by Brianna Crandall — May 30, 2016 — The nonprofit Center for Active Design (CfAD) will soon launch Fitwel, a low-cost, high-impact building certification standard created with the vision for a healthier future where every building is enhanced to support occupant wellbeing.
There is a growing body of evidence linking the design of our built environment to choices that impact health, according to the Center. The location, design, and management of buildings has a direct impact on occupant wellness. Healthier buildings benefit employee wellness, a top economic concern of chief financial officers, and 90 percent of business leaders say that promoting wellness improves employee productivity.
Looking to incentivize wellness supporting building amenities and policies, the GSA (U.S. General Services Administration) and CDC (U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) led the development of Fitwel, which architects and designers can use to design or redesign healthier built environments and building owners and managers can use to improve indoor environments and support healthier occupant behaviors.
Fitwel is a low-cost, high-impact building certification standard created with the vision for a healthier future where every building is enhanced to support occupant well-being.
The Center for Active Design will be launching Fitwel to targeted private sector firms over the next year. Fitwel will be available for broader public use in 2017.
Fitwel was created to be a low-cost, high-impact certification standard enabling positive impacts on building occupant health and productivity through improvements to workplace design and policies. Fitwel enables buildings, often workplaces, to be assessed against a baseline of evidence-based criteria that define a health-promoting environment.
In office environments, Fitwel’s initial target market, the expected improvements in employee wellness may result in lower health-care costs, lower rates of absenteeism, and increased revenue from enhanced employee performance. The Fitwel certification responds to the growing demand for recognition of healthier buildings and workplaces, serving as a market differentiator to retain and attract tenants and future employees, notes CfAD.
The need for healthier buildings and workplaces
Employers are well aware of the impact health-related costs have on their bottom line, says the Center. For example, according to the Integrated Benefits Institute, productivity losses related to health cost U.S. employers over $225 billion annually. Research demonstrates benefits in employee health and productivity from health promotion through programs, policies, and environmental changes.
Fitwel provides a set of strategies that address the broad range of health risks within the building environment such as exposure to indoor pollutants and lack of access to healthy foods or places to get physical activity. Each criterion of the Fitwel scorecard is linked by scientific evidence to at least one of seven health impact categories.
A low-cost, high-impact standard for all workplaces
Fitwel guides and enables a healthier future where building design and policy supports occupant well-being and health. It is based on the premise that new and existing buildings — regardless of their size, age, budget, and location — can support healthy occupants through incremental changes.
Based on strong scientific evidence, Fitwel provides over 60 strategies with the highest potential impact. The certification assesses workplace features such as the design of stairwells and outdoor spaces, and policies such as indoor clean air standards and healthy food standards. The system is designed to encourage FMs to work continually to increase building scores.
Fitwel is expected to reach a broad, untapped market and will limit user expenses incurred from the certification process and implementation of strategies:
- The cost of the certification is low due to limited technical knowledge needed to apply for the certification.
- The self-assessment tool is Web and mobile phone based, with immediate calculation of rating.
- All strategies are voluntary, with no prerequisites or required strategies that may prove cost-inhibitive.
All certification system components, including a scorecard, scoring process, and a responsive Web site, have been developed and pilot tested nationally in 89 public buildings, the majority of which are managed by the GSA.
To learn more about the certification visit the Fitwel Web site. For information on joining the soft launch, e-mail Fitwel fitwel@centerforactivedesign.org.
