Energy performance is only one part of how a building is assessed. WELL and Fitwel focus on conditions and strategies that affect the health and well-being of occupants. Both can support an organisation’s wider sustainability or ESG work, but they are separate certification systems with different scorecards, evidence requirements and review processes.
What are WELL and Fitwel?
WELL is administered by the International WELL Building Institute (IWBI). WELL v2 assesses projects across ten concepts: Air, Water, Nourishment, Light, Movement, Thermal Comfort, Sound, Materials, Mind and Community. It combines mandatory preconditions with optional optimisations and uses documentation and, for relevant features, performance testing.
Fitwel is a healthy-building certification system operated by the Center for Active Design. It provides scorecards for different building and site types, including workplaces, residential buildings, retail, senior housing and communities. Project teams choose the scorecard and certification type that match the asset and its stage of development.
The two systems should not be treated as interchangeable. Before planning measurements or documentation, the project team needs to identify the exact pathway, scorecard and current standard version.
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What does WELL v2 assess?
The ten WELL v2 concepts organise requirements and optional strategies connected with the indoor environment, building operation and user experience:
- Air — indoor-air quality, ventilation and source-control measures;
- Water — drinking-water quality and management;
- Nourishment — access to and information about food choices;
- Light — visual lighting conditions and support for circadian health;
- Movement — design and policies that encourage physical activity;
- Thermal Comfort — thermal conditions and their management;
- Sound — acoustic conditions and noise control;
- Materials — management of material-related exposure risks;
- Mind — policies and spaces that support mental well-being;
- Community — inclusion, access, engagement and organisational policies.
Innovation opportunities exist within WELL v2, but Innovation is not a replacement for Community in the list of ten concepts. The applicable requirements and point rules should always be checked in the current project scorecard.
How does the WELL certification process work?
A WELL project is registered and managed through the programme’s online platform. The team defines the project boundary and pathway, prepares documentation and implements the selected features. The certification review can include both a document review and performance verification for the features that require on-site testing.
- Select the applicable WELL pathway and register the project.
- Define responsibilities and the evidence required for the chosen features.
- Implement the design, operational and policy measures.
- Submit documentation and complete the required performance testing.
- Respond to review comments and receive the final certification decision.
Performance verification may cover parameters such as air, water, lighting, thermal and acoustic conditions, depending on the selected features. A generic thermographic survey is not, by itself, a WELL site audit or proof that the project meets WELL requirements. Recertification requirements should be checked against the current programme rules and the project’s pathway.
How does Fitwel certification work?
Fitwel uses project-specific scorecards and a documentation-based submission process. Each strategy sets out its health impact, compliance route, available points and required evidence. The certification team reviews the submitted material, issues comments, allows the project team to respond and then completes a final assessment.
- Register the project and select the correct scorecard and certification type.
- Assess the project against the available strategies.
- Upload the required documentation for the strategies being pursued.
- Respond to the certification team’s review comments.
- Receive the final numerical score and, where applicable, Star Rating.
The number of strategies and the available score depend on the current scorecard. For this reason, the historic figures in the Polish source article—twelve groups, more than sixty topics and a fixed minimum of 90 out of 140 points—have not been presented as universal current rules.
Where can technical measurements support a project?
Technical measurements can provide part of the evidence needed for selected features or strategies. The relevant scope may include indoor-air quality, acoustic measurements, lighting or thermal conditions. The certification assessor or project consultant should confirm the exact method, sampling plan, documentation and timing before the measurements are commissioned.
Certification can help a project structure and demonstrate its work on occupant well-being. It does not automatically guarantee higher property value, productivity or lower operating costs; those outcomes depend on the project and how the measures are implemented and maintained.
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