is also rewarded, as is a Green Purchasing Policy (a sustainable supply chain requirement) and separate ventilation for areas with chemical use or storage (e.g. certain cleaning liquids, here we are looking to reduce the risk of dangerous pollutants).
Recently added policies in v2.1 include Indoor Air Quality testing regularly, in other words installing air quality monitors on each floor of the project space, and a separate credit, sharing those results to increase environmental awareness amongst residents or staff.
Here we also find credits for interior and exterior comfort to reduce noise that could cause low level stress and negatively impact mental wellbeing.
Dwellings & Workspaces:
Credits are awarded for residences providing views of nature, as well as shades in bedrooms, and operable windows. Also we are asked to integrate mold-resistant materials.
Workspaces are additionally asked to integrate active workstations with sit-stand desks as a way to promote less time in a static seated position and more time either standing or moving around.
Shared Spaces:
Again, operable windows in communal areas, as well as views out onto nature are rewarded with credits, as is an exercise room or fitness room on-site, stationary fitness equipment such as spin bikes, treadmills and weight machines.
Health programming rewards organized activities that increase access to education and group activities that improve occupant health.
An occupant satisfaction survey delivered annually ensures an opportunity for feedback on the design and operations of a building, with findings used to inform improvements targeting enhanced physical, mental and social health.
This is also the section that covers kitchen facilities, in combination with the 'Prepared Food Areas and Grocery Stores' section that includes a healthy food and beverage policy.
In workspaces, we implement bathroom cleaning protocols, hand washing signage prompts and even a 'quiet room' for staff to relax and de-stress when their work day has gone wonky. It happens to the best of us from time to time!
Water supply:
Universally accessible drinking water is a way to improve hydration rates and indirectly reduce the consumption of sugary drinks, the same goes for a water bottle refill station essentially.
Water quality testing regularly ensures exposure to contaminants or pathogens is kept to an absolute minimum.
Vending machines and snack bars:
The intent here is simply to offer healthy food options, including fruits, vegetables, and water, in building amenities be they workplaces or residences.
We want to encourage healthy eating behaviors and provide nutritional information wherever appropriate.
Pricing incentives can also be used as a way to nudge buyers in the right direction.
Safety and Emergency Preparedness:
Support occupant safety and emergency preparedness through measures such as building security and disaster planning, an emergency preparedness plan, automated external defibrillators (AED) and certified first responders on staff.
CONTACT US TO DISCUSS YOU FITWEL OR HEALTHY BUILDING CERTIFICATION REQUIREMENTS