Insurance, real estate, financial services, and sustainability businesses make up the latest cohort of companies to join the Fitwel global community of Champions, Providers, and Partners, signifying their commitment to healthy buildings.
“The demand for healthy spaces and communities has never been higher,” said Joanna Frank, President & CEO of the Center for Active Design, the sole operator of Fitwel. “Just in recent weeks, the world has felt the impact of record-breaking high temperatures, coastal flooding, and far-reaching toxic air quality due to climate change and wildfires, but often left out of the conversation is the inextricable link between the health of the planet and the mental and physical health of people.”
The Fitwel Healthy Building Certification was originally created by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and U.S. General Services Administration (GSA). It’s used by real estate companies around the world to ensure their facilities are designed and operated to positively impact the health, productivity, and satisfaction of residents, employees, and tenants. The Fitwel Standard translates the global public health evidence base into practical, implementable design and operational strategies and guidelines to be used at the building level, community level, and at scale.
“Evidence shows that responding to this demand with a health-focused approach mitigates risk now and in the future,” Frank continued. “We’re thrilled to welcome these trailblazing companies as we continue on our mission to transform the real estate market by leading the healthy building movement.”
Fitwel Champions
Champions are real estate owners and managers that have committed to implementing Fitwel Healthy Building Certification at scale. Recently, the following companies have signed on as dedicated Fitwel Champions, joining a community representing more than $3 trillion in assets under management (AUM) and over 410 million square feet of space across the globe:
- MetLife Investment Management
- Manulife Investment Management
- The Green Cities Company
“Creating healthy spaces within our buildings continues to be a top priority,” said Regan Smith, Managing Director, Sustainable Investing, Private Markets, Manulife Investment Management. “We’re glad to see the increased recognition across the real estate industry of how interconnected buildings and human health are, and we’re proud to be helping advance the healthy building movement.”
Fitwel Providers
Launched in 2022, Fitwel’s Provider program is designed for architecture, design, engineering, property management, and consulting firms committed to supporting their clients’ implementation of Fitwel. Joining current Fitwel Providers Brightworks Sustainability, which consulted with Salesforce on its award-winning San Francisco headquarters, and real estate and investment management services firm JLL, among others, the following new Providers include:
- CD Sonter, Ltd.
- BranchPattern
- Sustainable Investment Group
Fitwel Partners
The Partner program recognizes companies that support the healthy building movement through Fitwel-aligned products. As a testament to the value of the program, also launched in 2022, the following Partners recently renewed their commitments:
- Exubrancy
- HXE Partners, a Morrow Sodali Company
- Trane Technologies
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“Exubrancy is thrilled to continue our partnership with Fitwel to help improve workplace wellbeing around the world. As a subsidiary of Tishman Speyer (a Fitwel Champion and founding member of Fitwel’s Leadership Advisory Board), we proudly power wellness programming for Tishman Speyer’s global portfolio and, most notably, its Fitwel-certified projects, including the newly certified Rockefeller Center,” said Liz Wilkes, CEO and Founder of Exubrancy. “In an effort to improve the mental health and overall health and happiness of employee populations, we are seeing stakeholders across our hundreds of corporate clients moving to identify strategic health and wellness investments as business imperatives.”
Fitwel’s global community expansion follows the recent announcement of its new v3 Standard, Fitwel’s latest version of evidence-based strategies that will launch in December, along with various technology, user experience, and data insights enhancements on the Fitwel Platform.
