News 22nd September 2021 Building Wellbeing

Workman and Fitwel: a vision for healthy buildings

As the UK’s leading implementer of Fitwel, Workman has achieved certification for almost 2,000,000 sq. ft of office and business park locations including Bristol, Leeds and London – the most completed Fitwel certifications in the UK and Europe.

Based on a vision for a healthier future, where all buildings and communities are enhanced to strengthen health and wellbeing, Fitwel has been embraced by developers and workplace strategists as part of the growing trend towards healthier workplaces.

In March 2019, Workman secured the nation’s first Fitwel certification for a business park. Workman successfully guided Patron Capital and APAM’s Arlington Business Park through the Fitwel accreditation process, making it the UK’s first asset of this kind to achieve this certification.

Since then, Workman’s expertise in achieving Fitwel certification has gone from strength to strength across office and retail assets at locations nationwide.

To date we have:

  • Project managed the certification of the first Fitwel-certified business park in Europe.
  • Delivered the first Fitwel certified office building in the North-West of England.
  • Achieved the highest Fitwel score of any asset globally, for a multi-let office in Bristol.
  • Achieved the first Fitwel-certified shopping centre in the UK.
  • Completed the most UK Fitwel accreditations in 2020.

How Fitwel impacts health

Launched for public use by the Center for Active Design in March 2017, Fitwel has made significant impacts on health, and has a presence in more than 50 countries worldwide. Fitwel is fast becoming a global leader for certifying sustainability performance in buildings and the enhancement of occupier health and wellbeing. Since launch, the global real estate community has registered about half a million square feet of space each day to go through the Fitwel certification process.

The UK is one of the fastest-growing markets for Fitwel certification and one of the top three countries for certifications. As of Q2 2021, the UK has 100+ properties registered on the Fitwel platform and 50+ certified properties. This growth is across a variety of asset types, including commercial office properties, multifamily residential, student housing and senior housing.

The UK is also home to 205 Fitwel Ambassadors who are helping to lead the adoption of Fitwel and have supported many of the UK properties that have achieved Fitwel Certification.

The pandemic has placed extra importance on boosting occupier confidence in building health. In response to Covid-19, Fitwel launched its Viral Response Module in September 2020. Since then, it has seen more than 100 million square feet of real estate achieve Fitwel Certification using the Viral Response Module. Many of the strategies included in the Viral Response Module are specifically focused on building occupant confidence and trust, such as establishing a communication plan.

To find out more about how Fitwel certification provides reassurance for landlords, occupiers and their employees, our Vicky Cotton, ESG Director, spoke to Zachary Flora, Director of Market Growth at the Center for Active Design, developer of Fitwel: read the interview here.

Click here to find out more about Workman’s Fitwel assessment programme.

Read more about our Building Wellbeing and wider ESG services here