International WELL Building Institute™ Announces Alignments Between the WELL Building Standard™ and LEED®

April 21, 2017 /3BL Media/ – The International WELL Building Institute™ (IWBI™) today announced alignments between the WELL Building Standard (WELL) and LEED that will make it easier for green building projects pursuing dual certification.  IWBI and U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) have identified specific credits whereby submitted documentation will be recognized by Green Business Certification, Inc. (GBCI), the certifying body for both LEED and WELL. This alignment saves project teams the time and costs, and reduces documentation.

WELL is a holistic, performance-based building standard designed to create healthy indoor spaces across seven categories of building performance and human impact: air, water, nourishment, light, fitness, comfort and mind. The LEED green building program focuses on buildings, homes and communities that are designed, constructed, maintained and operated for improved environmental and human health performance.

“We are making it easier for project teams to incorporate both LEED and WELL Certification in their buildings through this credit crosswalk,” said Rick Fedrizzi, chairman and CEO of IWBI. “If every story about a green building is a story about people, it’s essential that we bring greater focus on the positive human impacts our buildings can have and explore ways to incorporate them into every office, classroom, store, stadium and other places that make up our built environment.”

In order to promote both environmental sustainability and human health, WELL was designed to work harmoniously with LEED at its inception. Additionally, both systems are third-party certified by GBCI, which further streamlines the way in which the systems work together.

The crosswalk was published this week.  The document will provide information on the ways in which existing features, credits and criteria that have contributed to WELL Certification may contribute to compliance with LEED, and vice versa. It also outlines various levels of fulfilment within each certification system for overlapping credits and features of LEED and WELL and indicates when and where additional measures may be necessary in order to receive certification from the complementary programs.

About the WELL Building Standard™
The WELL Building Standard™ (WELL) is a performance-based system for measuring, certifying, and monitoring features of the built environment that impact the health and wellness of the people who live, work, and learn in the buildings. WELL focuses on seven categories of building performance: air, water, nourishment, light, fitness, comfort, and mind. The WELL Building Standard is grounded in evidence-based research that demonstrates the connection between the buildings where people spend more than 90 percent of their time and those buildings’ health and wellness impacts on those who use them.  The WELL Building Standard is administered by the International WELL Building Institute™ and third-party certified by Green Business Certification Inc. (GBCI). www.wellcertified.com

About the International WELL Building Institute™
The International WELL Building Institute™ (IWBI™) is a public benefit corporation whose mission is to improve human health and wellness through the built environment. Public benefit corporations like IWBI are an emerging U.S. structure for corporations committed to balancing public benefits with profitability – harnessing the power of private capital for greater good. IWBI administers the WELL Building Standard™ (WELL) – a performance-based system for measuring, certifying, and monitoring features of buildings that impact the health and wellness of the people who live, work, and learn in them. It also credentials the growing number of professionals who seek WELL accreditation.   www.wellcertified.com

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Press Contact:
IWBI                                                                          
Callie Stanton                                                 
646.654.3438  
cstanton@nikecomm.com