Your guide to the Q3 2019 addenda

This past quarter has been a busy and productive time for the IWBI family and we’re excited to share with you the Q3 2019 addenda for the WELL Building Standard (WELL) and the WELL Community Standard.

Beyond the usual amendments, alternative adherence paths (AAPs) and equivalencies included in the addenda this quarter, we separately launched multiple initiatives and programs that will transform the way you engage and connect with WELL.

Key programs and initiatives

• Sustainable Development Goals: IWBI signed on to the United Nations Global Compact, a voluntary leadership platform for the development, implementation and disclosure of responsible business practices. With this commitment, IWBI joins thousands of companies and civil society organizations from all sectors and parts of the world in implementing the UN Global Compact’s 10 principles on human rights, labor, environment and anti-corruption. Explore how WELL features connect to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

• WELL Portfolio: IWBI launched the WELL Portfolio program created for organizations intending to scale their wellness efforts throughout their spaces and across their company. This quarter we look forward to sharing with you how key addenda updates support and enhance the WELL Portfolio experience. Learn more about how we collaborated with WELL Portfolio pilot participants to shape the WELL Portfolio program.

• Public comment: Time flies when you’re having fun! This quarter IWBI celebrated the one-year anniversary of the launch of the WELL v2 pilot by opening up a six-month public comment period where the WELL community can share their thoughts on a wide range of elements in WELL v2. Your comments will support our efforts to strengthen and continuously evolve WELL and prepare to graduate WELL v2 from pilot.

• Beta features: The Standard Development team has been hard at work creating two beta features, which expand upon the current WELL v2 pilot by introducing new, emerging or yet-to-be-addressed strategies into WELL. Learn more about the beta features included in this addenda.

Like all that we do, the Q3 addenda reflect our commitment to listening, learning and raising the bar for healthier spaces around the world. Addenda are a critical piece of the standard’s lifecycle and are one of the primary avenues through which we incorporate feedback and insights from the WELL community.

Download all addenda resources in the Q3 addenda toolkit!

Join us for an upcoming webinar on Aug. 7 at 12 p.m. ET to learn about the WELL addenda process and the technical changes included in the Q3 2019 addenda.

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Q3 2019 ADDENDA HIGHLIGHTS

AMENDMENTS
The Q3 2019 addenda include 82 amendments for the WELL v2 pilot, 11 amendments for WELL v1, eight amendments to the WELL Community Standard and 15 amendments to the guidebooks. (Fun fact: While this may sound like a hefty amount of updates, in actuality, nearly 30% of the amendments are syntax changes that further clarify or simplify the language in the standard.)

WELL v2

• Combined points: Project teams can now meet minimum concept point thresholds with a combined minimum of four points in the Air and Thermal Comfort concepts (or combined two points for WELL Core projects).

• Feature C02 - Integrative Design: We expanded the list of potential stakeholders to include folks such as vendors and building management staff to better reflect the evolving project team with the launch of WELL Portfolio. We also removed language referencing project completion in Part 4 to make this feature more applicable to an existing building context.

• Feature A08 - Air Quality Monitoring and Awareness: We updated this feature to align with the general testing location requirements for other features and reduce nuances in sensor placement for different space types. Note: There is a similar change in the Performance Verification Guidebook this quarter for WELL performance testing.

• Feature C04 - Enhanced Occupant Survey: We adjusted the feature to include the collection of observational data and created a new pathway to work with qualified parties for robust data analysis. We also Marie Kondo’d the survey topic list in Part 1. (We couldn’t say goodbye to any of our survey topics - because they all spark joy! - so we reorganized them instead).

• Feature V02 - Visual and Physical Ergonomics: Based on guidance we’ve provided in the past, and in consultation with the experts, Feature V02 now includes specific guidance for laptops. Also, we published the purchasing pathways from the feature notes as AAPs.

WELL v1

• Feature 34 - Public Water Additives: We adjusted disinfectant thresholds to align with U.S. EPA values, giving projects more flexibility with water treatment. Additionally, we’ve modified the metrics to capture total (residual + combined) chlorine and chloramine levels rather than residual levels.

WELL Community Standard
Highlights for the WELL Community Standard this quarter include:

• Certified buildings: With the launch of the WELL Portfolio program, we introduced pathways for WELL Community projects to count registered buildings in a defined portfolio towards the certified health and wellness buildings requirement, even if they aren’t certified yet.

• SUP - Supermarket Access: Project teams can now consider supermarkets within 800 m [0.5 mi] of their project boundary in addition to those within the community project boundary.

Guidebooks
This quarter, we made several enhancements to the WELL Performance Verification Guidebook for the Sound concept with the ultimate goal of streamlining and improving the quality of data collection.

Testing methods: Testing methods for speech privacy potential (SPP) now require a 30-second measurement (compared to 15-seconds, previously). With this increase, projects that pursue Feature S02, Maximum Noise Levels and Feature S03, Sound Barriers will only need to run one test during performance verification.

Testing best practices: Inspired by discussions amongst Sound concept advisors and experts in the field, we’ve added a few suggestions for WELL Performance Testing Agents:

• We recommend that WELL Performance Testing Agents utilize hearing protection while operating loudspeakers.
• For sound pressure measurements, we recommended that WELL Performance Testing Agents gather data that reflects the average acoustic conditions in the space by rotating the sound level meter at arm’s length at a speed of 15 cm [6 in] per second (this suggestion doesn’t apply to RT60 tests).

Testing equipment: WELL Performance Testing Agents may now use speakers with a wider frequency range of 100Hz to 4kHz.

STRATEGIES
We published all AAPs, EPs and their amendments in the strategies table and the “strategies” tab of the digital standard.

Equivalencies
We published 24 equivalencies across WELL v1, WELL v2 and the WELL Community Standard this quarter.

Alternative Adherence Paths
We published four AAPs for WELL v1 and nine AAPs for WELL v2 this quarter.

Explore a few notable AAPs:

WELL v2

• A02 - Smoke-Free Environment: Project teams working on spaces located in areas where the government requires or incentivizes an indoor smoking room or outdoor smoking ban may allow smoking in designated rooms which are negatively pressurized with self-closing doors.

• V04 - Active Commuter and Occupant Support: Inspired by the Movement Concept Advisory, we aligned Feature V04 with CyclingScore, a rating system that focuses exclusively on how building design and operations can promote cycling. Projects that achieve a Gold CyclingScore qualify for maximum points in Feature V04.

• C06 - Health Promotion: Wellness initiatives thrive when an organization’s leaders are engaged and invested in the journey. Leaders are uniquely positioned as wellness champions - they can link new initiatives to broader organizational goals, reach all levels of the organization and allocate sufficient resources to launch and sustain them. We’re thrilled to award projects that demonstrate a commitment to health and wellness through the presence of executive-level leadership who oversees health and wellness for all employees through this AAP.

Eager to learn more about cultivating wellness in the workplace? Read more from IWBI President, Rachel Gutter, here.

WELL AP exam updates
We ensure that changes to WELL v1 are incorporated into the WELL AP exam through an annual review and update cycle. We released the current version of the exam in August 2018 and it reflects all published addenda through the Q1 2018 version of WELL v1 and the WELL Certification Guidebook. Our next update will occur on Aug. 22, 2019 and the exam will reflect the Q1 2019 version of WELL v1 and the WELL Certification Guidebook.

Any questions?
Registered projects can reach out for WELL coaching support via the support tab of their WELL digital platform account and all others can contact us here. Thank you for working alongside us to shape the evolution of WELL. Your feedback is essential to our success!