The International WELL Building Institute has released its newly-developed WELL Health-Safety Rating building certification. Build for Impact host, LEED fellow, and WELL faculty member, Daniel Huard, addressed this hot topic in the Build for Impact podcast.
Huard posed the questions, “Why is this rating important? Why does it matter now?” and took a deeper dive into this IWBI release to address these questions and provide more details around the recently developed health-safety rating.
The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has created the need for improving the safety of buildings, where interpersonal interactions are concentrated and the potential for the spread of infectious diseases is elevated. The WELL Health-Safety Rating addresses the emergent need to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic as well as prepare building management procedures and best practices for future health and safety concerns.
A collaboration of public health experts, virologists, government officials, academics, business leaders, real estate professionals, and many others came together to form the IWBI Task Force to understand what causes the spread of pathogens within buildings, how to best mitigate the health and safety risk to people, and formulate recommended practices for an effective response to pandemic situations as well as the prevention of future outbreaks. The IWBI Health-Safety Rating addresses 5 key themes.
- Cleaning and sanitation procedures
- Emergency preparedness programs
- Health services resources
- Air and water quality management
- Stakeholder engagement and communication
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