The International WELL Building Institute (IWBI) announced it has crossed the one billion square foot mark of spaces enrolled in the WELL Health-Safety Rating.
IWBI said that the milestone was achieved in nine months.
?We launched the WELL Health-Safety Rating in June 2020 in response to an overwhelming need by our customers for practical, evidence-based strategies that could be quickly deployed to help people get back to business with confidence,? said IWBI President and CEO Rachel Hodgdon. ?Leaders in organizations big and small want effective ways to validate the ? often huge ? commitments they?ve made to prioritize the health and well-being of workers and visitors to their spaces,? said Hodgdon.
Organizations currently enrolled in the WELL Health-Safety Rating span all industries and building types. Companies participating include financial service leaders like JPMorgan Chase and Discover; insurance companies like USAA; telecommunications operators like T-Mobile; real estate organizations like Empire State Realty Trust, Kilroy Realty, Lincoln Property Company, and Simon Property Group. Other market sectors enrolling include restaurants, manufacturing and senior living.
?We are proud to be the first global financial institution to achieve the WELL rating,? said David Arena, head of Global Real Estate at JPMorgan Chase. ?With building health and air quality standards top of mind as the COVID pandemic continues, we wanted anyone entering one of our buildings or branches to see the WELL seal and know we?re doing all we can to keep our employees and visitors safe and healthy.?
The WELL Health-Safety Rating is a third-party-verified rating for all new and existing buildings and space types. It is focused on operational policies, maintenance protocols, emergency plans and stakeholder engagement strategies to help organizations prioritize the health and safety of their staff, customers, visitors and stakeholders.
?Receiving the WELL Health-Safety Rating just underscores T-Mobile?s commitment to putting our customers, employees and partners first and going above and beyond to protect their health and wellness when they visit our stores or come into work ? and we?re proud to be the first and only wireless provider,? said Jeremy Malasky, SVP of corporate services for T-Mobile. ?Simply seeing the WELL seal at any of our retail stores, offices and call centers will help people feel confident that T-Mobile is taking precautions to keep them safe ? and bring us all another step closer to emerging from this pandemic to our normal way of life.?
T-Mobile will receive the WELL Health-Safety seal, a visible indicator to everyone entering a building that evidence-based health and safety policies have been adopted and third-party verified. The telco said that the seal will be rolled out to T-Mobile headquarters in Bellevue and Kansas City, along with care centers and approximately 3,100 retail locations this summer.
Also, with the hotel and lodging and sports and entertainment industries taking an outsized hit in the pandemic economy, IWBI created two industry-specific advisory groups made up of the leading companies and organizations in these sectors to help make sure their unique needs were addressed by the rating.
