The Green Building Certification Institute (GBCI) and the International WELL Building Institute (IWBI) formally introduced the WELL Building Standard in China. WELL is a system that focuses on human health and wellbeing in the built environment.
WELL, which complements green building rating programs such as LEED, Three Star, and BREEAM, has come forward at a time of increased environmental awareness among the Chinese people who are looking for solutions to improve quality of life.
“Our world today is confronting massive health challenges that are assaulting our complete physical, mental, and social wellbeing,” said Rick Fedrizzi, CEO & founding chair, U.S. Green Building Council. “As these challenges continue to mount, all of us have an obligation to be more purposeful when addressing how human health relates to our built environment. The WELL certification program is a powerful way to accelerate better, healthier buildings throughout China.”
The WELL Building Standard is a performance-based system for measuring, certifying and monitoring features that impact human health and wellbeing, through air, water, nourishment, light, fitness, comfort, and mind.
Grounded in a body of medical research that explores the connection between the buildings where we spend more than 90% of our time and the health and wellness of the people in them, WELL certification allows building owners and employers to know their space is designed to promote health and wellbeing and is performing as intended.
“We think there is a great market opportunity in China for companies to be at the forefront of healthy building practices,” said Paul Scialla, founder of the International WELL Building Institute. “We are excited by the strong interest and demand we have already received from companies and projects that are interested in WELL certification and merging together best practices in environmental and human sustainability.”
GBCI, as the official certifying body of both WELL and LEED, will successfully integrate the certification and credentialing processes of both systems to help project teams efficiently deliver on both their environmental and human health goals.
WELL can be applied across all building types and version 1.0 of WELL is currently optimized for commercial and institutional projects. For more information about the WELL Building Standard, visitwellcertified.com. For more information about GBCI, visit gbci.org.
Related Stories
| Nov 19, 2013
Top 10 green building products for 2014
Assa Abloy's power-over-ethernet access-control locks and Schüco's retrofit façade system are among the products to make BuildingGreen Inc.'s annual Top-10 Green Building Products list.
| Nov 19, 2013
Net-zero senior housing project aimed at low-income residents in Virginia
A big driver to achieve net-zero was to offer affordable housing with reduced energy costs for low-income seniors.
| Nov 18, 2013
USGBC, UL Environment announce joint Environmental Product Declaration
Strategic partnership between U.S. Green Building Council and UL Environment will focus on building materials and product transparency.
| Nov 15, 2013
Greenbuild 2013 Report - BD+C Exclusive
The BD+C editorial team brings you this special report on the latest green building trends across nine key market sectors.
| Nov 14, 2013
How increased domestic energy production affects the nation [Infographic]
In light of America's new energy resources and an increased emphasis on energy efficiency, Skanska examined the trends in U.S. energy production and consumption, as well as the benefits we may incur from increased domestic energy production.
| Nov 13, 2013
Government work keeps green AEC firms busy
With the economy picking up, many stalled government contracts are reaching completion and earning their green credentials.
| Nov 13, 2013
Installed capacity of geothermal heat pumps to grow by 150% by 2020, says study
The worldwide installed capacity of GHP systems will reach 127.4 gigawatts-thermal over the next seven years, growth of nearly 150%, according to a recent report from Navigant Research.
| Nov 11, 2013
New San Francisco 49ers stadium will achieve net zero thanks to 49 large solar panels
The installation of 49 large rooftop solar panels at the 49ers new stadium outside San Francisco will help the arena achieve net-zero energy use, according to NRG, the company that installed the panels.
| Nov 8, 2013
Can Big Data help building owners slash op-ex budgets?
Real estate services giant Jones Lang LaSalle set out to answer these questions when it partnered with Pacific Controls to develop IntelliCommand, a 24/7 real-time remote monitoring and control service for its commercial real estate owner clients.
| Nov 8, 2013
S+T buildings embrace 'no excuses' approach to green labs
Some science-design experts once believed high levels of sustainability would be possible only for low-intensity labs in temperate zones. But recent projects prove otherwise.
