Mathematician and physicist James Kelvin famously said “If you cannot measure it, you cannot improve it” – a mantra which is now being wholeheartedly embraced by businesses and investors globally. 90% of FTSE 100 Companies will now only work with suppliers who share their ESG credentials, and with ESG disclosure mandates set to get stricter in 2024, the focus on measuring and reporting looks likely to increase even further.

At Ekkist, we believe that doing the right thing is also good for business. This supported by data from WELL Certified projects, which shows that investing in healthier spaces can increase lease rates by between 4.4 and 7.7%, and asset value itself by around 7%. When combined with the boosts to productivity, staff retention and performance, plus the additional opportunities afforded by accurate ESG reporting, the business case for targeting healthier buildings almost writes itself.

For those ESG credentials, the IWBI (International WELL Building Institute) have just the tool. ‘WELL at Scale’ is a global reporting tool designed to allow businesses to measure how successful their approach to occupant health is across entire portfolios which examines both physical elements of buildings and operational policies.

The tool was created to allow businesses to benchmark their progress both internally against their peers, and to quickly and easily report on human and social capital performance as part of their ESG reporting. With this shift in global focus towards accountability and ethical business it is therefore no surprise that we are seeing some of the biggest names in business are now utilising WELL at Scale, including companies such as HSBC, Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan Chase and Citibank.

It’s important to note that WELL at Scale is not simply about ESG reporting – it’s about redefining what best practice looks like in terms of healthy buildings too. Research now shows that WELL Certified buildings have a significant impact on occupant satisfaction and health, including a 28% rise in workplace satisfaction, a 26% increase in reported well-being scores, and a 10% increase in perceived mental health. In Landsec’s WELL Certified Silver London office, a productivity rise of 30% has been recorded, while in CBRE’s WELL Certified Canada workspaces, employee turnover has fallen by almost a third.

Another one of the key reasons why Ekkist are advocates for WELL is that it is focused on actionable interventions that have a genuinely positive impact on staff well-being. All too often in policy documents, we see phrases like “projects should seek to improve air quality”, without setting out concrete strategies to achieve these goals. The WELL Standard, in contrast, provides clear pathways to achieving healthier places that are easy to action in either new-build or refurbishment projects.

WELL at Scale further differentiates from traditional WELL Certification, because it does not require you to achieve full certification on every (or indeed any) asset. Teams can simply select which WELL ‘Features’ they would like to target on each building, allowing for flexibility and adaptability across portfolios. This also makes it much easier to use on existing building stock, which may not always be able to meet WELL’s ‘Preconditions’ due to constraints around daylight or mechanical fitout, for example. Of course, should a building be able to complete all the required Preconditions and the necessary number of points for WELL Bronze/Silver/Gold/Platinum Certification, it will become a fully certified building, as well as contributing to an overall score.

Tools like WELL at Scale not only facilitate comprehensive ESG reporting but also promote the creation of healthier, more productive environments. As businesses and investors continue to prioritise sustainability and well-being, those who fail to embrace these trends risk being left behind in an evolving market landscape. The data clearly supports the fact that healthier buildings lead to higher lease rates, increased asset values, and improved employee satisfaction and productivity, making ESG-focused initiatives not just a moral choice, but a strategic business decision.

As the UK’s first health and well-being consultancy for the built environment, we at Ekkist have a huge amount of experience both using WELL and delivering healthy buildings. We have worked with major property businesses such as Landsec, Yoo Capital, Quintain and Barratt, and have a team of market-leading experts with unique backgrounds in healthy buildings who sit on industry-wide advisory boards and committees on health and well-being. Because human health is all we focus on, every one of our projects only has genuine, senior-level ‘healthy building experts’ working on them. 

We have advised numerous organisations including the UK government, BRE, RICS, and even the IWBI themselves on how to create healthier places, and would love to bring this expertise to your organisation too. If you have a project you feel would benefit from our support, please do get in touch.