IWBI Named to Fast Company’s Annual List of the World’s Most Innovative Companies for 2019

The International WELL Building Institute (IWBI) has been named to Fast Company’s World’s Most Innovative Companies roster, carrying last year’s momentum around WELL full force into 2019. The list honors businesses making the most profound impact on both industry and culture. IWBI leads the global movement to transform our buildings and communities to help deliver health and wellbeing for all.

“In 2018, we launched WELL v2, stood up the Portfolio program for existing buildings, expanded our geographic footprint, and crossed some big adoption milestones across industries and sectors,” said IWBI Chairman and CEO Rick Fedrizzi. “That success is built firmly on an internal culture of innovation – in our product, in our delivery model, and in how we engage with our customers. To be named No. 6 in the wellness category on a list that includes leaders like Peloton and Parsley Health is humbling and gratifying.”

Fedrizzi noted that in 2018, IWBI registered more than 134 million square feet, which is 108% growth over 2017. Of this, almost half came from portfolios and returning clients, with the rest being individual projects. “In 2018, we supported 82 projects through to certification, which is a 78% increase over 2017. Certified square footage has grown 203% over 2017,” Fedrizzi said.

Notable WELL certifications and achievements in 2018 included:

• First certifications in Ireland (Arup), Finland (Green Building Partners), Sweden (Castellum), Poland (BuroHappold), the Netherlands (Cairn Real Estate) and Italy (Jacobs)
• First certified platinum project in Europe (The Crown Estate, UK)
• Europe’s first dual certified project at the same property – a base build and tenant fit out (Sogeprom, France)
• Europe's largest Core & Shell project (Gmp Property, Spain)
• World's largest certified commercial interior project (Deloitte, UK)
• First registered projects in Norway, Turkey, Belgium, Romania and Luxembourg, with 21 countries now represented across Europe
• 22 representatives participating on the WELL Concept Advisories

“Our amazing WELL AP community gets a lot of the credit for our continued uptake,” said Fedrizzi. “Today we have more than 7,500 WELL APs and aspirants across the globe, and the launch of WELL v2 has inspired many people to step up to the rigor and the rewards of this level of engagement with WELL.”

Fedrizzi noted that what sets WELL apart is its requirement for performance testing. “We evaluate more than 60 performance indicators, requiring over 20 tests and using more than 10 pieces of equipment to actually verify the performance of your space. Leaders don’t want to guess – they need to know.”

“With the launch of WELL v2, which we built alongside our customers, with the Portfolio program underway with almost 30 global participants, new marketing and sales tools, inspiring educational content, new research and ROI data and a reimagined WELL project platform that delivers value as soon as a project enters into the system, we’re looking forward to continued growth,” said Fedrizzi. “More importantly, we’re excited to be the catalyst for a second wave of sustainability built on human health and wellness through buildings that help people thrive.”

“The incredible progress made across Europe represents the commitment of our dedicated WELL community to provide better buildings for people to thrive,” said Ann Marie Aguilar, IWBI’s Director of Operations, Europe. “Today over 66 million square feet of real estate and nearly 400 projects are embracing WELL throughout the continent, and we’re excited to build upon this success by championing an agenda of accessibility, health equity and localisation to support individual markets with the geographic health concerns that affect them most.”

About IWBI and WELL

The International WELL Building Institute™ (IWBI™) is leading the global movement to transform our buildings and communities in ways that help people thrive. The WELL v2™ Pilot is a recently launched version of its popular WELL Building Standard™ (WELL™), and the WELL Community Standard™ pilot is a district scale rating system that sets a new global benchmark for healthy communities. WELL is focused exclusively on the ways that buildings and communities, and everything in them, can improve our comfort, drive better choices and generally enhance, not compromise, our health and wellness. IWBI convenes and mobilises the wellness real estate community through management of the WELL AP™ credential, the pursuit of applicable research, the development of educational resources and advocacy for policies that promote health and wellness everywhere. For more information about IWBI and WELL, please  visit us here .

INTERNATIONAL WELL BUILDING INSTITUTE, IWBI, the WELL BUILDING STANDARD, WELL v2, WELL CERTIFIED, WELL AP, WELL and others, and their related logos are trademarks or certification marks of International WELL Building Institute pbc in the United States and other countries.

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Kristen Coco
media@wellcertified.com