WELL or Fitwel? Getting to Know Healthy Building Certification Systems
The green building certification movement began with a focus on environmental sustainability. Addressing core environmental issues related to energy, water, and waste was the foundation for early green building rating systems like LEED, a program developed by the U.S. Green Building Council.
Read more Green Schools: Ensuring Student Health and Well-being
With so much time being spent inside buildings, it is no surprise that the indoor environmental quality (IEQ) has an effect on the building occupants’ health and well-being.
Read more Human Nature: the Health and Well-being benefits of nature in the built environment
Despite buildings and cities seeming to represent human disconnection or escape from the wild, nature has always had a place in the built environment. Parks have long been central to urban planning, the design of buildings and structures often incorporates nature or nature-like forms and patterns, and house plants have been utilized to improve the […]
Read more Health & Well-being is making waves in the residential rental market
A changing landscape Developers of residential apartment buildings around the world are betting that residents will value a new suite of health and wellbeing amenities ranging from air filtration, wellbeing coaching, plentiful plants and natural light, to central staircases designed to promote physical activity and communal eating areas to encourage greater social cohesion. Examples of […]
Read more Can the ‘Net Zero’ Concept Be Applied to Health and Wellbeing?
‘Net zero’ buildings are highly energy-efficient buildings that use on or off-site renewable energy to achieve net zero carbon emissions. Can the concept of ‘net zero’ by adapted for the health and wellbeing agenda? Well, I think so and here’s why…
Read more Lessons Learned From the Garbage Bin
The 2017 GRESB Assessment uncovered the challenges Healthy Buildings’ clients face with capturing accurate waste data. While EPA’s Portfolio Manager tool now provides a waste tracking tool, most waste haulers do not provide accurate ongoing data. This prompted an exploration of solutions to improve ongoing waste data accuracy at both the tenant and building-level. Waste […]
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