Article

· Mar 12, 2021

WELL Tip: How to master WELL Core for your project under WELL v2 Certification

Learn more about applying WELL v2 to your WELL Core project.

WELL Core under v2, was released in September 2020, and is a distinct pathway for projects seeking to implement fundamental health-focused features in the base building in order to support the building occupants working or living in these spaces (e.g. employed by the tenants and the building owner). This certification can also support tenants in achieving their own WELL Certification. Interiors projects receive a 20% discount on all WELL Certification fees, including registration, Green Business Certification, Inc. (GBCI) performance testing fees and recertification fees if they are located in a project registered for WELL Core.

There are tools which can help streamline the certification process for interiors projects located within a WELL Core Certified building, which clearly highlight the benefits (WELL Features) the Core developer can pass on to their tenants by pursuing WELL Core. There are four versions based on the certification version of the base building:

As described in the WELL v2 Overview, a project is a good candidate for WELL Core if:

The majority of regular building occupants within the project are not affiliated with the project owner. Regular building occupants are defined as the individuals who spend at least 30 hours per month over the course of at least 5 days within the project boundary. For example, this may include employees (tenant and building staff employees), residents and students.
At least 75% of the project area is occupied by one or more tenants and/or serves as common space in the building accessible to all tenants. However, there are alternative or additional requirements for specific property types:
- In office buildings, offices affiliated with the project owner but unrelated to the management of the project property may be considered a tenant so long as additional tenants unaffiliated with the project owner occupy at least 60% of the net leased area.
In mixed-use buildings:
- The entire building can register for WELL Core if at least 60% of the project area is occupied by one or more tenants.
- If WELL Core is appropriate for less than 60% of the project area, the project should register one or more portions of the building as individual projects for WELL Certification or WELL Core Certification, as appropriate.

Note that under WELL under v2, multifamily residential projects can only utilize the WELL Certification pathways (i.e., not WELL Core), even though most of the regular occupants are tenants, and the project owner may not complete the fit-out of the dwelling units.

Feature scope and applicability

Guidance on the applicability and additional point-earning potential for WELL Core is provided in the digital standard (use the ‘WELL Core’ toggle in the digital standard)WELL Core requires feature achievement in various ways in order to receive credit:

Across the whole building, defined as all areas within the project boundary. For example, Part 1: Ensure Adequate Ventilation of Feature A03: Ventilation Design is applicable for the whole building and the project must facilitate tenant achievement in leased spaces. [Note: If the project uses mechanical or mixed mode ventilation, it must provide leased spaces with sufficient outdoor air but is not required to install ducts and diffusers within leased spaces].
At non-leased spaces, defined as all areas within the project boundary that are not considered leased space, such as common areas and spaces under owner control. For example, Part 1: Provide Visual Acuity of Feature L02: Visual Lighting Design is applicable for the electric lighting in the non-leased spaces, such as common spaces, the lobby entrance, reception area, staircases and pathways.
Across the extent of developer buildout, defined as all non-leased space and all construction within the leased space for which the project owner team is responsible. For example, Part 3: Support Effective Handwashing of Feature W08: Hygiene Support is applicable for the extent of developer buildout, which means that it must be met in the bathrooms located in non-leased spaces. If this buildout includes bathrooms in leased spaces, then they should also meet the feature requirement.
For the direct staff—defined as building staff under direct employment by the project owner— Part 1: Offer Physical Activity Incentives V09: Physical Activity Promotion is applicable, which means the project can earn credit if the project owner provides physical activity incentives to the employed direct staff. Additional guidance for direct staff is as follows:
- There should be at least 1 direct staff serving the project, who spends no less than 30 hours per month in the building, in order to pursue those features. The direct staff is not required to have a permanent workstation in the project building.
- If a project building has no direct staff on-site, but does have sub-contracted staff (such as for building management), the project is allowed to earn points by meeting feature requirements for all or a defined subset of building management staff.
- If a project building has no direct staff and no contracted staff, such as in cases where the tenant(s) are responsible for the operations and maintenance of the building, preconditions for direct staff are considered “met.” However, in such cases, Optimizations related to direct staff cannot be pursued by the project.

As described in the WELL Core Guidance section on each feature, WELL Core projects may earn one additional point for certain features by meeting requirements within tenant spaces or within common areas. For example, Part 1: Provide Visual Acuity of Feature L02: Visual Lighting Design is applicable for non-leased spaces. A project could achieve one extra point if that requirement is also applied in leased spaces. Note that if there is no non-leased area for the feature to be applicable, then the project can still garner an extra point when applying the feature in the leased areas.

Performance testing

Certain conditions must be met before a WELL Core project can conduct performance testing:

The documentation review should be complete and approved by GBCI.
The construction of the base building should be complete. Interiors do not have to be complete, however, active construction of interiors will likely have a negative impact on performance testing results for the project.

Performance tests span measurements across several environmental parameters in accordance with WELL Core, depending on the features pursued:

Air quality (e.g., organic and inorganic gases, particulates)
Water quality (e.g., dissolved chemicals, suspended solids)
Light attributes (e.g., color quality, intensity, spectral power distribution)
Thermal considerations (e.g., ambient and radiant temperature, air speed, humidity)
Acoustic elements (e.g., decibel levels, reverberation)

For WELL Core projects, at least 2.5% of the total building floor area must be available for performance testing. The available testing area must include all common areas and spaces directly under the control of the building management team.

If the common areas and spaces under owner control comprise less than 2.5% of total building floor area, the project must supplement with tenant spaces to reach this threshold. Testing in leased spaces in these cases can take place before or after tenant occupancy.
If there are no common areas and spaces under owner control, the project must supplement with the tenant spaces to reach this threshold. Testing in leased spaces in these cases can take place before or after tenant occupancy.

Some performance-based optimizations explicitly state that they require testing in tenant spaces in order to be awarded. The project is responsible for identifying and communicating to GBCI and the WELL Performance Testing Agent the particular spaces which are available for testing. These locations do not need to be in addition to the number of locations required for testing.

Certification levels

WELL Core projects that achieve all preconditions and a certain number of points can earn certification at corresponding levels:

WELL Core Bronze Certification: 40 points
WELL Core Silver Certification: 50 points
WELL Core Gold Certification: 60 points
WELL Core Platinum Certification: 80 points

In WELL Core under v2, there are no minimum points per Concept. and projects may earn no more than 12 points per concept (including any extra points achieved) and no more than 100 points total across the ten concepts. Projects can also pursue an additional ten points in the Innovation concept. A project may seek additional points in concepts where the project has already reached the 12-point maximum, by submitting features or parts not already pursued within those concepts as innovations for Feature I01. These submissions are worth one point per part, regardless of the listed point value of that part.

Precertification

Projects registered for WELL Core may opt for an early phase of review to receive WELL Precertification. This interim designation can help projects communicate progress toward achieving certification and provide greater confidence that their designs, operational intents and/or existing conditions meet the requirements of WELL features, especially in project cases where the construction timeline is long. Only 40 points need to be achieved for Precertification irrespective of how many points the project is targeting for WELL certification. All of the precertification fees will contribute towards documentation review for WELL v2 projects. For example, if a project pays $6,000 for precertification, and the documentation review fees are $20,000, the $6,000 previously paid for precertification will be counted towards the documentation review fee, rendering a remaining balance for documentation review fee of $14,000.

WELL Core project examples

If you are interested in learning about the current registered and certified WELL Core projects visit our Project Directory. Also, you can read the article Telling the WELL Core story to learn more about how building owners and developers are communicating their impressive accomplishments in their pursuit and achievement of WELL Core Certification in new developments and existing buildings in all corners of the world.

Learn more about WELL Core, start a project or reach out with any other questions here.

WELL Core FAQs

Question: Which building areas should I include in the project boundary size when I register a WELL Core project?

Answer: The whole building area is included in the project size boundary when registering a WELL Core project, since the whole building is receiving the WELL Core Certification. For more information on areas that may be excluded from the total floor area, you can refer to the Project Size definition in the WELL Certification Guidebook. Mixed-use buildings where WELL Core is appropriate for at least 60% of the gross floor area may register the entire building for WELL Core. Areas operated/occupied by the project owner are considered “non-leased space Mixed-use buildings where WELL Core is appropriate for less than 60% of the gross floor area should register one or more portions of the building as individual projects for WELL Certification or WELL Core Certification, as appropriate.

Question: Given the scope of my WELL Core project, there are many features that are not applicable. Can I still achieve WELL Core Certification?

Answer: A WELL Core project should meet compliance for all preconditions and a combination of optimizations that earn at least 40 points, required for Bronze certification.

Preconditions are considered as met, when they are not applicable for the project specific circumstances, such as:

Air Concept: A04 Construction Pollution Management - if there is no construction, such as in existing Core buildings that are not undergoing renovation, then the precondition is not applicable and considered met.
Nourishment Concept: N01 Fruits and Vegetables and N02 Nutritional Transparency - if there is no food provided by the Core project owner or by a vendor under contract with the owner, then the precondition is not applicable and considered met. Please refer to Appendix N1 for further information.
Light Concept: L02 Visual Lighting Design - if there are no non-leased spaces, then the precondition is not applicable and considered met. Projects could consider meeting this feature by designating the extent of the developer build-out as non-leased space for this feature. Extent of the developer built-out is the common space that is completed under the Core construction contract, but might be leased after Core project completion.
Movement Concept: V02 Ergonomic Workstation Design - if there are no non-leased spaces, then the precondition V02 Part 1-5 is not applicable and considered met. However, if the project has any workstations within their non-leased spaces, such as reception desks, the feature applies and educational material must be made available to all tenants (with exception of V02 Part 5 d and e).
Thermal Comfort Concept: T01 Part 2 Monitor Thermal Parameters - if there are no non-leased spaces, then the precondition is not applicable and considered met. Projects could consider meeting this feature by designating the extent of the developer build-out as non-leased space for this feature. Extent of the developer built-out is the common space that is completed under the Core construction contract, but might be leased after Core project completion.
Sound Concept: S01 Sound Mapping - if there are no non-leased spaces, then the precondition is not applicable and considered met. Projects could consider meeting this feature by designating the extent of the developer build-out as non-leased space for this feature. Extent of the developer built-out is the common space that is completed under the Core construction contract, but might be leased after Core project completion.
Materials Concept: X01 Restrictions - if the building is not undergoing any renovation and does not use any new materials, this precondition is not applicable and considered met.
Mind Concept: M01 Promote Mental Health and Well-being - if there is no direct staff, then the precondition is not applicable and considered met. M02 Nature and Place - if there are no non-leased spaces, then the precondition is not applicable and considered met. Projects could consider meeting this feature by designating the extent of the developer build-out as non-leased space for this feature. Extent of the developer built-out is the common space that is completed under the Core construction contract, but might be leased after Core project completion.
Community Concept: C03 Occupant Survey - if there are fewer than 10 direct staff or building management staff then the precondition is not applicable and considered met.

In this case, projects can still meet the preconditions as not applicable in lack of non-leased spaces and direct staff, however that means they cannot pursue optimizations that apply on non-leased spaces and direct staff or building management, and therefore earn points. If the project could consider meeting this feature by subsidizing non-leased spaces with the extent of the developer build-out, then optimizations can be pursued and earn points. Projects may earn no more than 12 points per Concept. There are 84 optimization features included in the WELL Scorecard from which a project can choose to implement.

Question: As a building owner, can I demonstrate compliance with a feature that has a “whole building” applicability if my tenant has declined my offer of the intervention due to their own preferences?

Answer: Yes. The building owner needs to have provided the benefit (or offered the benefit) to all tenants at no cost. Note that requiring the tenant to comply at their own cost through a lease agreement would not be acceptable.

Question: If a contractor has been engaged to undertake an integrated fitout, how does the “extent of developer buildout” apply? Does the feature applicability change to “whole building”?

Answer: Contractors or developers that have been engaged to undertake an integrated fitout will typically be engaged under separate contracts - one contract for the Core (or base building) scope of work and one for the fitout scope of work. In these cases, the contractor only needs to consider the “extent of developer buildout” applicability as it relates to the contracted Core (or base building) scope of work. Integrated fitout is when there is one contractor responsible for both the Core of the base building and the fitout of the building.

Question: Our WELL Core project has building management staff servicing the building, but they do not spend 30 hours per month over at least 5 days in the building, as they are serving a number of different buildings. How do the direct staff features apply?

Answer: The project would not be considered to have “direct/building management staff” in this case. All preconditions related to direct/building staff are considered satisfied, but the project is not eligible to earn points from optimizations related to direct staff.

Question: In projects that are managed by a contracted building management staff, is it up to the project team to decide who is going to be included in this “defined subset of building management staff”?

Answer: Building Management Staff are individuals responsible for maintaining and operating the building, including Direct Staff (employed by the building owner) and/or Sub-contracted Staff (contracted by the building owner). These two types of staff can be cleaners, security, reception etc.; they can be either direct staff or sub-contracted staff depending on the type of their relation to the building owner.

In WELL Core projects, the building owner can have a direct impact on its on-site Direct Staff through a series of feature requirements based on employment policies according to the WELL Core Guidance.

If the WELL Core project has no Direct Staff on-site (i.e., the building is entirely operated by Sub-contracted Staff), the project is allowed to earn points by meeting feature requirements by transferring benefits from the non-existing direct staff to all or a defined subset of that sub-contracted staff that should be consistent across the features. These benefits can be offered as:

Passive benefits: the building owner confirms that the sub-contracted staff is offered self-monitoring tools by their employer, and therefore the project can earn one point for Feature V10 Self-monitoring.
Active benefits: the building owner offers directly self-monitoring tools to the sub-contracted staff, and therefore the project can earn one point for Feature V10 Self-monitoring.

Question: The tenant fit out construction will start before the completion of the Core construction. When should the project conduct Performance Verification?

Answer: On-site testing is not recommended while construction is happening due to a variety of factors that could impact the testing results (mostly related to air quality). It would be optimal for testing to occur during a window when Core construction is completed and before tenant fit out construction begins, or after all tenant fit out construction is complete. For registered projects, your WELL coaching contact can help support discussion about on site testing timing and strategy.

Question: The project owner is planning to sell the building after achieving WELL Certification. Can the project pursue WELL Core?

Answer: The project can still pursue and achieve WELL Core certification provided that the project owner registers the project, submits for documentation review and conducts the on-site performance verification. The initial certification is valid for three years, so it won’t be revoked at sale (at least not immediately), even if the new owner doesn’t complete the ongoing annual reporting. At certification, the original owner should submit an operations schedule about how they intend to undertake the ongoing monitoring as long as they are still the owner of the building. If the original owner and new owner wish to transfer the original owner’s rights and obligations under the WELL Certification agreement to the new owner, the original and new owners must notify GBCI by submitting a Change of Owner form. If the new owner does continue the monitoring as required, then the project is eligible for recertification (and thus continued valid certified status) after 3 years.

Core buildings fully leased to a single tenant:

Question: Our WELL Core project will be fully leased to a single tenant. The project therefore does not have any non-leased spaces. How do the features applicable to non-leased spaces work?

Answer: The answer to this question depends if the feature is based on performance testing.

Features verified through Performance Testing:

According to the WELL Core Guidance, performance-based features apply either across the whole building or the non-leased spaces.These performance-based features must apply to at least 2.5% of the total project area. If the project is fully leased to a single tenant and there are not any non-leased spaces (i.e., there are no common areas and spaces under owner control), then the project must supplement with the tenant spaces to reach the threshold of at least 2.5% of the total building floor area being available for performance testing. Testing in leased spaces in these cases can take place before or after tenant occupancy. Additionally, some optimizations specifically apply to whole building and require testing in the non-leased spaces and at least 10% of the leased spaces.

Features verified through Documentation:

If there are not any non-leased spaces in the project, then preconditions relevant to non-leased spaces are out of scope and not applicable. These preconditions are considered as met. However, projects cannot pursue documentation-verified optimizations that have a non-leased spaces scope, as per the WELL Core Guidance.

Alternatively, for features that are applicable to non-leased spaces but are not based on performance testing, the project may apply these features to the extent of the developer build-out. This means that these features can be applied to spaces that will be completed under the Core construction contract, but might be leased at a later stage (e.g. reception and lift lobbies). Replacing the extent of the developer build-out with non-leased spaces needs to be consistent across all features.

Question: Our WELL Core project will be fully leased to a single tenant, who will manage the operation and maintenance of the whole building. How can we achieve the operational features? Is a tenant lease agreement with operations and maintenance requirements acceptable for the certification?

Answer: In this case the project owner can collaborate with the single tenant, who will provide the Operations Schedules for the Documentation Review of the initial certification and the On-going Data Reports for the annual reporting and recertification. While a tenant lease agreement is a good practice, it cannot ensure that the tenant is operating the building in accordance with the WELL feature requirements and therefore, it cannot replace the required annotated documents for operational-based features (i.e. Operations Schedule and On-going Data Report). If the single tenant is not willing to collaborate, then the project owner should look for other optimizations to pursue.

Question: If the building is fully leased under a single tenant, and the tenant takes over the operations and maintenance of the whole building, how can the project pursue recertification?

Answer: At the initial certification, the project owner should submit all documentation, including operation schedules. If a single tenant takes over the operations and maintenance of the whole building, they should provide the On-going Data Reports for the annual reporting in order to qualify for recertification 3 years after the initial certification.