International WELL Building Institute Announces New Global Market Partners to Accelerate Promotion of Buildings That Help People Thrive

NEW YORK, April 16, 2018 /3BL Media/ – The International WELL Building Institute™ (IWBI™) today announced new market partners with several green building councils and other key organizations, marking an important milestone in the shared global mission to transform buildings to actively promote human health and wellness. Each organization is working with IWBI within their respective markets to accelerate the uptake of building practice that helps improve the health and wellness of people everywhere.

The distinguished group of innovative industry organizations collaborating with IWBI include APTA VITAE (Italy), Blue Building Institute (Netherlands), Canada Green Building Council (CaGBC), Green Building Certification Inc. (GBCI), Green Building Council of Australia (GBCA), Green Building Japan (GBJ) and Polish Green Building Council (PLGBC).

“At a time when we spend most of our lives indoors, it is more critical than ever that our buildings enhance, rather than harm, our health and wellness,” said IWBI Chairman and CEO Rick Fedrizzi. “Through these important international collaborations, we have the opportunity to significantly accelerate our goal to promote human health and wellness through healthy, sustainable buildings around the world. We are proud to partner with such an impressive roster of organizations to work together for a healthier future for our people and the planet.”

Each organization has committed to promote the adoption of WELL Building Standardä (WELLä) within its respective market. Further, the organizations will be responsible for helping to develop and drive educational initiatives through co-branded content and programming. As part of the market partnerships, IWBI will provide educational opportunities for members of each local market, with the goal of preparing them for the WELL Accredited Professional (WELL AP™) program. The WELL AP credential signifies knowledge in human health and wellness in the built environment and specialization in the principles, practices, and applications of WELL. More than 5,000 professionals worldwide are registered or credentialed through the WELL AP process.

WELL is the premier building standard focused on enhancing people’s health and wellness by putting people at the center of decisions about how buildings are designed, constructed and operated. Created through seven years of rigorous research and development working with leading physicians, scientists, and industry professionals, WELL is a performance-based certification system that uses evidence-based scientific research to develop best practices in design and construction.

WELL complements green building rating programs such as LEED, Green Star, and the Living Building Challenge, and is third-party certified by Green Business Certification, Inc. – the same body that administers more than 10 billion square feet of LEED globally. To date, WELL has enrolled more than 780 projects encompassing over 147 million square feet of real estate in 32 countries worldwide.

About the International WELL Building Institute

The International WELL Building Institute (IWBI) is leading the global movement to transform our buildings and communities in ways that help people thrive.  IWBI delivers the cutting-edge WELL Building Standard (WELL), the first to be focused exclusively on the ways that buildings, and everything in them, can improve our comfort, drive better choices, and generally enhance, not compromise, our health and wellness. Its work extends to advancing health through design for entire neighborhoods through the WELL Community Standardä and supporting the growing number of professionals who seek WELL accreditation. Certification of buildings and accrediting of professionals is third-party administered by Green Building Certification Inc. www.wellcertified.com

About WELL Standards

The WELL Building Standard™ (WELL) is a performance-based system for measuring, certifying and monitoring features of buildings around the globe that impact the health and wellness of people. It 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 Community Standard™ is a district-scale rating system that takes into account the interconnectivity between buildings and their surroundings and the overall impact on human health. The WELL Building Standard and the WELL Community Standard are developed and delivered by the International WELL Building Institute™ and third- party certified by Green Business Certification Inc. (GBCI). www.wellcertified.com.

Press Contact:

IWBI                                                                          
Callie Stanton                                                         
646.654.3438                                                             
cstanton@nikecomm.com