The WELL Building Standard has revolutionized the way design professionals create built environments. Today, it covers more than 5.12 billion square feet in 131 countries as of February 2024. This innovative rating system puts equal emphasis on sustainability and people’s wellbeing, with certifications awarded to about 30,000 locations worldwide.
People spend 90% of their time indoors, yet no frameworks existed to address occupant health and wellness until the International WELL Building Institute (IWBI) stepped in. The WELL Building Standard certification has grown from seven core concepts to ten since its launch in 2014. It also gives organizations a concrete way to show their steadfast dedication to their occupants’ health and well-being. Getting WELL certified requires project registration, documentation submission, and performance testing.
This piece will walk you through everything about implementing the WELL Building Standard in your design projects. You’ll learn its core concepts and get a clear understanding of the certification process.
Understanding the WELL Building Standard
The WELL Building Standard emerged in October 2014 as a fresh take on the built environment. This groundbreaking framework aims to boost human health and wellness through smart building design and operation.
Definition and Origin by IWBI
The International WELL Building Institute (IWBI), a California registered public benefit corporation, created the WELL Building Standard as a healthy building certification program. Paul Scialla’s vision at Delos company brought this standard to life in 2013, making it the first certification focused on well-being. The standard creates a detailed framework to measure, certify, and track building features that directly shape our health and well-being. People spend more than 90% of their time indoors, which makes WELL unique among building standards because it focuses on how our surroundings shape our physical and mental wellness.
Performance-Based Approach to Health and Wellness
The standard’s strength lies in its performance-based system that demands verification instead of self-reported compliance. Every WELL-certified building goes through performance verification after completion. An authorized WELL Performance Testing Agent conducts this verification to ensure the building meets required standards.
The standard started with seven core concepts but has grown to include ten detailed categories that address human health:
- Air
- Water
- Nourishment
- Light
- Movement (formerly Fitness)
- Thermal Comfort
- Sound
- Materials
- Mind
- Community
Each concept contains specific features that target occupant’s health, comfort, and knowledge. Many WELL features align with existing government standards or other standards-setting organizations, which adds to their credibility.
Adoption Across Global Real Estate
WELL Building Standard’s growth has skyrocketed. More than 200 projects in 21 countries had adopted the certification by 2016, just two years after launch. Today, WELL covers more than 5 billion square feet of space in 130 countries and supports about 25 million people in nearly 74,000 commercial and residential locations worldwide.
More than 150 Fortune and Global 500 companies now welcome WELL, seeing clear benefits from healthy buildings. Research shows certified healthy buildings earn 7.7% higher rents per square foot. Employee performance jumps by 8% just from better air quality.
The standard now reaches businesses of all types, from financial services and healthcare to education and transportation. This broad acceptance shows how companies value workforce well-being and want to improve employee recruitment, retention, and productivity.
The 10 Core Concepts of the WELL Building Standard part 1
The WELL Building Standard’s core concepts create a well-laid-out framework that helps build environments to boost human health and wellness. Each concept targets specific body needs through measurable criteria that can be tested. Let’s get into the first eight concepts.
Air: Ventilation and Filtration Requirements
Clean air forms the foundation of the WELL Standard. Air pollution leads to about 7 million early deaths worldwide each year. The Air concept sets rules for ventilation systems, filtration methods, and ways to cut down pollutants. Indoor air quality rules say formaldehyde must stay below 27 ppb and total volatile organic compounds (VOCs) under 500 μg/m³. Projects must also keep particulate matter (PM₂.₅ < 15 μg/m³), carbon monoxide (< 9 ppm), and ozone (< 51 ppb) in check.
Water: Contaminant Thresholds and Testing
The Water concept will give you safe drinking water through proper filtration and regular testing. The World Health Organization reports that almost one billion people can’t access safe drinking water worldwide. WELL tackles this by requiring regular water quality tests for microbes, chemicals, and mineral contaminants. These limits are backed by global public health groups.
Nourishment: Healthy Food Access and Policies
The Nourishment concept helps people eat better through smart food policies. Research shows that people’s eating habits are shaped by where they spend most of their time, including their workplace. Buildings with WELL certification must have at least two types of fruits and vegetables that are easy to see at eye level.
Light: Circadian Lighting and Glare Control
Light affects both how well we see and our body’s natural rhythms. WELL needs workstations to have at least 215 lux of ambient light. On top of that, buildings need balanced brightness between main rooms and other spaces. The lighting design must work with our body’s natural rhythms. When these rhythms get disrupted, it can lead to health problems like obesity and depression.
Movement: Active Design and Fitness Integration
The Movement concept (previously called Fitness) uses building design to get people moving. The American College of Sports Medicine says healthy adults should do 30 minutes of moderate exercise five days a week, plus strength training twice weekly. WELL certification pushes for accessible stairs, bike storage, and workout spaces.
Thermal Comfort: HVAC and Personal Control
Room temperature affects mood, performance, and productivity substantially. WELL Standard follows ASHRAE Standard 55-2013 for spaces with mechanical cooling. Kitchen temperatures must stay below 80°F.
Sound: Acoustic Comfort and Noise Reduction
Sound comfort plays a huge role in employee health and wellbeing. A UK study found that all but one of these employees couldn’t focus because of poor acoustics. The Sound concept measures both indoor acoustics and outside noise through detailed sound mapping.
Materials: Low-VOC and Non-Toxic Specifications
The Materials concept deals with harmful compounds in building materials. Indoor VOC levels can be five times higher than outdoor levels. WELL certification demands that new interior paints and coatings meet strict VOC limits. All installed products must meet standards set by the California Air Resources Board or South Coast Air Quality Management District.
Community: Social Equity and Engagement Programs
The Community concept sets guidelines to create inclusive, integrated, and resilient spaces that encourage high levels of social engagement. Social determinants affect individual and collective health outcomes by a lot. WELL-certified communities make health equity their priority. They work to close persistent gaps in health outcomes and remove barriers to healthcare access. The WELL Equity Rating builds on this concept and gives organizations applicable information with more than 40 strategies across 6 action areas.
Organizations must complete a demographic assessment. This helps them identify the populations they serve and work with these communities to understand their specific needs. Research proves this assessment’s value – employees in inclusive workplaces are nearly one-third more productive and 21% more profitable than their peers.
The certification also focuses on preventing crime through environmental design, planning for disasters, and assessing health impacts. The concept supports policies that encourage social cohesion, community identity, and strengthen people – vital elements that help create environments where people thrive together.
Mind: Mental Health and Stress Reduction Features
The Mind concept shows how mental and physical well-being connect. Our minds and bodies share an unbreakable bond. To cite an instance, exercise releases more serotonin, which raises mood and helps regulate sleep cycles. However, chronic stress can damage us both physically and psychologically.
Mental health conditions affect approximately:
- 18% of adults over a 12-month period
- 30% of adults during their lifetime
Mental health directly affects how organizations perform. Depression and anxiety cost the global economy about USD 1.39 trillion in lost productivity. WELL certification requires mental health promotion through:
- Educational programs that reduce stigma and improve awareness
- Spaces designed for relaxation and stress reduction
- Nature access and biophilic elements
- Policies that support work-life balance and enough sleep
The Mind concept has changed a lot in WELL v2. It reduced preconditions from five to two. This lets projects customize strategies based on their priorities and what their occupants need. This approach recognizes that different populations need different solutions, offering flexibility while keeping high standards.
WELL Building Standard Certification Process
The WELL certification process follows five steps that verify if projects meet strict health and wellness standards. Buildings must pass both documentation checks and performance tests to prove they support occupant wellbeing.
Step 1: Project Registration and Fees
Your project needs registration with the International WELL Building Institute (IWBI) through their WELL Online platform. The costs include a CAD 4180.08 enrollment fee and a program fee of CAD 0.22 per square foot. Program fees start at CAD 11146.88 with a cap at CAD 136549.30. You can register at any point during development, but early registration helps you blend WELL strategies from the start.
Step 2: Documentation and Design Phase
The documentation phase needs careful planning to show compliance with WELL features. Your team should submit specific documents and letters of assurance from professionals. Architects, MEP professionals, contractors, and property owners must provide these letters about their WELL feature implementation. This shared approach makes sure everyone knows their role in creating a WELL-certified space.
Step 3: Performance Verification by GBCI
The Green Business Certification Inc. (GBCI) handles performance verification after document submission. A WELL Assessor visits the site to run performance tests and visual inspections. These tests check air quality (including TVOC levels), water quality, light levels, and other factors that match documentation claims. The testing protocol depends on project size and type, and third-party labs analyze the samples.
Step 4: Certification Levels: Silver, Gold, Platinum
Projects can achieve three certification levels based on verification:
- Silver: Meeting 100% of applicable preconditions (a Wellness Score of 5-6)
- Gold: Meeting all preconditions plus 40% or more of optimizations (Score 7-8)
- Platinum: Meeting all preconditions plus 80% or more of optimizations (Score 9-10)
Step 5: Recertification Every 3 Years
WELL certification lasts three years from the award date. Projects need another performance verification to keep their certification. This process encourages improvement since projects can show new achievements to boost their score or reach a higher certification level during recertification.
WELL v2 and Performance Rating Enhancements
WELL v2 represents a major development in building wellness certification. This new standard combines previous versions into a single unified system that works for all project types. The latest version makes certification more accessible without compromising the strict health requirements that make WELL Building Standard unique.
Flexible Scoring System in WELL v2
The new WELL v2 uses a points-based system that gives projects more options than before. Projects can score up to 100 points and earn 10 more innovation points. The structure has mandatory universal preconditions for all projects. Teams can customize their strategy through optimizations based on what their project needs. Projects need specific points for each certification level: Silver needs 50 points, Gold needs 60 points, and Platinum needs 80 points. Each project must earn at least two points per concept. No single concept can exceed 12 points.
Technology Integration for Live Monitoring
Live monitoring serves as the life-blood of WELL v2’s approach to building performance. The standard promotes continuous tracking through sensors that measure building metrics and surveys that gage occupant feedback. Buildings can now collect and share performance data in real time. Project teams can make informed decisions to create better indoor environments that support occupant health and well-being.
WELL Performance Rating: 21 of 33 Features Requirement
The WELL Performance Rating measures specific metrics through testing, sensor technology, and occupant surveys. Projects must meet at least 21 out of 33 features in seven key categories:
- Indoor air quality (9 features)
- Water quality management (4 features)
- Lighting measurement (2 features)
- Thermal conditions (2 features)
- Acoustic performance (5 features)
- Environmental monitoring (6 features)
- Occupant experience (5 features)
The Performance Rating differs from traditional WELL certification as it has no distinct achievement levels.
Toolkits: Compliance Calculators and Gap Analysis
IWBI offers comprehensive toolkits for projects seeking WELL certification or Performance Rating. These toolkits have documentation templates for sensor data submission, tools to review project progress, and specialized calculators that determine requirements like sensor density. The alignment tools help teams understand how WELL v2 features match with Performance Rating features. These resources make certification simpler and help teams track their progress effectively.
Comparing WELL with Other Green Certifications
Design professionals often work with both WELL and LEED standards when dealing with green building certifications. Both standards aim to create better buildings but take different approaches.
WELL vs LEED: Health vs Sustainability Focus
LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) focuses on environmental impact and sustainability. The standard looks at building-related environmental criteria like energy usage, water efficiency, and waste control. WELL’s approach differs by putting human health and wellness first. It examines how buildings affect people’s health through air quality, water quality, nourishment, light, and other human-centered factors. WELL requires an on-site assessment from a third-party evaluator, while LEED usually checks documents without mandatory site visits.
Dual Certification Benefits for Developers
The International WELL Building Institute and USGBC have made certification easier through a streamlined process for both standards. This approach has become popular, with 335 projects in 38 countries covering 82 million square feet choosing this option. The streamlined path has:
- Review cycles that let you submit documents at the same time
- A complete crosswalk showing where WELL features and LEED credits overlap
- Simple documentation rules that avoid duplicate submissions
TVS became the first organization to get both LEED Platinum and WELL Platinum certifications through this streamlined path.
Integration with ESG and EU ESRS Reporting
WELL has become a valuable tool for ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance) reporting. Companies that use WELL strategies can meet up to 50% of European Sustainability Reporting Standards requirements. More than 150 Fortune 500 companies now use WELL to show their health leadership in corporate reports.
IWBI has created alignment tools that map WELL v2 to various frameworks including the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, GRESB, LEED, IRIS, GRI, and S&P CSA. These tools give organizations measurable metrics for sustainability reporting and turn building performance into clear ESG results.
Conclusion
The WELL Building Standard is a game-changing system that puts human health at the heart of architectural design. This piece has shown how WELL certification goes beyond traditional building standards and focuses on occupant wellness through ten complete concepts.
WELL brings major benefits to your projects. Certified buildings show measurable improvements in occupant health and productivity. Research confirms WELL-certified spaces command higher rental values—about 7.7% more per square foot. The market recognizes the value of wellness-centered environments.
The certification process is rigorous but provides a clear path to creating healthier spaces. The experience starts with project registration and moves to careful documentation of design elements that support the ten core concepts. On-site testing verifies your building meets quality standards. Your project can earn Silver, Gold, or Platinum certification based on achievement levels.
WELL v2 has made the standard more accessible through its flexible scoring system and technology integration. This rise allows you to customize your approach based on project priorities while delivering consistent health outcomes. The Performance Rating gives you more options by measuring specific metrics across seven key categories.
WELL works well with sustainability-focused certifications like LEED. The simplified dual certification path created by IWBI and USGBC helps you get both certifications efficiently. This approach connects to ESG reporting frameworks, making WELL certification valuable for corporate sustainability goals.
Workplaces, homes, schools, and public spaces keep changing. WELL certification offers a science-backed framework to ensure these environments boost human health. Using WELL standards shows a basic truth: buildings should do more than shelter—they should improve lives.