Imagine a building that not only shelters its occupants but actively enhances their well-being. In today’s world, where people spend nearly 90% of their time indoors, creating healthier, more sustainable environments is no longer a luxury—it’s a necessity. This is where the WELL Building Standard comes in, setting a new benchmark for buildings that prioritize the health and wellness of their occupants. Developed by the International WELL Building Institute (IWBI), the WELL framework doesn’t just focus on sustainability and design; it also measures the direct impact on the physical and mental health of those inside. Achieving a high WELL score goes beyond aesthetics—it’s a tangible commitment to improving air quality, lighting, water, and comfort, contributing to healthier, more productive living and working spaces.
WELL Certification is a performance-based system that measures how well buildings support occupant health and wellness across ten key categories: air, water, nourishment, light, movement, thermal comfort, sound, materials, mind, and community. Achieving this certification signals that a building prioritizes the health and well-being of its occupants, leading to healthier, happier, and more productive individuals.
Understanding the Importance of WELL Certification
Why WELL Certification is Becoming Essential
Over the past decade, wellness and sustainability have become pivotal in building design. It’s no longer just about aesthetics and functionality; people now care about how buildings affect their health. We’ve all experienced the consequences of poor indoor environments—whether it’s feeling lethargic in stuffy rooms or struggling to concentrate under harsh artificial lights. WELL Certification addresses these issues head-on, providing a holistic approach to improving indoor environments.
The WELL Building Standard is particularly important because it doesn’t just focus on isolated elements like air quality or temperature—it integrates them into a broader strategy for wellness. Certified buildings help improve mental health, boost physical activity, reduce absenteeism, and even enhance cognitive performance. This has profound implications for businesses, as healthier, happier employees are proven to be more engaged, creative, and productive.
How WELL Certification Impacts Your Building
For organizations, achieving a high WELL score is not only a way to attract tenants or employees but also to demonstrate corporate responsibility. In an increasingly competitive market, a WELL-certified building offers a unique value proposition—occupants can feel the difference in a space that truly prioritizes their well-being. This, in turn, boosts employee retention, reduces healthcare costs, and can even lead to higher property values.
For companies that are already embracing sustainability with programs like LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification, adding WELL can offer the next level of occupant-focused improvements, creating a workplace that is both green and healthy.
Key Factors Influencing WELL Scores
WELL Certification is divided into ten distinct categories known as “concepts.” Each category plays a critical role in creating an indoor environment that supports physical and mental health. Here’s a breakdown of the key factors:
Air Quality
One of the most critical elements for WELL certification is the quality of air that building occupants breathe. The air inside most buildings can be more polluted than the air outside due to poor ventilation, off-gassing from building materials, and the buildup of airborne contaminants. This has significant health implications, including respiratory problems, allergies, and a general reduction in cognitive function.
To improve air quality for WELL certification, buildings must ensure proper ventilation, use high-efficiency filters, and monitor the levels of pollutants such as carbon dioxide, volatile organic compounds (VOCs), and particulate matter. HVAC (heating, ventilation, and air conditioning) systems play a vital role in this, and WELL also encourages the use of plants and other natural air purifiers as part of biophilic design strategies.
Water Quality
Access to clean and safe drinking water is fundamental to human health, yet many buildings overlook the importance of water quality. For WELL certification, buildings need to not only provide clean water but also ensure that it meets specific health standards, including the removal of contaminants like lead, mercury, and pesticides.
This can be achieved through regular testing and the installation of advanced filtration systems. WELL-certified buildings are also encouraged to promote hydration by making clean water easily accessible through conveniently placed water fountains and hydration stations.
Lighting
Lighting is more than just a way to illuminate a space—it has a profound impact on human health and well-being. Poor lighting can lead to eye strain, headaches, and even disrupt circadian rhythms, which regulate sleep patterns. WELL certification emphasizes the importance of natural light and the use of circadian lighting systems, which mimic the sun’s natural patterns to enhance mood, productivity, and overall well-being.
To achieve high WELL scores in lighting, buildings should maximize exposure to natural light through large windows and skylights, while also incorporating energy-efficient LED systems that adjust in brightness and color temperature based on the time of day and occupant needs.
Comfort
Comfort is a broad category that encompasses thermal comfort, noise reduction, and ergonomics. Thermal comfort ensures that occupants can regulate their environment to avoid extreme temperatures, while noise reduction minimizes distractions that can lead to stress and decreased productivity. Ergonomics, on the other hand, focuses on the physical comfort of occupants, especially in workspaces where poor seating and workstation design can lead to musculoskeletal problems.
To meet WELL standards, buildings must provide a comfortable range of temperatures, soundproofing where necessary, and ergonomic furniture that supports healthy postures and reduces strain.
Fitness and Movement
A key pillar of WELL certification is the promotion of physical activity and movement within building spaces. WELL-certified buildings are designed with thoughtful strategies that encourage occupants to engage in regular physical activity throughout the day. These strategies not only improve physical health but also contribute to mental well-being, productivity, and overall quality of life for building users.
One common design feature in WELL buildings is the incorporation of centrally located and aesthetically pleasing staircases. By making stairs more accessible, visible, and inviting, building occupants are subtly encouraged to choose walking over elevators. This simple shift in behavior can have significant health benefits, promoting cardiovascular fitness and reducing the risks associated with sedentary lifestyles.
In addition to stairways, WELL-certified buildings often include on-site fitness facilities such as gyms, yoga studios, and dedicated spaces for stretching or meditation. These spaces make it convenient for employees, residents, or visitors to integrate physical activity into their daily routine, whether before, during, or after work. The goal is to remove barriers to exercise, fostering a culture of wellness in the workplace or living environment.
The design choices that promote movement within WELL buildings are more than aesthetic—they are functional, intentional strategies that reflect a deeper commitment to the health and well-being of everyone who enters the building. By creating environments that make movement natural and accessible, WELL-certified buildings contribute to a healthier, more dynamic lifestyle that benefits both body and mind.
Steps to Improve WELL Score
Improving a building’s WELL score can be a multi-phase process, but the following steps provide a roadmap for success:
1. Conduct an Initial WELL Assessment
Before implementing any changes, it’s crucial to understand where your building currently stands in relation to WELL standards. This involves conducting a thorough assessment with the help of a WELL-accredited professional. The assessment will identify gaps in the building’s design and operations and provide a roadmap for improvement. This is the first critical step in understanding what needs to be done to elevate your building’s WELL score.
2. Improve Indoor Air Quality
Start by focusing on improving indoor air quality, as this is one of the highest-impact areas. Install high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filters in HVAC systems, ensure adequate ventilation, and use air purification systems to remove allergens, dust, and pollutants. Consider conducting regular air quality testing to monitor pollutant levels and adjust systems accordingly. Additionally, introduce plants as natural air purifiers to help further improve air quality while adding aesthetic value.
3. Optimize Water Quality
Ensure that all drinking water sources are clean and free from harmful chemicals or contaminants. Water filtration systems are a must, and water quality should be regularly tested. Buildings aiming for WELL certification can also encourage hydration by making water easily accessible throughout the space, offering filtration stations in convenient areas such as break rooms, kitchens, and even in common spaces.
4. Focus on Natural Lighting
Maximizing natural light can have a transformative effect on both the WELL score and the occupants’ health. Consider renovations that bring more natural light into spaces, such as adding windows, removing obstructions, or installing skylights. If natural light is not feasible in all areas, use circadian lighting systems that adjust throughout the day to mimic the natural progression of daylight, which supports the body’s internal clock.
5. Enhance Comfort and Thermal Regulation
Achieving optimal comfort goes beyond simply setting the temperature—it’s about giving occupants control over their individual environments. Installing zoned HVAC systems allows for more localized temperature control, catering to different preferences within the building. Noise control is also crucial for comfort, especially in shared workspaces. Consider soundproofing meeting rooms and using materials that absorb sound to reduce overall noise levels.
The Role of Technology in Boosting WELL Scores
In the digital age, technology plays a pivotal role in creating smarter, healthier buildings. Advanced building management systems (BMS) can automatically adjust air quality, lighting, and temperature based on real-time data from sensors. For example, sensors can detect high levels of carbon dioxide in a meeting room and automatically increase ventilation to restore optimal air quality.
Smart lighting systems adjust based on natural light availability, occupancy, and the time of day, helping to save energy while maintaining the well-being of occupants. Air quality monitors can also be integrated into these systems, providing real-time feedback and data to ensure that indoor environments remain compliant with WELL standards.
How a Visitor Management System (VMS) Can Help
A Visitor Management System (VMS) such as Onfra can play an unexpected yet significant role in improving a building’s WELL score. Onfra is a platform designed to streamline visitor check-ins, enhance building security, and reduce the use of paper. By implementing a digital system like Onfra, buildings can maintain better hygiene and minimize contact between visitors and staff, promoting a safer and healthier environment. Onfra’s self-serve kiosks and mobile-friendly interfaces also contribute to reducing touchpoints, which aligns well with WELL’s emphasis on hygiene and occupant well-being.
Beyond health and safety, Onfra helps buildings improve efficiency by eliminating time-consuming manual processes. It also ensures compliance with health guidelines by tracking visitor movements, helping facility managers to manage occupancy levels and avoid overcrowding, which is another factor that can impact WELL scores.
Conclusion
Improving your building’s WELL score goes beyond simply aiming for certification—it’s about fostering an environment where occupants can truly thrive. The WELL Building Standard focuses on the holistic well-being of people, and achieving a high score is a testament to your commitment to health, safety, and sustainability. By prioritizing essential factors like air quality, clean water, natural and artificial lighting, indoor comfort, and encouraging movement, you create a space that nurtures both physical and mental well-being.
Furthermore, embracing innovative technologies like smart building systems and visitor management systems (VMS) such as Onfra enhances these efforts by streamlining operations, ensuring real-time monitoring, and promoting safety and convenience. Smart systems optimize energy efficiency, indoor conditions, and security, aligning perfectly with WELL’s emphasis on sustainability and human-centered design.
A WELL-certified building is more than just a badge of achievement—it’s a forward-thinking approach to creating healthier, more productive environments that benefit employees, residents, and visitors alike. It represents a long-term investment in the future of healthy living spaces, positioning your building as a leader in wellness, sustainability, and modern living standards. Whether it’s through better air filtration, ergonomic design, or cutting-edge technology, every step you take toward improving your WELL score is a step toward creating a building where people can live and work at their best.
FAQs
1. What is the WELL Building Standard?
The WELL Building Standard is a performance-based system that measures how well a building supports the health and well-being of its occupants across several areas, including air quality, lighting, water, comfort, and mental well-being.
2. How can I assess my building’s current WELL score?
A WELL-accredited professional can conduct an initial assessment of your building to identify areas that need improvement. This involves evaluating the building’s design, operations, and maintenance practices in relation to WELL standards.
3. How does improving air quality help with WELL certification?
Improving indoor air quality is a significant part of the WELL certification process. High-efficiency filters, increased ventilation, and air purification systems can help reduce pollutants and allergens, creating a healthier environment for occupants.
4. What role does lighting play in WELL certification?
Lighting, especially natural lighting, has a profound effect on occupant well-being. WELL-certified buildings use circadian lighting systems that mimic the natural progression of daylight to support health, mood, and productivity.
5. How can technology improve my building’s WELL score?
Smart building management systems, sensors, and air quality monitors can automatically adjust environmental factors like air quality, lighting, and temperature, helping to maintain WELL compliance and enhance occupant comfort.
A subject matter expert in facilities, workplace, culture, tech, and SaaS, I create impactful content strategies that enhance startup retention and foster strong connections. With a blend of technical expertise and creativity, I drive engagement and loyalty. Always eager for challenges and make a lasting impact.