The WELL Equity Rating helps address persistent gaps in health outcomes; barriers to health resources and healthcare accessibility, quality and affordability; and the role of varying life circumstances and needs impacting health outcomes. It gives organizations an actionable framework to improve access to health and well-being, prioritize inclusivity and promote engagement and belonging.

The WELL Equity Rating and WELL v2 Certification are 100% aligned, which means organizations can apply achievements from one to the other. There are additional nuances for WELL v2 pilot and WELL v1–see our WELL Equity Rating alignment tool to learn more about how achievements translate from one milestone to another.

The WELL Equity seal is a visible indication that an organization is committed to creating places where everyone has an opportunity to thrive. Enterprises that pursue the rating as part of WELL at scale are also eligible to receive organization-wide metrics to benchmark performance and track progress against industry peers over time.

Resources

• WELL Equity Rating feasibility survey - determine if the WELL Equity Rating is the right fit for your organization
• WELL Rating gap analysis tool - if you have an existing WELL Certification project, use this tool to see how much work is left to achieve the Equity Rating

The WELL Equity Rating is for organizations interested in taking an action-based approach to creating workplaces where everyone is valued and supported.

Any organization with one or more physical locations can pursue the rating. Locations can be either an entire building or an interior space within a larger building.

Organizations that are 100% remote without a physical brick and mortar location may not enroll in the WELL Equity Rating. However, organizations that want to focus on organizational metrics and benchmarking can enroll under WELL at scale and create fictional locations that represent the strategies they implement to support remote workers. Many features are tied to organizational policies rather than a specific physical space, so the rating itself can be achieved in a remote work environment, but a physical space must be enrolled.

The WELL Equity Rating can be pursued either as a standalone achievement or as a milestone on the way to full WELL Certification. Organizations applying WELL at scale may also opt in to pursue the rating across individual properties or their entire organization.

Based on the WELL Building Standard, the WELL Equity Rating uses strategies backed by third-party verification to promote inclusion and belonging. The rating is made up of more than 40 strategies divided into 6 action areas.

The WELL Equity Rating makes it easier for organizations to target the strategies that will matter most to their workforce, based on their organizational composition, demographics and goals. To have the greatest positive impact, organizations first identify the population(s) they serve and work collaboratively with those communities to understand and accommodate their needs.

Specifically, after completing the demographic assessment required in EE01: Create Workforce Assessment, Engagement and Belonging Plan, organizations can use the population filters in their scorecard to identify the specific strategies that will support the groups that are represented in their workforce.

To-date, the populations that have been included in our research review include people who are neurodivergent, people who are physically disabled, LGBTQ+ individuals, primary caregivers, women and girls, and people who have been historically racially and/or ethnically minoritized. Additional populations will be added to this list over time.

You must successfully implement at least 21 of these strategies to achieve the rating. There are no required strategies or minimums in each area–you may choose the strategies that best fit your organization.

The WELL Equity Rating is verified through a documentation review process. To achieve the rating, you will compile various types of documentation like policy documents, surveys and technical documents that demonstrate your organization’s compliance to the rating requirements.

Once your documentation has been compiled, you will undergo a third-party review process. The review process will take approximately 8-10 business days to complete for single locations and 20-25 for multiple locations.

Enrolling new or existing projects (registered or certified) for the WELL Performance Rating is easy—just follow this step-by-step guide below.  

1. Log into or create your WELL account.
2. Click the Projects button at the top of the page, then select WELL Equity on the dropdown menu.
3. Click “Start a new project” then “Enroll now” at the top right of the page.
4. Provide the information requested on the Tell us about your organization page, then click Continue.
5. Enter the number and size of the locations you want to enroll, then click continue. 
6. View the price quote with relevant discounts applied.
7. Review and sign the program terms and conditions; confirm public enrollment status.
8. Complete your enrollment by submitting payment: you can pay by credit card, or generate/download an invoice. You can also edit your billing address details.

If you would like to pursue the WELL Equity Rating at an existing WELL Certification project or WELL at scale account, you should opt in by navigating to your existing project and clicking WELL Equity in the left-side menu. This ensures access to coaching support, sample documents and billing history, while enabling relevant discounts to be applied automatically.

Once you’ve enrolled your project, we recommend you:

• Review the strategies that make up the WELL Equity Rating
• Personalize your WELL Equity Rating scorecard by selecting which features your project intends to pursue.