WELL Building Standard certification support for buildings that work for the people in them.

What it is

What is the WELL Building Standard?

The WELL Building Standard is a rating system for the design, construction and operation of buildings and interior spaces, focused on the health and wellbeing of the people who occupy them. It is owned and administered by the International WELL Building Institute (IWBI), which runs WELL Certification and publishes the standard on its own site.

WELL looks past the building fabric to the conditions people experience every day, and to the policies an owner or tenant keeps in place to protect them. That is why it matters to operations teams as much as to designers: a large share of the evidence comes from how the space is run, not only from how it was built.

Current version. WELL v2 is the version IWBI presents for WELL Certification. IWBI publishes the current requirements, the certification process and its pricing on wellcertified.com; check the version that applies when you register.

Who it is for

Who asks for WELL Certification?

Requests for WELL usually come from four directions:

• Owners and developers. They want a recognised signal that a building supports health, to attract tenants and hold value.
• Corporate occupiers. Employers use WELL to show staff that the workplace was chosen and run with their wellbeing in mind.
• Investors and ESG reporting. Health and wellbeing ratings feed the social side of sustainability disclosures.
• Portfolio managers. Groups with many sites want one consistent approach across locations.

The rating answers a buyer's question only if the scope, spaces and ownership model are agreed first.

Requirements

What does WELL require in practice?

IWBI publishes the WELL v2 requirements, their structure and scoring on its own site. That structure is not reproduced here; the list below is what Sterling's work covers.

• Scope: the spaces, the ownership model and the outcome the project is aiming for
• Gap review: the building and its operation reviewed against the WELL requirements that apply to it
• Policies and procedures: the operational commitments an owner or tenant must keep, written so they are used
• Evidence file: drawings, specifications, test reports and operating records organised for IWBI's review
• Keeping it current: records maintained after the award, so the building keeps meeting what it claimed

Your engagement

What your WELL engagement includes

WELL work touches design teams, facilities, HR and procurement. Sterling coordinates that work and gives you one accountable team, from scope to submission.

• Scope and gap review

  An agreed scope and a clear list of what is met, what is missing and who owns each gap.

• Policies and operating procedures

  Drafted with your facilities and people teams, in your language and format.

• Effivity ISO & GRC software

  Evidence, actions and records in one workspace, included with the engagement at no additional cost.

• Training for your people

  Preferential Sterling Academy access, including complimentary awareness training for your people as part of the engagement.

• Internal review

  An independent check of the evidence file before it goes to IWBI.

• Submission support

  Help answering IWBI's questions until the review is closed.

Sterling does not certify. IWBI reviews the project and decides on WELL Certification.

Often combined with

Standards organisations pair with WELL

• API Spec Q1API Spec Q1 certification consulting for oil and gas suppliers: contract review, design, purchasing and release controlled, prepared for the APIQR audit.
• AWS StandardAWS water stewardship certification to the Alliance for Water Stewardship Standard: what it is, who asks for it and how Sterling prepares your site for audit.
• CHAS, SafeContractor and AchillesCHAS, SafeContractor and Achilles accreditation for UK contractors: what each scheme is, who asks for it and how Sterling prepares your evidence.
• GRESBGRESB assessment explained: Real Estate, Infrastructure and Development components, the annual cycle, validation and ratings, and how Sterling prepares you.
• IEC 61511IEC 61511 compliance for process plants: the safety instrumented system lifecycle, functional safety management and the evidence your assessors expect.
• IEC 62443IEC 62443 certification consulting for industrial automation and control systems: zones, conduits and security levels for owners, integrators and suppliers.