Fitwel® Unveils v3: Pioneering the Future of Healthy Building Certification

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Jun 04, 2024, 08:38 ET

Smart Scorecard™ and Enhanced Strategies Set a New Benchmark in Real Estate Health

NEW YORK, June 4, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Fitwel®, the leading global healthy building certification and data insights platform, has released Version 3 ("v3") of its evidence-based standard. This update translates the latest public health research to optimize real estate assets for health and quality of life, future-proof them for climate adaptation, and maximize their value. Fitwel's v3 introduces the Smart Scorecard™, offering a streamlined, efficient, and refreshed user experience, enhancing its reputation as an accessible and trusted industry tool.

Evolving the Fitwel Standard
Fitwel's operator, the globally renowned non-profit Center for Active Design (CfAD), systematically updates the evidence-based standard to incorporate recent research, industry feedback, and market trends. The previous version, v2.1, launched in 2018, showcased remarkable scalability, global relevance, and adaptability across diverse asset classes. Over 2.5 billion square feet of real estate has been assessed using Fitwel, equating to almost 1 million square feet of space per day since Fitwel launched. This use of Fitwel is impacting 2.6 million people in over 50 countries, driving market transformation through a global cohort of leading real estate companies committed to building a healthier, more sustainable world.

Fitwel v3 builds on this success, offering eight distinct scorecards and collectively 140 evidence-based strategies, all rooted in over 7,000 peer-reviewed studies linking health and the built environment.

Future-Proofing with Fitwel
Fitwel v3 introduces significant enhancements and updates, driven by an extensive analysis of new public health research and a comprehensive site-wide engineering rebuild. These improvements offer increased efficiency and scalability:

New Evidence-Based Strategies: v3 includes several new strategies that enhance the health benefits of environmental sustainability and prepare assets for the rising risks of climate change.
Expanded Applicability: Improved scorecard solutions for multi-tenant commercial buildings, developed through extensive user consultation, optimize the impact of Fitwel's health-promoting strategies.
Consistent Strategy Language: v3 ensures consistent strategy requirements across all products, streamlining implementation and reducing costs for users managing diverse asset portfolios.
Launch of the Smart Scorecard™: v3 features a sleek design refresh and a simplified digital experience, introducing smarter scorecard interactions that reduce documentation time.

"Version 3 meets the rising demand for healthy, high-quality assets while mitigating climate risks, promoting value, and streamlining certification for efficiency," said Joanna Frank, Fitwel's President and CEO. "Today we can definitively show that health, encompassed in the social pillar of ESG, is one of the greatest opportunities to future-proof assets. The updated Standard and improvements to the data-driven Fitwel Platform are designed to help real estate capitalize on these opportunities."

Fitwel Core to Informed Decision-Making
Fitwel v3 introduces a new generation of technology to deliver credible data that is in high demand across the industry. "Integrating health considerations into project planning not only enhances a project's marketability and long-term viability but also empowers user to make informed, data-driven decisions that optimize both health outcomes and financial returns," said Zachary Flora, Fitwel's Executive Vice President of Market Growth. "Fitwel is widely recognized as a trusted partner providing a critical component to sound investing."

Demonstrating value for the real estate industry is now a distinct attribute of Fitwel products. In addition to updating its strategy library to include timely climate adaptation-related strategies in v3, Fitwel recently announced plans for a new product–Social Performance™–to substantiate 'S' data for real estate. This addresses the growing demand from investors and forthcoming regulations for a rigorous, standardized approach to integrate Social metrics, including health and wellbeing measures, into ESG reporting. When used together, Social Performance and asset certifications, including those from v3, will provide the industry with a method for evaluating the social performance of 100% of buildings.

For a complete overview and frequently asked questions, please visit: www.fitwel.org.

About Fitwel
Fitwel is the world's leading certification system committed to building health for all. Generated by expert analysis of 7,000+ academic research studies, Fitwel is implementing a vision for a healthier future where all buildings and communities are enhanced to strengthen health and well-being. Fitwel was originally created by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and Prevention and U.S. General Services Administration. The CDC remains the research and evaluation partner for Fitwel. The Center for Active Design (CfAD), a global not-for-profit organization, maintains the Fitwel standard and conducts objective third-party assessments that lead to certified projects. CfAD's new business unit, Adai (pronounced "a-DAY"), is charged with expanding Fitwel to the global market, administering the program while providing best-in-class customer service and technical support.

Media Contact:
Kate Laursen
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SOURCE Fitwel