WELL v2 consolidates previous iterations and pilots of the WELL Building Standard into a single rating system that is designed to accommodate all project types and sectors. The system is intended to grow in specificity and specialty over time, adapting to accommodate diverse project types and geographies and in response to new evidence and ever-evolving public health imperatives.

WELL V2 concepts

• Air
• Water
• Nourishment
• Light
• Movement
• Thermal Comfort
• Materials
• Sound
• Mind
• Community
• Features

There are two types of features: preconditions (mandatory strategies) and optimizations (optional strategies with a weighted point value). All features and underlying parts marked as preconditions must be met to achieve a given concept.

Preconditions

All features and underlying parts marked as preconditions must be met to achieve a given concept. Preconditions define the fundamental components of a WELL Certified space and serve as the foundation of people first places. WELL v2 offers a universal set of preconditions for all projects. Finding them is easy—all precondition features are the first to be listed under each concept.

Optimizations

Many features include optimizations that projects may elect to pursue to meet certification requirements. All optimizations are weighted with varying point values. The maximum point value of a feature is determined by the sum of its parts. A part is weighted by its potential for impact, defined as the extent to which a feature addresses a specific health concern or opportunity for health promotion, and the potential impact of the intervention.

For some optimizations, achieving points in one part is contingent upon achieving points in another part. 

Dynamic scorecard

The WELL digital platform guides project teams through the development of a unique scorecard. The digital platform recommends a selection of features based on project-specific parameters that can be further defined and refined by the project team.

Performance-verified features

WELL is a performance-based system. Every WELL project is verified through on-site testing of building performance. This practice is fundamental to high-performing buildings and helps project teams better understand the relationship between the physical environment and human health.  

The process for on-site assessments and testing is called performance verification. On-site measurements are taken for various air, water, light and sound parameters. It is a distinct process from traditional building commissioning and assures that the building performs as intended, according to WELL requirements.

WELL Performance Verification is completed by an authorized WELL Performance Testing Agent, who usually spends one to three days in the building to validate the project's documentation and complete a series of performance tests, spot-checks and measurements covering all WELL concepts. Testing is completed according to IWBI's sampling protocols, available in the WELL Performance Verification Guidebook.

Project types

WELL v2 projects fall into one of two main groups, determined primarily by ownership type: owner-occupied projects and WELL Core projects. You can learn more about what differentiates these project types in Define your WELL project boundary.

Feature applicability and scoring

Features have varying scopes of applicability for WELL Core projects, depending on the relevant population and project area. For example, some features, such as daylight design strategies (L05), facilities for active occupants such as bicycle storage (V04), must be met across the entire building. Other features apply only to spaces or personnel under the purview of the project owner, such as offering health service and benefits (C06) or family support (C10).

Applicability designations include:

• Whole building: Includes all areas within the project boundary. Some features indicate that projects can achieve a feature by providing a tenant budget. To use this pathway, project teams need to submit, as part of documentation review, design assumptions and sample cut-sheets (as applicable) that justify the budget and can be used by the tenant during their design and construction process.

• Extent of developer buildout: Includes all non-leased space and all construction within the leased space for which the project team is responsible.

• Leased spaces: All areas within the project boundary that are leased to or owned by tenants, including areas for lease or for sale that are not currently occupied. 

• Non-leased spaces: All areas within the project boundary that are not considered leased space.

• Building management staff: Individuals responsible for maintaining and operating the building, including contractors and sub-contractors. Workers who spend less than 30 hours per month in the building (i.e., who are not regular occupants) are not considered building management staff.

• Direct staff: Building staff under direct employment by the project owner.

  • Note: If a project has no direct staff on site (i.e., the building is entirely operated by contracted building management staff), the project is allowed to earn points by meeting feature requirements for all or a defined subset of building management staff. Projects must use a single consistent population across all features, including preconditions (e.g., a project with no direct staff may only earn a point for meeting an optimization for its building management staff, if it also meets all preconditions for that same group of people).

WELL Core projects have different point values for parts and features than owner-occupied projects, based on the extent to which the requirements benefit all occupants within the project. Features that must be met for the whole building are generally worth more for WELL Core, while features with no or limited effect on tenants are generally reduced in value. 

Some features allow WELL Core projects to earn points for applying the feature outside of the leased space and earn an additional point for achieving the requirements for their tenants. Further guidance on applicability and additional point-earning potential for WELL Core is provided in the digital standard. To view this guidance, be sure to select the “WELL Core” view in the digital standard.

Performance testing scope

For WELL Core projects, at least 2.5% of the total building floor area must be available for performance testing. The available testing area must include all common areas and spaces directly under the control of the building management team. If common areas and spaces under owner control comprise less than 2.5% of the total building floor area, the project must supplement with tenant spaces to reach this threshold. Testing in leased spaces in these cases can take place before or after tenant occupancy.

Some performance-based optimizations explicitly state that they require testing in tenant spaces to be awarded. The project is responsible for identifying and communicating to the WELL Performance Testing Agent the particular spaces that are available for testing.

Multifamily residential projects

Multifamily residential projects may pursue WELL if they contain at least five dwelling units in a single building with common structural elements. Projects that qualify include apartments, condominiums, townhouses and other residential complexes within all market thresholds–including affordable housing, market-rate and luxury.

Multifamily residential projects utilize the WELL Certification pathways (i.e., not WELL Core), even though most of the regular occupants are tenants, and the project owner may not complete the fit-out of the dwelling units. 

Performance testing within dwelling units for precondition features is not required for multifamily residential projects seeking certification at the Bronze or Silver level. However, projects cannot achieve Gold or Platinum without testing conditions in a sample of dwelling units. See Features Air Quality (A01), Water Quality Indicators (W01), W02(Drinking Water Quality), Visual Lighting Design (L02) and Thermal Performance (T01) and the Sampling Rates for Multifamily Residential section of the WELL Performance Verification Guidebook for more details. For optimizations, testing within dwelling units is required, whether or not the project is targeting Gold or Platinum. 

At recertification, for all levels of certification, testing is not required within dwelling units, only in common areas and spaces dedicated to building management. 

Scoring and certification levels

Projects must achieve all preconditions, as well as a certain number of points toward different levels of WELL Certification:

• Bronze: 40 points

• Silver: 50 points

• Gold: 60 points

• Platinum: 80 points

Projects may pursue no more than 12 points per concept and no more than 100 points total across the 10 concepts. 

Projects can also pursue an additional 10 points by leveraging an Innovation. A project may seek additional points in concepts where the project has already reached the 12-point maximum, by submitting features or parts not already pursued within those concepts as innovations for Feature I01: Innovate WELL. These submissions are worth one point per part, regardless of the listed point value of that part.

Applying WELL features

To accurately define the project scope and determine which features apply or may be appropriate for a project, it is important to understand how WELL features apply to different spaces and populations within a building.

Project boundary

Defining the boundary of the project pursuing WELL certification brings further specificity to the project's scope. The project boundary must be consistently applied across all features and may not unreasonably exclude portions of the building, space or site to give the project an advantage in complying with feature requirements. Projects must accurately communicate their scope in all promotional and descriptive materials and distinguish it from any space that falls outside of the project boundary. Spaces pursuing WELL Certification should be defined by a clear boundary, such that the project is physically distinct from any portion of spaces not part of the project pursuing WELL Certification. 

The project boundary can include both interior and exterior spaces. Note that if the project boundary includes exterior (outdoor) spaces, this area is not counted when determining the project's area at registration (including for pricing purposes). For more guidance on how to calculate project size, download the WELL Program Guidebook.

WELL features (unless otherwise noted in feature language) must be met within the project boundary, including (if applicable) exterior space. One of the pathways in Feature M09 Part 2 (Provide Natural Access Outdoors) requires that projects provide an occupant-accessible outdoor space. For this space to count, it must be within the project boundary and, therefore, within the scope of other features that affect outdoor areas, such as pest management and pesticide use in Feature X10 (Pest Management and Pesticide Use) (if pursued) and illuminance levels on pathways for Feature L02 (Visual Lighting Design). 

Project boundary allowances

Some features explicitly enable a space within a certain distance of the project boundary to be used toward feature requirements. Feature language specifies the distance allowed for each strategy. For example, Feature N08 (Mindful Eating) requires a designated eating space within a 200 m [650 ft] walk distance of the project boundary. In these cases, the distance is measured along a pedestrian-accessible path from a functional building entrance (elevation change should not be considered in its calculation). If located outside of the project boundary, the space is not subject to the requirements of other features pursued by the project. These spaces may also be provided within the project boundary, in which case they are subject to other WELL requirements. 

Certain features include a certification note for interiors projects that enable them to claim credit for amenities provided by their base building outside the project boundary. For example, an interior fit-out project may use the stairs which connect the entrance to the ground floor (if occupant-accessible) toward Feature V03 (Circulation Network). If a feature prescribes a certain quantity of amenities (such as the number of long-term bicycle parking spaces in Feature V04 - Facilities for Active Occupants), an interiors project may take credit for the base building meeting this feature as long as these amenities are either reserved for the WELL project or sized for all occupants in the building. 

Space types

All parts of WELL v2 are designated for specific space types. Space types refer to spaces within a project and not the project as a whole. For example, a school might be made up of space types like classrooms, offices, a commercial kitchen and dining areas. Identifying space types within a project can help clarify how WELL features apply to that particular project. 

Many parts in WELL features are denoted "for all spaces," an indication the part must be applied to all spaces within the project boundary, for all project types. Depending on the part, there may be distinct requirements for specific space types. These requirements are either required in addition to the requirements for all spaces or used in place of the requirements listed for all other spaces. For example, Feature N01 Part 1 - (Provide Fruits and Vegetables) has separate requirements for dining spaces and all other spaces, as indicated in the tab "For All Spaces except Dining Spaces." Conversely, Feature N01 Part 2 (Promote Fruit and Vegetable Visibility) has one set of requirements "For All Spaces" (including Dining Spaces) and additional requirements "For Dining Spaces" only. 

Space type occupancy

In addition to the classification of space types within a project, WELL v2 also distinguishes spaces based on their level of occupancy. 

Regularly occupied space includes areas inside the project where a particular individual normally spends at least one continuous hour or, cumulatively, at least two hours per day, such as offices, conference rooms, bedrooms and classrooms.

Occupiable space can be occupied for any task or activity. This includes transition areas or balconies but excludes spaces that are rarely accessed, such as storage spaces or equipment rooms. 

Rooms larger than 930 m² [10,000 ft²] may be divided into separate zones (at least 325 m² [3,500 ft²] each), which may be evaluated for occupancy independently. For example, a large room may have one or more small areas (i.e., zones) within it, which are regularly occupied, while the remaining space is not. In this case, the project may identify and label these zones within their floor plan and apply features and performance testing requirements accordingly. 

Occupant types

Determining or anticipating who will be present in each phase of a project helps create a complete picture of where and for whom the requirements of WELL features apply. WELL uses specific terminology to refer to groups of individuals that share characteristics. Project teams must employ a single, consistent definition of these terms across relevant features:

• Occupant: any individual within the project boundary.

• Regular occupant: an individual who spends at least 30 hours per month across at least five days within the project boundary (e.g., employee, resident, student).

• Visitor: any occupant who is not a regular occupant (e.g., shopper, museum-goer, hotel guest).

• Employee: an individual who works for the project owner within the project boundary. 

• Eligible employee: an employee identified as qualifying for benefits. At a minimum, this includes all full-time employees but may also include part-time employees, interns, contracted workers and other non-full-time employees as appropriate.

For features that require size or quantity calculations to be performed based on a class of occupants listed in feature language, use the maximum number of occupants of that class to be expected at any given time.

Calculations

When making calculations for WELL features, do not apply rounding. Instead, use the most expansive interpretation of the result. For example, Feature V02 Part 1 (Support Visual Ergonomics) requires adjustable height workstations for "at least 25% of all workstations." In a project with 21 workstations, the required number of workstations would be six, since five desks would only reach 23.8%.

Minimum scope of WELL features

Certain features require that a minimum scope is met – that is, the minimum level of achievement necessary to achieve a feature related to people, spaces and/or products. 

Newly installed products

Some features, particularly in the Materials concept, require that products (such as cleaning products) with specific characteristics or qualities be used or installed in the project. More specifically, the requirements of some features apply to products installed after project registration.

Preconditions have no minimum scope, and a project without any relevant newly installed materials/products is considered in compliance. For example, Feature X01 (Material Restrictions) restricts mercury in specific categories of newly installed lamps and electronics. If a project installs no lamps or electronics, they are considered in compliance with feature requirements. 

For projects to qualify for optimizations that apply to newly installed products or materials, the quantity of products or materials that must comply with feature requirements is specified in the feature language. For example, Feature X05 (Enhanced Material Restrictions) requires that at least half of newly installed furniture, millwork and fixtures meet the enhanced material restrictions, and there must be at least 10 distinct products within the scope to qualify. 

Food and beverages

If a project does not sell or provide food daily, it is considered in compliance with the Nourishment concept preconditions. On a daily basis is defined as the majority of days in the project’s operating week. This is assessed during each week of seasonal operations for projects that do not sell or provide food year-round.

Foods and beverages supplied by the project owner (or by a vendor under contract with the project owner) include but are not limited to items sold or provided in restaurants, cafeterias, cafes, vending machines and items available in kitchen pantry areas. They do not include anything brought into the project by occupants for personal consumption. 

Features that apply to commercial dining spaces require on-site food preparation and/or full-service dining. These projects typically include a commercial kitchen and food service staff. Foods prepared on-site include foods assembled on-site and foods prepared for immediate consumption. Projects without these facilities are not eligible to pursue these features.