EHS team member qualifies as Fitwel Ambassador
30 Jan 2018
Congratulations to Environment, Health & Safety team member, Charlotte Wilson, for becoming a Fitwel® Ambassador. Fitwel is a building certification to support healthier workplace environments and improve occupant health and productivity. Charlotte will be able to assess and assist clients on how to integrate Fitwel’s strategies within their businesses.
Employers are becoming increasingly aware of employee health-related costs that have an impact on a business’s bottom line, there is growing evidence that links the design of the built environment to choices that impact health and wellbeing in the workplace. Healthier buildings benefit employee wellness, while incentivising and promoting wellness can improve employee productivity - incentivising wellness led to the development of Fitwel, a healthy building certification standard.
A low cost, high-impact solution for workplaces
Fitwell was launched in 2017 after five years of development and pilot studies. Whilst other wellness solutions such as WELL Standard are already out there, Fitwel has been branded as WELL-Lite, offering a more flexible approach on the credit scoring - making it accessible for new and existing buildings, regardless of size, age, budget and location, to support healthy occupants through wellbeing changes.
How Fitwel works
Fitwel uses a unique weighted scoring system where 63 strategies are associated with a point allocation based on the strength of the science and impact on occupant health. Strategies with a stronger evidence base, that intersect with multiple Health Impact Categories, receive the most points.
Fitwel focuses on the following seven Health Impact Categories:
- impacts community health
- reduces morbidity and absenteeism
- supports social equity for vulnerable populations
- instils feelings of wellbeing
- increases physical activity
- promotes occupant safety
- provides healthy food options
Facilities that achieve a Fitwel numerical score of 90 or above (>60%) are considered ‘Fitwel-Certified’ to either a 1, 2 or 3-star rating. Each point that Fitwel certification requires is based on scientific data with features as diverse as providing a lactation room, proximity to local amenities and public transport and indoor air quality all commanding significant credits.
Charlotte, as a Fitwel Ambassador, will work with clients to register buildings on Fitwel’s online portal, and then working with building managers complete the scorecard so an immediate benchmark is generated. This will allow the client to see how well their building is performing, and work to improve in the necessary areas.
For more information on our Fitwel services, contact Charlotte Wilson or visit our Fitwel service page.
Related articles: Managing Director achieves WELL Accredited Professional status
